Another Great Day of May Birding

I saw a lot of great birds today around the park and in fact I got too many nice photos that I can't post them all. So I've picked my favorite one from a good variety representing what I all saw today. The first is a Warbler that I've seen before at the park but one I've never got great photos of –until today. This Tennessee Warbler was calling so loudly and constantly that I probably wouldn't have seen him otherwise hiding in the Willows just off the paved trail on the east side. I followed the sound and spotted him but he quickly darted away. Like I do often, I tried "pishing" which is just making a "pish" sound which is sometimes known to attract curious birds. For probably the first time ever it actually worked and brought this colorful little Warbler right in close to me! I snapped photos wildly, knowing he likely wouldn't sit still for very long. Luckily it was long enough to capture 3 or 4 decent photos which nicely show the olive-green and grey color scheme. I was so happy to have captured this guy that the rest of my hike seemed inconsequential. But I was in for more great birds as this time of year can provide the pinnacle of surprises. And surprised I was, to notice a brief movement down at my feet while passing a little pond just south of the baseball diamonds on the east side. I wondered "could it be?" and so I decided to sit indian style right on the paved trail and wait. Sure enough, minutes later a small Sora poked his head into view between the weeds. I've never had such a perfect and closeup view as this! He really didn't pay any attention to me and I sat there as still as possible with my finger on the shutter button snapping away. I was provided fantastic looks at this secretive member of the "Rail" family and it was a very memorable sighting! Like other Rails and related swamp dwelling birds, the Sora has huge, lobed feet to help it stand and walk through the muddy and unstable habitat in which it lives. Later I stopped to watch a Gray Catbird long enough to catch a few images. They are always entertaining to watch and especially to listen to as they hardly make two notes that sound the same. Their lack of colorful plumage is more than made up for by their colorful calls. One more Warbler graced my camera lens later on. This is a female Common Yellowthroat and I'm quite amazed that I was able to capture her among the thick brush she was in. It was almost like she posed just in the right place for me to see and photograph her. Many times if you see a female Yellowthroat, the male is also around somewhere close but I did not see him. This is one species, that for me is easier to identify by it's behavior than anything else. You are likely to find them hopping around in dense underbrush and they can be very close to you without you even realizing it. There were also plenty of Baltimore Orioles visible today at the park. Through all my efforts, I've yet to capture a photo of one that I like. They tend to perch quite high in trees and for that reason I always find myself underneath them instead of looking straight on at them. This was one of my closer shots. Some of the other species I saw today included; Mallard, Tree Swallow, Canada Goose, Palm Warbler, Bald Eagle, Yellow Warbler, White-throated Sparrow & American Redstart. I also saw two very young Bucks and a nice cluster of Jack-in-the-Pulpit plants.

Lazy Day in Late September

Today was Sunday and the weather was just beautiful for hiking through the park. I decided to bring my collapsible stool with me today and possibly just sit in the woods to see what I could see. I did just that on the southwest corner of the park –off the wood chip trail just north of the duck pond. Here I spotted a Magnolia Warbler in fall plumage! This is a beautiful Warbler any time of the year because of it's bright yellow breast with black spotting. I followed this bird everywhere, picking up my stool time and time again and setting it down closer. But as soon as I would sit down the bird would move again and so I finally just slung it over my shoulder and followed the bird on foot. It took my all the way to the opposite end of the park, all the while trying and failing at a nice, sharp photo. This was my best one and I joke that at least the butt was in focus. Besides the one Warbler, I also spotted Great Egret, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Least Flycatcher, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Red-eyed Vireo, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Gray Catbird. The last of which I managed a post-able photo of. I like the blue sky as the background and the fact that you can see a hint of the birds "rusty" colored rump patch. Near the end of my walk I scared up a couple of Wood Ducks near the railroad tie overlook at the lake. But there was one bird left that I managed not to scare away and I hid behind the cattails long enough for it to get comfortable again. As the duck closed his eyes I pushed my lens through the cattails to create my own view and snapped a few images. This was my favorite.

New Lens is Finally Here!

After placing an order for a new Tamron zoom lens way back in February, it has finally arrived. I don't know why but apparently the same lens came out much earlier in the year for Canon camera mounts but there was a delay for Nikon mounts. This Tuesday after work was the first time I've been able to bring it out to the park and really get to test it out. I noticed some difficulty right off the bat in that my focus was not very good or off of where I wanted it to be. This was very apparent when I was shooting a juvenile Tree Swallow sitting on the chain link fence at the baseball fields. The top of the fence was in focus but the bird was not. It did seem though like I could get further away subjects in focus easier. So when I spotted the Indigo Bunting on the north side I was able to catch 1 or 2 pics with a little more detail. At the baseball fields on the opposite side of the park I noticed what appeared to be Brown-headed Cowbirds searching through the bright green grass. But some of these birds had a much longer and thinner bill that the Cowbirds. I believe they were juvenile European Starlings who have not grown into to their fully dark plumage yet. The head and bill shape sure seem like a Starling anyway. There were a couple more perched on the chain link fencing here as well and one even had hints of the light spotting that Starlings would show as an adult. The last bird I tried to get a photo of today was a Gray Catbird who was doing a good job hiding from me in the leaves. I maneuvered around until I could at least see his face. This was probably the photo with the most detail I got today. Other birds spotted today included; Song Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, Mallard, American Robin and Rose-breasted Grosbeak (female). Feeling a little frustrated by the focus of my new lens I headed home to figure out what I was doing wrong.

Friends of Palmer Lake Park Spring Bird Hike

This Saturday I saw another dream come true for the Friends of Palmer Lake Park group. In a partnership with Tiny Footprint Coffee located just across the street from PLP, we held our first ever "Spring Bird Hike!" We have done a couple of nature hikes in the past but those had happened in August when there are far fewer birds to be seen. We started off first with a tour of the Tiny Footprint Coffee plant which was fun and interesting. I can't believe all the different countries that produce and ship their coffee beans right to Brooklyn Center! Afterward the group of about 25 people walked across 69th Avenue and broke into groups to hike around the park. I had my camera with myself but spent a lot more time talking to people and thus did not take a lot of shots myself. As we entered the woods on the north side I pointed out to the group that we were getting into "Rose-breasted Grosbeak territory." And when one appeared just ahead of us only moments later I felt like I really knew this park. Back at the coffee factory, the owner had just told us that he had seen this same species of bird while on trips to the Mindo Cloud Forest region of Ecuador! We saw at least a few Warblers on our hike today and two that I remember are a Chestnut-sided and this American Redstart who looked a little different than most I see. At first I assumed this was a female but someone later pointed out to me that it's only the males who sing and not the females. Thus it is likely a young male who has not yet developed his full plumage. One more bird I stopped to photograph myself today was this Gray Catbird who was posing nicely against a green background. He's a bit in the shadows but I like how it feels. Thankfully others in the group were keeping better records of the species we saw and one even submitted a checklist to ebird.org. That person counted 41 species total and you can view the checklist here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18536367

Forty, Count 'em 40!

This Sunday, moving into the 2nd week of May, the birds are really starting to move in now. After birding now for close to 5 years I can now tell you that the very best two weeks of the entire year are the first two weeks in April. So I set out today with one goal in mind –to see if I could spot 40 different species of birds. For a newbie like myself I think this is a decently high number. I know people who have been bird watching for many many years could probably tip 60 or even 70 this time of year, but again I figured 40 was a challenging but possibly attainable number for me at this point. After my first bird being a Brown-headed Cowbird, I was a little hesitant but some very nice birds came quickly thereafter including a Blue-headed Vireo which is a bird I only see maybe once or twice a year if I'm lucky. Warblers could be found plentiful today and I counted 8 species of Warbler alone which is a pretty good number. Some of the better photos I managed to get of the Warblers today were this Yellow Warbler and then later a Palm Warbler. Last year I had a day when I tallied 9 Warblers which is my best record for a single day. And can you guess what day that was? Well it just happened to also be May 11th of 2013! There were a few birds that I counted today that I never saw, but had an unmistakeable call such as a Ring-necked Pheasant and a Sora. Other than those two, I physically saw the others and tried to get at least one photo of each so as to help me remember them when I got home. Another of the nicer photos I got today was of a fairly common bird, a Gray Catbird. I guess I like it because you can see some of the feather details and also part of the "chestnut" colored patch under his tail. There was just a LOT of movement going on today so instead of spending a long while chasing one bird for a good photo, I was more concerned about keeping moving and catching even a short glimpse of as many birds as possible. But one bird I did stop and chase for a bit was this Common Grackle. And that would probably seem odd to most bird watchers as they are a very common (as their name suggests) and easy bird to find. But I'm so fascinated by the blue-ish purple iridescent coloring on their head that I keep trying to convey that in a photo. This one kind of worked that way but there were some twigs that created a blur in the foreground. Some of the more fun birds to see today included a Northern Flicker, Baltimore Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. There was even a Bald Eagle who flew over carrying a long trailing clump of nesting material! All in all I took about 126 photos and spent a total of 4 hours and 10 minutes making my way around the park. The last image I want to share from the day is this one of 3 drake Mallards in the pond near the east parking lot. I thought it was just such an interesting sight with the water reflecting a nice tan color that felt like Springtime to me. When I got home I used my photo to double-check my own memory and had tallied exactly 40 different birds! Since having put so much effort into it, I decided to report my findings "officially" on ebird which is an online data collection system put together by the Audubon Society and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I've only used it a few times now and like many tools it offers endless ways to report and track birds around the country. Without having to log in or anything, you can see my total checklist for today here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18345635

Cool and Overcast Sunday

Well I think our late summer warmth has finally gone away. The temperature this morning was a surprising 37 degrees! And it was the first time I found myself wearing not only blue jeans, but a long-sleeved sweatshirt as well. It was kind of a nice change actually. Though the only Warbler I saw was a Common Yellowthroat, I saw a fair amount of other birds. In fact I saw 90% of all my birds today in one small area. Just off of the woodchip trail on the south end of the park is an area full of tall weeds and shrubs that give birds lots of hiding places as well as food sources I'm assuming. I stayed here for a good 20 minutes and in that time saw: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, American Goldfinch, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Brown Thrasher, Black-capped Chickadee and Gray Catbird. A few of the Blue Jays I saw seemed to be carrying Acorns in their beaks. The Catbird I got the best photo of however was nearer the east end of the park as I was heading back to my vehicle. They rarely sit so still for me and I was happy to get this and a few other decent shots. Around the park I also noticed a few small snails slowly crossing the paved trail like they always do. I often pick them up and help them across so that they don't get crushed by bikers or joggers. Like Monarchs, they have been few and far between this year for some reason. In other years I've had to really watch my step to avoid stepping on them just while walking on the paved trail.

End of June Already?

I can't believe the month of June is over already. After being out birding almost every day in May, I guess I kind of slacked in June. Well, sort of. I did spend a whole week in Colorado where I bird watched there too, but all in all I didn't get to Palmer Lake Park very much in June. This Sunday was a beautiful day to wrap up the month though with clear blue skies and warm temperatures. I've been seeing a lot of new little wildflowers blooming now including Marsh Milkweed, Nightshade and Crown Vetch. Some birds I saw today but not pictured were Yellow Warbler, American Redstart, Brown-headed Cowbird, Barn Swallow, Mourning Dove and Red-winged Blackbird. One bird I'm seeing a awful lot of lately are Gray Catbirds. Every late spring & summer it seems like they make up about every other bird I see in the park. Second to when Red-winged Blackbirds arrive in the spring, the Grey Catbird might be the next most prolific bird in the park. They can be heard making either their "cat-like" meeow calls, or a constant chatter of dozens of different notes and phrases strung together. When they do this they kind of don't shut up and it goes on for who knows how long. Despite how common they are this time of year, I've not had a good opportunity to photograph one and this is probably my best for the year so far. I've also been seeing another returning visitor to the park this season –the Osprey. Today at least one of them was hovering over the south end of the park, keeping an eye out for fish in the water below. I've been trying for years to catch one actually diving into the water but with the tall cattails this can be tricky. It is equally as neat to watch them "hover" in mid air though. It is quite a unique skill for such a large raptor to be able do so I would say. Raptors are generally built for "soaring" but the Osprey can hover in one single place almost as well as a Hummingbird! Yet more return visitors to the park this time of year are not so welcome. Because of all the rain this month, the mosquitoes have been quite thick lately. Honestly they have a tendency to affect my photos this time of year because in certain places you really just can't hold still for too long. That was the case with the American Redstart I tried to photograph today and I gave up easily after just one shot. But with the mosquitoes come other insects as well and Dragonflies and Damselflies are plentiful now as well. I wish I knew more of them but I'm content to focus and learn more birds for a while before moving onto this much tougher category! I spotted this very interesting one today with completely black wings. I believe it would be a Damselfly because of how it's wings are built to fold backwards unlike a Dragonfly. He also had a bright emerald green body and called to be photographed. Later in the day I spotted more of them at a different park in Golden Valley later in the day.

Hot Hot Hot 4th of July

I had the day off of work this Wednesday for the 4th of July holiday. It was weird having one day off in the middle of the week but a good reason to visit the park. It was gonna be another hot day and in fact there has been much talk of it being the hottest 4th of July on record with temps nearing 100 degrees! To beat the heat I got to the park just before 7:30 in the morning. There's been Gray Catbirds everywhere in the park since late spring but I've not been able to catch any good photos of them yet this year. Here is my latest attempt. They can be one of the noisiest birds in the woods throughout the summer. On the north side in the glaring sun I watched a pair of male and female Baltimore Orioles in the shrubby trees where the Hummingbirds become prominent later on. The male stayed back further where I couldn't see him as well but the female got a bit closer. The females look so much duller orange -almost yellow- compared to the males but they are still fun to see. This area of the park is actually one of the better places to see birds and attracts everything from Goldfinches and Yellow Warblers to Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Hummingbirds. There have also been a LOT of Rabbits everywhere lately -especially a lot of little young ones. I think in the summer they come out of the woods more due to the mosquitoes. I sure know I would!

Sunny and Cold Saturday

It was a particularly cold day this Saturday morning -possibly the coldest it has been so far at just 11 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand it was bright and sunny which always helps to make it feel warmer in my opinion. One of the first sights I saw on my walk today were lots of Robins near the small creek that runs on the southeast side. This particular one seemed to be missing an eye on his left side. I've heard recently that it's somewhat common for birds to damage or lose their eyes while flying through trees. Think about just walking through the woods without a hand to put up in front of your face. When I popped out of the woodchip trail I spotted the largest group of Deer I'd seen in quite a while -about 6 or 7 of them. At first they were all the way over by the playground equipment which was the last place I would have expected to see them. The Deer Hunt that started in October would be ending in just 4 days from now so at least these ones were lucky enough to have made it this far. There were definitely young ones in the group and I imagine they were more likely to be spared. Later on I spotted an unusual image that would probably escaped me only minutes earlier or later. The low sun was brightly illuminating these half-dried-up leaves, making them glow almost like a green light bulb. I'm always intrigued upon seeing any "green" during winter and especially with snow on the ground it can create quite a drastic contrast. The sun is so low at this time of year as evident by this photo taken only minutes before noon. Two other very interesting sights today without photographic evidence were; 1) a group of 3 Trumpeter Swans that flew over the park and 2) I heard and saw a Grey Catbird just off the trail on the east side. I told my fellow nature buff friends about this sighting and they agreed that it was simply amazing to see a Catbird around this late in the season. Eventually one of them also spotted it but neither of us came up with a photo to prove it.

Some Rare Sightings

This Sunday morning was bright but overcast; the kind of day where you could see a whole lot of nothing. In fact it turned out the opposite as I had a chance to see a few birds that are rank low on my list of recorded sightings. Being it the end of August and still fairly warm, I paused near the north west corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of a Hummingbird -which I quickly did. Interestingly enough, I was distracted by a larger bird that flew off quickly, flashing an unusual pattern of black, white and brown. I followed this sight to a new perch and spotted a bird that I couldn't easily recognize. The only hint I picked up on thick, stubby bill, making me think it was possibly a Grosbeak. Then within just seconds, another similar sized bird appeared with almost identical coloring and pattern on it's head, but with a bright red patch in the shape of a V on it's chest. I was excited both in knowing that I'd guessed correctly and in getting to see the male Grosbeak so closely! There was an obvious difference though, between this and the few other Rose breasted Grosbeaks I've seen before. This male had not the full, black colored head, but a patterned yellow and brown head just like the female. I can only assume then that he was a juvenile and not fully developed. Even more interesting is that the male was plucking and swallowing the berries from the shrubs. Later on I had a few other good bird photo opportunities including a Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat and some fledgling Robins. The one I just couldn't pass up though was this Grey Catbird who was singing his heart out. They're not much for coloring but they really make up for it with their songs. Finally, one last thing I thought was blog-worthy, was another rare sighting of a Mink along the banks of the creek where it flows back out of Palmer Lake. I gotta admit, I thought for sure this was a Muskrat, but after watching it -and another one- swim about quickly, dive and resurface, I'm pretty sure they were Mink. It's hard to tell from this photo but it was the only time it came out into the open, whereas the other one stayed underneath the overhanging tree on the creek.

Yet more new birds

This Sunday was definitely the nicer day of the weekend. It was sunny and 65º and it made for one of the nicest walks this year so far. The amount of Bird species one could see at the park seems to still be on the upswing. In this visit alone I will have positively identified 3 more species. This first one I've seen plenty of and become very familiar with. I've been seeing -and hearing- lots of Gray Catbirds for a few weeks already. They're not the most fun to look at but sure are fun to listen to. They mimic other Birds and I swear I can hear a Robin call in there among all the other noise they make. There were a pair of them just above me on the woodchip trail and I couldn't resist such a close shot. As I was making my way towards the baseball fields on the west side I noticed a bunch of small Warblers in the woods. I paused to watch and see if I could get any shots when I caught a glimpse of one with stunning colors. He, along with the others didn't sit still for very long and I caught only this very poor photo. Pretty sure it is a Chesnut sided Warbler! On the north side I spotted a larger, Robin sized Bird that did not look familiar at first glance. He was perched high up in a Willow Tree so I checked with my binoculars. It was a Red-Breasted Grosbeak, a fairly common Bird but the first one I've seen at the park. I went for my camera but I was about half a second too slow and caught him launching into flight. Between this and my next photo I saw all kinds of stuff including another Flicker, Brown-headed Cowbirds and a Green Heron. I'd walked up the edge of a pond to watch the Heron for a bit when I noticed a colorful, orange and black bird land just out to my right. I'd seen my first one only yesterday but managed to get a photo this time of an American Redstart! The Redstart is a member of the Warbler family and if you ever try to catch a photo of these types of birds, you'll understand why I'm so happy with this picture.