Warm and Wiiiindy

This Sunday was another nice sunny and warm day, only it was super windy. Because of the wind I didn't expect to see many birds but I was able to get closer to this Cardinal than I normally get to them. In fact I walked up right underneath him. From this angle he didn't fit that familiar "regal" and trim looking shape but rather more like a fat Robin. In the first little pond near the parking lot I also spotted a few Wood Ducks -with just one being a Male. They are so much more skittish than Mallards and took off at the first sight of me. It doesn't seem like there's been as many Wood Ducks this year compared to last, and I definitely have not gotten as close to them this year. It's getting so late now that this may be the last I see of them this season. Later I spotted another Easter Phoebe catching insects over the water. I took some photos but they turned out all washed out from the bright sun reflecting on the water. Despite the strong wind, Canada Geese were moving around in large flocks today. No two groups ever seem to be headed the same direction. This larger than normal group circled above me for a bit and broke into more of a circular pattern versus a typical "v."

Lunchtime walk

This Monday I was working from home as I was having my entire furnace replaced at home. It was way overdue. I figured if I get a lunch break while working at the office I may as well take a lunch break if working from home. I used that time for a very quick walk. The first thing I saw were these Canada Geese that seemed interested in something up in the trees. Only seconds later a Bald Eagle burst out of the trees ahead of me so I guess that must have been what they were watching. It was super warm and sunny today and the temps were in the upper 70's! I feel like it's been quite a few year since we've had this nice of weather eleven days into October. We Minnesotan's sure enjoy it though as every day like this is one less day of snow and cold! These bright red leaves made quite a contrast against a still green background on the south side. Today's visit to the park was the first time I noticed an obvious thinning of underbrush as I could really see into the woods again for the first time since Spring. It made me remember why I spot so many more Deer and Owls in the wintertime as opposed to Summer. On the west side of the park there are a few "planted" Maples along the path that have some nice fall color to them. I really like ones like this where the outer edges have started turning but the inside is still green.

Humid Evening

Our warm August is continuing and so is the humidity. Seems we're in a perpetual state of hot and stormy weather resulting in a deluge of rain with every thunderstorm. The water levels at the park are now the highest I've ever seen them. With this much rain, everywhere is lush and green. There was an ominous overcast to the sky on this Tuesday evening but it was WAY too hot and humid to even consider a rain jacket. I figured it would feel good if I got rained on. It never did rain but the big thunderclouds later converged in the west and parted just enough for the sunset to peek through, creating a strange sky. There was not much wildlife moving around tonight, unless you count the mosquitoes. As I headed back to the parking lot on the south side, I noticed a flock of geese just overhead. I thought it was an odd site to see at this time of year. Maybe they'd had enough of this heat and were heading further north! Shortly later I spotted another Prairie Vole but didn't get any blog-worthy pics before he scampered off into the taller grass.

Turning colder in May

It's steadily gotten more cold and damp in May which is really strange considering the very warm April we've had. It was easy getting used to 70 degrees in April but extra hard adjusting to mid 40's again in May! Tonight was a little better and the sun had finally popped out showing how green everything has become. On the west side I sidetracked into the woods to retrieve some garbage when I noticed this rather large and colorful snake. I'm sure it was just an everyday Garter Snake but it was close to three feet long with bright specks of orange on it. I got in real close for a picture and it got kind of pissed at me and looked like it might lunge at me. Later I spotted a Bald Eagle perched way out across the park in some dead tree tops. I've been seeing him here for the past few visits but never seem to get close to him. I'm also seeing about 9-10 deer almost every visit lately which is really unusual. It's much harder to catch pictures though now with all the tall grass and foliage. I'm also noticing a lot of them with "nubs" lately which is pretty cool. I'm pretty sure that the majority of young ones in the park are actually bucks. On the south side near the very spot I saw the Coyote last week, I watched this family of geese for a bit. The young ones, still yellow and fuzzy kept walking up underneath the female and she would kick them away with one leg. I couldn't figure out what they wanted until she sat down. Then all of them came barreling into her from behind and tucked themselves under her feathers for warmth.

Weekday evening walk

Now that daylight savings time is back, it's actually light enough to sneak in a walk after work again. Temps are still way above normal and it's hard to find any trace of snow left anywhere. Even the woodchip trails are completely soft and quiet again, showing remnants of last summer like this faded snail shell. Somewhere on the south side I noticed this alien-seed-pod laying among some flattened cattails -although I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with cattails. After circling back to the south side where the creek drains out of the basin, I could hear lots of Canadian Geese honking loudly. Multiple pairs were standing on the frozen water and I sat down to watch them for a while. I could only guess that possibly they were mating because one of each couple were honking loudly while swinging their necks wildly back and forth. It was like they were trying to throw their sound as far as they could in every direction.

Fall migration

Well, the sun was nowhere to be seen today finally making it feel more like a typical, late-November day. Still haven't seen a single deer in about 3 weeks now. Wonder where the heck they are. After coming out of the woods on the east side, a fellow park goer and I both stopped to watch and listen to an extremely loud commotion of Canadian Geese. About 5 separate flocks came from every direction and seemed to meet up directly above us making one giant flock. I'm guessing there must have been about 130 or more total making quite a noise. I tried to get a photo but they trailed out so long that I just couldn't capture them all. Nothing else was moving after that and I barely had any good reasons to pull out my camera save for this cluster of hard tree-mushrooms.