Bigger Deer and Better Gadwall

Well I pretty much repeated my steps from yesterday by looking again for the Deer and Gadwall. In both cases I got lucky and got some better photos. First off I saw not one but two bucks together on the south side. This time they were a bit further down the trail, closer to the south parking lot. It's surprising how much green is in the background of this shot. The other buck, a smaller 4-pointer is just off screen as I zoomed in closely on the bigger one. I really didn't notice all the burs stuck to the top of his head when I took the photo! Well now I was certain I'd found the "big buck" that my friends had told me about yesterday. But I was wrong! Having walked a bit further down the trail myself I noticed some more movement in the cattails. There, stood an enormous deer with a huge set of antlers. It was hard to count them as they blended in well with the cattails but I finally did count 5 on each side. As I stood there watching and waiting for a less obstructed photo, another park goer came by on his bike and saw what I was looking at. He was a photographer too and got off his bike to pull his camera out of his backpack. We both watched the buck for a while but the whole time he never really came out of the cattails. I guess that's how he got so big in the first place, by being smart. I moved along, leaving the other photographer still waiting. I saw a few Goldfinches and Juncos along the way to the other side of the park. By the time I got to the little pond on the west side, the sun was getting very low and cast a golden glow on the water. There right in the middle of the pond was the Gadwall from yesterday! I quickly snapped photos as it swam slowly to and fro with a small group of Mallards. Though not all of my pics turned out as sharp as I'd hoped, the beautiful light almost made up for it. I was just thrilled to capture this duck in a golden November glow. Even the Mallards look gorgeous in that kind of light.

Lots to See this Saturday

When I arrived at the park this Saturday morning the first thing I saw was dried up Goldenrod plants. They reminded me that it was indeed much later in the season than it feels. Temps are still mild and there was plenty of sun today, making it feel more like early October versus mid November. Heading toward the duck pond I again ran into a couple of friends of mine who told me about a monstrous Buck they had just seen in the area. So after chatting for a few minutes I scouted around in search of some Deer. While heading along the wood chip trail north of the duck pond, a pretty Doe walked right out in front of me and just stood there. It made for a nice portrait with the big Cottonwood trees in the background. I was seeing a few birds here and there, including a few Cardinals and Woodpeckers. I paused for a bit to watch this Downy Woodpecker do his thing and he inched closer and closer to me until he was less than about 6 feet away. I still enjoy taking photos of common birds if they are close and/or doing something interesting. I love being able to see the feather detail in the photos later on as it's something you don't see for very long in the field. While standing there admiring the Downy, I noticed another Deer in the field of cattails just past the trail. It was a buck with a healthy, yet smaller rack of 4 tines on each side. This one was a bit more shy than the first and stayed mainly in the cattails, not giving me any good clear looks. After a while I turned my attention back to the trailside in search of birds but then yet another buck stepped out onto the trail in front of me! It's been some time since I've seen this much deer activity in the park and I was glad that not all of them had been taken by the archery hunt. This particular buck had what first looked to be just a single spike on each side, though be it very tall ones. After he too posed nicely for a few photos, he turned to the side, sniffing along the trail and I could see that each spike was paired with a second, much smaller spike pointing off to the back. I also noticed he looked kind of "beefy" around the head and neck which is probably a sign of their mating season or "rut." The next thing that caught my eye was a bright red male Cardinal who seemed to be playing hide and seek with me through the brush. I thought to myself "it's hard to hide when you're this bright!" I sure love seeing Cardinals but unless they're busy at a feeder, they can be tough to approach without bumping. You also need some pretty good light for photos as they're SO red that your camera often wont pick up the feather details. So I definitely have more less than favorable photos of Northern Cardinals. After having finally moved on from the duck pond, I came across one very interesting waterfowl species that pretty much made my day. A single Gadwall was swimming in the little pond on the east side of the park, just south of the parking lot. It was actually right up near the trail and I was too close when I spotted it, sending it heading away from me rather quickly. But at least it didn't fly off to the next pond and I was able to observe it for a while. Gadwalls will usually show a "black butt" when they're in mating plumage. This one had mostly black, but also some light feathers there too so it may have been a first-year bird, or maybe they just lose some of their color this time of year like other waterfowl. Either way I was thrilled to see a Gadwall at the park again!

A Gem of a Bird Sighting

Just a day or two ago, a birder friend of mine who frequents the Palmer Lake Park area, notified me of a most unusual sighting. When I heard the news I could hardly believe it. The particular bird was a species of Owl that is rarely seen, even by the vast majority of bird watchers. But not necessarily for reasons of having a small population. Rather, this Owl is highly nocturnal, very small, and moves very little during the daytime. Like a few other species of Owl it is actually considered "common, but rarely seen." My friend volunteered to meet me at the park today in hopes that we could find it again together. It was 10am and there was a touch of hoarfrost on the trees still left from this morning. It also felt like it might start snowing at any moment. I paced nervously back and forth, mulling over the odds of whether the bird would still be there or had moved on. Finally my friend arrived and we hiked a short distance to the area. There smack dab in front of me was in fact a Northern Saw-whet Owl! At this time I knew very little about this species other than it was small. Well "small" is a relative term and I wasn't quite fully understanding of just how small this bird actually is. Because of it's "square-ish" head shape and stature, my friend had compared it's size to that of a "can of pop." That comparison was hard to believe, that is until I saw the bird in person. It was in awe over it's diminutive proportions and equally in awe of just how little it moved even though we stood just 12 to 15 feet away from it. It appeared like a statue, with only the very slightest of slow, drawn out movement. In viewing the bird for only a few minutes, I fully understood why this was such a special sighting. Indeed the reason for it's extreme lack of movement was that our "daytime" was it's "nighttime." This bird likely just spent the entire night, and most of it's energy to hunt and feed itself. Now it was time to sleep, and equally important, to remain hidden from other larger predators. With the bird hardly having opened his eyes only halfway just to check us out, we decided to back off and hike around some other areas of the park for a while. At this point, I could have seen absolutely nothing else for the rest of the day and I would have still been on cloud 9 having added this very special bird to my "life list." It had begun snowing shortly afterward and as we made our way along, we both noticed a Doe underneath a large Buckthorn tree. Scanning through the tall grass, I picked up on a much larger Deer, a big Buck with a large neck and a healthy 8-point set of antlers. He was mostly hidden in the grass and this was the best photo I could muster. It seems like Bucks are harder to come by in the park lately, possibly due to the continued bow hunts sanctioned by the City of Brooklyn Park each Fall. In fact it seems like the Deer population in total has dropped considerably over the last year or so. In watching the Deer, we also noticed a bird perched near the very top of the same tree sheltering the Doe below. In the Fall and Winter time if you see one lone, robin-sized bird perched at the very top of a tree, you should look twice as we both have learned to do. For it could be...and it was this time...a Northern Shrike. I'll have to double check but I belive this is my first sighting of one this year! This is yet another special bird for all of it's own reasons. Unlike other birds it's size that eat seeds, berries and insects, this bird hunts and eats small rodents and other small birds! This would be comparable to the diet of other raptors, including the Saw-whet Owl seen earlier. However the Northern Shrike is not considered a raptor because it does not "catch" it's prey with it's feet –or talons, which it doesn't have. Instead it "hooks" it's prey, sometimes in mid-air with it's sharp and hooked bill. Further adding to the charm of this killer bird is the fact that it will often "impale" it's victim onto a sharp twig or even barbed wire. This is done for two reasons actually. Probably the most important is that so the Shrike can then pick and eat at it's prey without having to hold it's meal down with it's own feet. Though I have seen them do so. The second reason though is that the Shrike with catch more food than it can consume in a given day and will store, or "cache" it's meals for future consumption. So if you're ever out walking and discover a mouse or vole impaled upon a twig or even barbed wire, it was most likely placed there by a Northern Shrike! Pretty interesting bird huh? Definitely one of my favorite species. With the snow picking up and coming down in big white, fluffy flakes, the two of didn't see much more for the remainder of our hike. Having called it a day, we decided to see if the Saw-whet Owl was still there, so we hiked all the way back. As testament to how little this bird moves, we found that the little Owl had sat quietly this entire time in the exact same spot and simply let the snow begin to pile up on top of his little head! The more I learned about this Owl's behavior the more fascinating he became. This time he had his eyes open now, at least part way. We stood the same distance away just watching the snow pile up on his head while he did his best impression of an Owl statue. Something I noticed now that I hadn't before is that the small white markings on the top of his head. They seemed to be designed to resemble the falling snow that was now landing on him. What an interesting bird! I can't possibly give enough thanks to the friend who shared this sighting with me.

Searching for Owls on Monday Afternoon

I had off of work this Monday and decided to visit the park in the late afternoon around 3:30pm. I hadn't intended to hike around the entire perimeter of the park but make it to the foot bridge over Shingle Creek and back. Shortly after setting out on the north side I spotted a nice looking male Cardinal that I tried to sneak up on since he was at eye level. I caught him through an opening in the thick brush and snapped a couple of photos that turned out very well I think. After heading on and nearing the creek, I heard a very strange noise and stopped to listen. It was a ways away but to me sounded very much like a Screech Owl. Since I've never seen one in the wild I got excited and decided to trek around the outer edge of the field on the north side that butts up against a drainage ditch and some townhomes. After poking around for a long while the only thing I saw was a Buck who took off running at top speed. I decided to try for a photo anyway since it was a Buck and this is what I got. Funny thing I hadn't noticed at the time that his tongue was out. I wonder how they don't bite their tongue while running so fast! After spending a lot of time in this area and not seeing anything else, I'd run out of daylight already. But upon heading back towards my vehicle, I heard another Owl –this time an unmistakable sound of a Great Horned Owl. It sounded very close too so I headed back on the other trail that leads out of the park. Sure enough there he was, perched high up in an Oak tree. I took this photo at 4:56pm and at the time the Owl was mostly just a dark blob. So I lightened up the photo the best I could. This is the first GHO I've seen this fall at the park!

A Memorable Walk and a NEW Species!

It's been just over a week now into my leave of absence from work for some minor back surgery. The doctors all suggested to walk as much as I felt I could so of course I've been spending some long days at the park. Today before my walk even began I met with a writer for the SunPost who wanted to interview me! This was because myself and the Friends of Palmer Lake Park were planning a "Spring Bird Hike" near the end of this month. To my surprise the writer asked if we could meet at the park so I said sure! We sat at the picnic tables underneath the shelter on the east side and he recorded some of our conversation. Afterward he wanted to walk a bit with me and see if he couldn't get any bird photos himself. We had barely started around the path when we spotted a Black-and-white Warbler so at least it DID appear to him that there were indeed some interesting birds to be seen here. The article was published later and you can read it here. After parting ways I quickly spotted more birds –as early May is likely THE best time of year anywhere in Minnesota to be out bird watching! A Chestnut-sided Warbler, Goldfinch, Brown Thrasher, Gray Catbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Wood Ducks, some type of Shorebird and an American Coot were all seen before I got to the wood chip trail just to the south! But upon setting out onto the wood chip trail, I met another birder –a young woman who instantly showed me a photo of a bird she'd taken just minutes earlier. It was of a Golden-winged Warbler, a bird I've NEVER seen before! She had managed a fantastic shot of the bird while it was close to the ground and I was shocked. Together we tried to relocate the bird and in not too much time we managed to do so. This time we found a couple of them atop some tall Aspen trees, picking at the freshly budding leaves. This bird was beautiful and I was ecstatic to be watching a brand new species for me at the park! I had a hard time catching the bird sitting still and also because of the height, I wasn't able to get many great photos. But here is my favorite shot, quite cropped but it shows the trademark black mask and throat as well as the bright yellow "cap." The only thing it doesn't show is the bright yellow "stripe" on the outer wing for which the bird is named. After spending a LOT of time here taking many many photos, I finally moved on to find a very curious young Buck who walked out on the trail very close to me. He was just getting "nubbins" and they must have been itchy because he was trying to bring his back leg all the way up to his head. He was followed shortly after by a Doe and they both passed into the woods. Scanning the trees and brush even more closely now, I spotted yet another Golden-winged Warbler more near eye level. But it was such seriously thick brush that I couldn't manage even one decent photo. But not too much further along, my probing eye caught another interesting species –a White-crowned Sparrow. This is a bird I just don't see a lot of in general, especially at PLP. But as I said, this being early May, you never know what you might find!

Summer Continues Past Labor Day

I had an additional day off of work this Tuesday but I didn't get to the park until about 4:30 in the afternoon. It is the day after Labor Day now and I'm surprised that our warm weather is still hanging on this late. There is a small little pond near the parking lot on the south side that I often spend a fair amount of time near as I see a lot of birds here. This evening I was fortunate to get close to this Green Heron and get two pics before he flew off. In the dimming light he appeared a beautiful blueish-purple color. I really like how this came out except for the branch in front of his head. Not too much further on the south side wood chip trails I noticed a smaller bird in some shrubs right over me. Hoping I might have a Warbler, I followed him back and forth until I could get some good shots. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not a Warbler but a Red-eyed Vireo –and I was much closer than I'd ever been to one before. I could even see his red eyes through my viewfinder as I snapped a bunch of half-decent shots. This is probably my favorite one as it really shows off all of his colors. Previously I never thought of them as too colorful a bird but now I can see how much yellowish green color they have. And now that I think about it, this might be the first photo I've gotten of one at PLP! Finally near the end of my walk I spotted two young Bucks hop out of the thick woods onto the paved trail ahead of me. I've not seen a lot of Bucks this year. These two didn't seem to have any trace of velvet left anymore, and even more interesting was the one had a very awkward spike on one side not in proportion to the other. He will be easy to recognize I would think, if I see him again.

Back to Spring? Maybe???

I could hardly believe when I looked at my last post date that it's been a full 20 days since I last visited the park! And if you aren't from Minnesota, you wouldn't believe the weather that we've had since then! On that last visit on March 31st, I was convinced (as well as most other Minnesotan's) that Spring was finally here. That seems like ages ago because since then we've had 2 (or 3?) significant snowfalls, freezing rain and temps well below freezing again! Pretty much the first 3/4ths of April has felt more like January! The weather didn't stop me from birding however, but I've been visiting other places such as the Coon Rapids Dam in Brooklyn Park to see some fantastic new species of waterfowl I'd never seen before. Palmer Lake Park attracts quite a variety of species but there are just certain things you would never likely see there. Anyway, after receiving another 6-8" of wet, heavy snow only 2 days ago (OMG enough already), the sun came out today and tipped the temps into the upper 40's! It was nearly 5:30 by the time I got to the park -with my wife today- and we hiked the paved trails only. One thing I spotted on the north side was a bird I'd actually seen at my office in NE Minneapolis the day before. I recognized it was the same bird by it's bright, rusty-red tail feathers and the way it preferred the ground versus the trees. I really had no idea what it was -only that I knew it was not something I see often. For whatever reason I was too lazy to thumb through my new Stokes Field Guide and opted instead to ask for ID assistance on the Birdshare group on flickr. Wouldn't you know it, 2 of my closest flickr contacts quickly ID's the bird for me as a Hermit Thrush. This is a bird I'd only seen and photographed just one time before -last April at PLP. Later as we looked out over the cattails, we noticed a big mature Bald Eagle flying fairly low and slow. He seemed to be letting his feet dangle downward which looked a little odd and we wondered if he was about to grab something. He continued circling slowly over the middle almost hovering in midair when finally he dove down into the weeds. He quickly came up with something long and thin, and the only thing I can think is that it was a snake. He was too far away for a decent photo so we really couldn't tell, but it was a neat thing to see. On the west side near the baseball diamonds we noticed 1, then 2 then 3 deer standing just inside the trail. They were fairly close already but as we stopped to watch them, the one in the back became so curious that it inched closer to us even as we talked. I bent down on my knee like I often do when encountering Deer at the park. It helps me stabilize my photo but I've also found that the Deer seem to find you more approachable when you make yourself smaller than them. Sure enough this younger looking one nearly walked right up to us. I didn't notice at first but as it put it's head down to the ground to smell, I saw two very tiny little gray bumps telling me it was a very young Buck. I shot quite a few photos and actually backed away from him in order to get better photos as he was now too close! It was nice to see one so closely again and was a nice end to our walk today!

Little Birds and Big Deer

When I arrived at the park this Saturday morning I parked on the south side just to be different. I started my usual clockwise route but noticed a very small little bird hoping around near the ground by the small pond just off the parking lot. The lighting wasn't that great and so all I could make out at first was the silhouette. Though I'm not yet that familiar with them I began to recognize it as a Wren. Wrens don't seem like a common species in this park -to me anyway- as I'd only captured my first photo of one earlier this summer. Surprisingly I was able to inch my way closer and bend on one knee to get a better view without scaring it off. It scurried around quickly from one small log to the next, picking at various things near the surface of the water. I thought I'd never get this close to one again and so I snapped a vast amount of photos, hoping I'd eventually get something worthwhile. It was awesome to watch one this close up and get to see some of the tiny intricate patterning that makes them almost invisible against tree bark and natural textures. I'm not very sure but I would assume the species is a common House Wren. On the north side I was focusing on some more birds when something much bigger caught my eye. Against the tall cattails stood an enormous Buck with an 8-point rack. I'd barely noticed him and I'm sure he noticed me first. Even when it was clear to him that I'd spotted him, he stood as still as a statue not moving an inch. I took a few photos of him with different settings and he still never moved. I didn't noticed any Does around and so it looked as though he was alone. Looks like there will be another set of antlers to be on the lookout for come next spring! Earlier in my walk I'd spotted a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets but was unable to get a decent photo. This species is probably THE toughest to get good photos of as they seriously are changing positions approximately every one second. Most times about all you can do is to point and click wildly over and over trying to keep up with them and then hope somehow you managed to get one in the frame! Kinglets are becoming quite familiar to me now and I know a few things to look for -aside from their characteristically energetic behavior. They can be strikingly olive-green in color, have very obvious wing bars and eye-rings, but most of all it's the time of year that helps me realize what I'm seeing is a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. They are active and easy to see in early spring but disappear for most of the summer and now again are quite common in the fall. I would say there are more of them at the park in the fall than in spring but that's just my observation. I was pleased to realize after looking at this photo closer that I'd captured a male -as evident by the tiny bright red patch on the very top of his head.

Mid-September Sights

This Sunday I had an afternoon walk at the park, arriving just after 2:00pm. It was another beautiful day to be outside and I saw just about everything from birds and deer to turtles and butterflies. The first thing I spotted was this young spike Buck on the southeast side of the park. He was foraging around the little drainage pond there right off the paved trail. I snapped a few quick photos and got a good look at his akward little mis-matched antlers. I figured there would be more deer around but he seemed to be by himself and then trotted away after just a minute or so of me watching him. After this I spotted a Bald Eagle, a Grey Catbird and then lastly this interesting bird perched just above water on the southwest side where the little creek connects to the Duck Pond. At first glance it seemed too large and skinny to for an Eastern Phoebe. I was also seeing it only from behind and there seemed to be an almost bluish-grey coloring that i don't typically associate with Phoebes. I started doing some research, thinking maybe it could be some kind of Pewee or Flycatcher. After reading and looking at quite a few photos I can honestly say it would take a more experienced birder to quickly pick up on the subtle differences between Phoebe's, Pewees and Flycatchers. That being said, here are my findings. Eastern Wood Pewees look extremely similar with little-to-no eye ring, yet they differ with a typically orange lower beak or "mandible." Most Flycatchers (with a few exceptions) also have an orange lower mandible AND tend to have a more prominent white eye-ring too boot. Based on this photo showing no eye-ring and a black upper and lower mandible, I would still say it is an Eastern Phoebe. I hope my ID is correct because I just can't say for sure. Later on I had the opportunity to spot and more easily identify a sparrow that is a lot less common than your average House or Song Sparrow. This is a White-throated Sparrow and I believe the very first one I've ever captured a photo of at the park! I've heard their very memorable song before but not had the opportunity to actually see one until now. Their song is worth hearing if you've never heard one before. Click here to listen to one!

Great Sightings on Sunday

I arrived at the park this Sunday morning just after 11:30am. It was a beautiful day with puffy white clouds against a bright blue sky and the temp was somewhere around only 70 degrees. It was the kind of day you wish every day was like. The mosquitoes were virtually non-existent as well so I found that I could venture off trail even in shorts. I spotted a lot of good stuff today and was surprised to see when I got home that I'd taken over 120 photos! The first thing I saw was on the south side heading up the wood chip trail. A smaller than average bird flew across the trail and landed in some brush on the other side. It popped out again onto a larger tree and I could tell from the flash of bright yellow on the edges of it's tail that it was a female American Redstart. I've seen more than my fair share of Redstarts this year but I've only seen a female just once or twice. This was probably the 3rd time I've seen one so I really wanted to get a photo. They're hard to keep up with though as they move positions every 1 to 2 seconds. While the Redstart was hopping around, another bird had landed on the same tree and was sort of distracting me. I assumed it was a Nuthatch at first from it's size but mostly from how it walked almost headfirst down the trunk of the tree. It wasn't until I caught a glimpse of how drastically striped it was that I realized it wasn't a Nuthatch but a Black and White Warbler! This is only the 2nd time I've ever seen one so it was quite exciting. As usual when I see something so unique I end up scrambling for a photo, moving too quickly and getting blurry shots. I had a lot of options to pick from to post here but this one shows best the black and white striping pattern of this unique Warbler. Be sure to click on the photo for a larger view. Much later on the other side of the park I actually spotted 2 or 3 more of them! Along the way I came across a Hairy Woodpecker -the larger of the 2 most common woodpeckers (Downy and Hairy). He was excavating a Willow tree (?) looking for insects and allowed me to walk almost right up underneath him for a photo. These are such common woodpeckers that I often don't take the time to capture them but since we was so engrossed in his activities I figured I'd get closer. The interesting thing I noticed from this distance was just how much yellow coloring they have in their tail feathers as well as faint hints of yellow on their head. Hiking across the long straight trail on the north end, I spotted a deer moving with it's head down below the tall weeds. It was a ways off the trail but I thought maybe if I waited it would pop it's head up for a photo. When it finally did I was quite shocked to see that it was an 8-point Buck with velvet still covering most if his antlers! It was an impressive rack that looked even thicker with all that velvet. I thought it was kind of odd to still have velvet this late into the summer and especially on such a large, mature rack. The times I usually notice velvety antlers are much earlier in the spring. I don't know how he's gone this long without having it rub off. Maybe they're just growing that fast. I don't know but it was certainly a neat sight. Hopefully next Spring I'll be able to find at least one of those antlers after he's shed them!

Looking for the Other Half

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I did spend a while searching for the other half of the antler shed that I found on Sunday morning. With the ground being wet and wearing only my worn out tennis shoes, I gave up fairly easily after getting wet feet. This Wednesday evening though was nice out so I decided to go back to the same area -with hiking boots- and do some more thorough searching. I covered quite a lot of ground but didn't find the other half. I did however manage my first Bluebird photo of the year -though not a great one. He was perched on another of those dead trees and possibly also looking for a good place to nest. It was starting to get a bit dark and for the first time I chose to head back the way I came instead of going all the way around. On my way back I saw a group of 5 or 6 Deer and decided to futz around with the settings on my new camera for a better shot. It seemed to work and I was getting halfway decent images. In this light my old camera would have not picked up anything! I watched the group for a while which had at least one young one with them. Later I saw 2 or 3 more cross the trail in front of me. One stopped in it's tracks right on the trail to eye-up another park goer. When I was about back to my vehicle I could see a few more in a clearing just behind some trees. I thought maybe the light might be better here so I sneaked through the trees quietly. There with a Doe was a nice Buck with a full set of antlers. I thought March 28th would officially be the latest I've seen a Buck, but now I have a new record for the park on April 4th! It looks like there will still be more antler sheds for someone to find yet this year.

Three Firsts on April 1st

Today was colder still than yesterday and with a brisk wind to boot. I almost opted for my winter hat but figured I could tough it out with just my baseball cap. I was hoping to see a Bluebird today and spent a lot of time just standing around and watching a small scrubby patch of woods near the east side baseball diamonds. The only thing I saw there was a Downy woodpecker. Shortly after though, I did spot my first Tree Swallow of the year. He was perched out on a dead tree with a nice round hole in the side. More than once the Swallow flew up to the opening and peered inside, checking out whether it would make a good home or not. I wanted to get a better photo and I decided to walk in towards the tree. The ground is very low and wet here so I was careful where to step. I'd only gone roughly 15 feet off of the paved trail when there lying at my feet was a very large Deer Antler! It was lying with the tines sticking upward and I could barely believe my eyes. I half thought that maybe somebody was playing a prank on me and I peered over both shoulders behind me to see if anyone else was around but there wasn't. I've looked and looked and looked for antler sheds at the park with no luck whatsoever and here today a little bird led me right to one! I always told myself that if I ever found one I would take a picture of it before I picked it up. I did so but only had my zoom lens with and wasn't able to get a very wide shot showing the surroundings. It does show however how easily it probably blended into the background against the dead cattails and grasses of the same color. It was the first shed I've ever found and it couldn't have been a nicer one! As I carried it with me around the rest of the park, lots of people came up to me to see it and ask questions. One couple walking past said "I bet you didn't find that today" to which I replied "I DID actually!" I think most people assume that Deer shed their antlers much earlier in the year. I'm no expert, but around here in the city -and Palmer Lake Park specifically, I've seen Deer with full antlers pretty late in the season. Last year I remember quite well spotting a Buck with antlers on March 28th. Maybe further north in the state, they drop them earlier? I don't know for sure. Regardless, I now firmly believe that my previous shed-hunting efforts have been much to early. Towards the northern end of the park I walked off the trail again, heading towards the sound of a bunch of Crows that had obviously found a raptor of some kind to bother. Eventually I flushed out the Raptor but it flew directly away from me and I couldn't tell exactly what it was. When I popped back out on the trail, another park goer was looking at my camera and asked me if I wanted to see an Owls nest. I followed him back out of the park to a tree just barely inside the park. About half way up, he pointed out what looked like a rather small, old Squirrel's nest and there sitting on it was a Great Horned Owl! I felt a bit bad being this close and I certainly didn't want to spook it, as it was obviously sitting on either eggs, or possibly even newly hatched chicks! I took just a couple of photos and then headed back. It was the first nesting Owl I've ever seen.

October Evening

With the beautiful weather over the weekend I was up for another visit on Monday after work. This is getting increasingly harder to do now that sunset is coming earlier by a few minutes every day. I arrived at the park just before 6pm and the sun was already casting a horizontal orange glow on the trees. I saw one single Doe right off the bat on the southern wood chip trail but she was quite far away. Later on the north side another Doe was much closer to the trail and as I watched I noticed another much larger Deer in the background. To my surprise it was a Buck with either 4 or 5 point antlers. It was already getting dark and I had a hard time getting a photo that wasn't completely blurry. I'd knelt down for stability in taking a picture and much like many other times, the Doe became curious and walked right up to me, stopping within about a 10 foot range. Though it was quite dark now, she was close enough for a much better photo than I would get of the Buck. I moved along after a few minutes as I knew I'd be racing the clock to get back before it was totally dark. I could see a nice sunset forming and I picked up my pace even more to get to the southeast side for a more open view. The sun set so fast you could pick up on the changing color in real time. I had one more surprise in store when I got back near the parking lot. I was just coming up the hillside from the paved trail when I noticed something moving quickly down the hill to my right. There were TWO Coyotes together trotting one behind another along the cattails. I had absolutely no chance of a photo because it was too dark now but it was a pretty cool thing to see none the less. It's rare for me to even see Coyotes outside of winter but two of them together was even more rare -in fact it was a first for me.