Rain Soaked Saturday with Great Birds!

I'd been looking forward to this Saturday as a new kayaking adventure but of course no sooner than I'd thrown them in my truck did it start to rain. I went ahead anyway and got on the freeway but hit such bad traffic that I ended up turning around and going home. So I actually hadn't planned to go to the park today but found myself there anyway. By the time I arrived the rain had actually quit altogether allowing me to use my newer camera so that was a plus. I saw a good variety of birds today and the very first bird I spotted right after getting out of my truck was an Eastern Bluebird. A number of other birds seemed to be just sitting quietly in the treetops -maybe waiting out the rain. As I spotted a Goldfinch and started taking photos I noticed a much larger bird sitting even lower and closer to me that I overlooked. It was a Brown Thrasher and although he was more or less above me, I had a great view of him. On the northwest side of the park I spotted a bird in the trees up ahead that was facing away from me. What made me notice the bird were the striking white edges of his back feathers. He was quite a ways away but looking at him through my camera lens I seemed to notice an almost blueish-grey colored head. My first thought was possibly and Eastern Phoebe but it was too large and slender looking. Then when it changed positions I was startled to see two bright colors -a rich, rusty red brown on it's wings and also a fairly bright yellow underbelly! This was unlike any bird I've seen before I really could not place it. It flew off and I was so intrigued that I tried to follow it. I did spot it one more time but the lighting was so terrible that I wasn't even sure if it was the same bird. After doing some searching online and comparing lots of photos, I'm pretty confident in saying that what I saw was a Great Crested Flycatcher! This is a brand new bird for me and quite a fun sighting to see something new. On the north side I took my sweet-old-time looking for Hummingbirds among all the patches of Jewelweed. I finally did spot hovering out of the corner of my eye and when I went for a photo it was gone. Periodically I would see one here and there but they just weren't sticking around long enough before finding some thick tree to perch in for a break. Then finally I saw where one had landed in a Buckthorn tree above the Jewelweed and I was able to get a photo. They are so neat to see and I never get tired of watching them. Later just before the bridge over Shingle Creek, I'd spotted a brown furry creature moving around on the ground underneath the wet green foliage. At first I thought it was a Vole which I've not seen in a while so I started to follow it for a better look. When it popped out into an opening in the brush I was surprised to see that it was not a Vole or Mouse but a tiny brown bird! It scurried along the ground weaving in an out of the green plants nearly like a mouse might do. It's coloring was almost like a leaf with a tightly speckled pattern that made it blend in to the ground quite well. This bird was so tiny that it could have fit in the palm of my hand. I wasn't sure but my first instinct -especially because it was on the ground was that it was a fledgeling of some kind. I followed it for quite a ways and when I would be perfectly still, it would come right out into the open. That is when I noticed just how small or underdeveloped it's wings and tail were. The tail feathers especially were so short that it was hardly visible. Strictly going by it's mottled patterning I was thinking maybe it was a Wren. I know it's not a Sparrow because of it's long slender bill. I honestly still can't say for sure what it is but my next best guess it that it might be a Brown Creeper -maybe a fledgling.

Just Wouldn't Rain

I'd procrastinated all morning about visiting the park today because there was supposed to be a 70% of rain. Well it never seemed to materialize so I finally decided to get in my hike just after 2:00pm. It was quite overcast so I brought a large plastic zip-lock bag to fit over my new camera just in case. It looks pretty stupid but it works. Upon arriving on the east side I noticed the Barn Swallows zooming all over the baseball fields. I tried to catch a photo mid-flight which seemed to be near impossible. So instead I waited for a few of the to perch on top of the chain link fence behind home plate, then stand up on the bleachers for a closer view. They are such colorful birds when you get to see them being still. A bit later I noticed a small yellow bird in the thick trees just inside the trail. The fact that it was moving quickly around inside was actually a good thing because it gave me a few chances to see it through various openings in the foliage. As I was shooting it I could hardly tell what it was but I suspected it was a female Common Yellowthroat. It quickly withdrew further back into the thick foliage and I lost it. Just after crossing the bridge over Shingle Creek on the north side, I heard a loud call that I recognized as a Pileated Woodpecker and when I looked up I caught a glance of him flying through the trees. I often forget how cool -and large- these birds are and I decided to pursue a photo as I doubled back towards him. I would have to trek through the woods to get closer and decided it would likely make too much noise before I got close. About this time I spotted a second one and decided to go up further to the grassy field and then see if I could still see them. I then heard them call again but this time it was closer to the bridge so I went back again. As soon as I stepped onto the bridge, one of them flew right out onto a fallen tree that was hanging in the creek. I didn't even notice at first but the other one was also there, below the tree and drinking from the creek. This was a pretty unique sight I thought as I've never seen a Pileated drinking water, much less even near water! After the first one finished, the second one scooted down the tree (backwards) and into the same spot for a drink. I could see that they were both males from the red mustache behind their bill. Despite the lack of sun today it was actually quite nice out. The temp was mild, near or below 70º which is quite a change from the 90º+ days that we've had all summer long. I was thoroughly enjoying the rest of my hike when I spotted yet another bird that always is a joy to see. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird zoomed just out of my field of view over a nice big patch of Jewelweed plants. Luckily I spotted where he landed in some taller trees and then waited for him to come back down and feed some more. It didn't take long before I had a decent view of him hovering in mid air straight out from me about 20 feet. They can hover in such precise positions that sometimes I thought I was seeing something else like a leaf or something. Then the bird would move and I realized that I should have gotten my camera on him sooner! I got in a few shots before he perched again in some taller trees over the Jewelweed for another rest. Typically by this time of year I've seen a lot more Hummingbirds in the park and they really seem to be somewhat lower in numbers this year.

A Wet and Humid Sunday

This Sunday morning it had been raining just enough to get everything wet and also deter me from taking out my new camera. The new one is just too big (with the lens) to easily cover it up under my clothing to keep it dry if need be. So the only way I was going to get around the park today was with my much smaller and older point and shoot. When I arrived at the park the sky was still overcast and drizzling so I wrapped my raincoat around my waist in case the rain got heavy. The first thing I ran into was a Doe on the south side that other park goers were pointing out. She was right alongside the trail and I got some OK pics but it made me realize once again just how tricky my old camera really was. Unless using a tripod or leaning against something solid it's just very hard to get crisp and sharp details. I noticed that all the foliage had nice drops of moisture on them and figured I might try to focus more on that and other closeup shots -the one thing my old camera does very well! This first one is of raindrops on a Spotted Jewelweed (touch-me-not) plant. I really like the how the drops were glistening in the sun. Oh I forgot to mention that not even 1/4 of the way around, the sky cleared up completely and it began to warm up quickly, making my raincoat pretty pointless to have brought with. On the north side, in the same area I always look for them, I finally caught my first closeup glimpse of a Hummingbird this year. I've seen them already from distances, but not feeding low to the ground like this one. He was also feeding on the Jewelweed flowers and I snapped a few photos while he took just a quick break. It's neat to see Hummingbirds in action but I think it's also neat to see them perched. You really get an idea of just how small they are! Later I spotted another Doe and this time with two young fawns. They were back aways from the trail and I really couldn't get any decent photos. They fawns were quite young and still short enough hide well under the tall weeds. The wet and humid weather had brought out the Dragonflies, Turtles and even Toads. I caught this one on the edge of the paved trail.

Last Day of June and First Hummingbird

This Saturday I arrived at the park just after 8:00am to a bright, sunny and cloudless day. I can't believe today is the last day of June already. April, May and June are probably my favorite months now after discovering birding and spring migration. After that it's a little downhill on the birding front for a while. I've not been seeing a lot of Deer lately and in fact I'd really expected to see some newborn Fawns by now. I did catch one this morning shortly after coming round the south side. I thought it made kind of a cool picture because you can the park and street signage in the background. At the railroad ties on the edge of the lake, a flock of unidentified birds were zooming around it a circle, dipping below the edge of the cattails and then coming back up. They were moving too fast for me to make out but they were something I knew I've never seen in the park before. I had a faint idea but it wasn't until I caught a mid-flight photo that I could confirm they were indeed Rock Pigeons! This was such a weird sight to see at Palmer Lake Park. I usually only see Pigeons in more populated areas under bridges and such -not in a more natural area like the park. Just one of them was of a very different color, being more brown and white versus gray. Later I saw a few Crows up ahead and I decided to take few photos only because they were close and in just the right light to see a lot of feather details. Crows, like European Starlings are incredibly tough to photograph because they are so dark. This is probably as much detail as I'd ever seen on a Crow I figured I would post it today. Going round the north side I spotted a tiny little bird on the tip of a dead branch and had to do a double-take. This is the first Hummingbird I've spotted all season though I've been on the lookout for them all this month. Though I've definitely seen them earlier in the park, this date falls right in line with the majority of my Hummingbird sightings. The most common timing to first notice them at the Park is either the last week of June or the first week in July.

Second Sunday in September

Today was Sunday, September 11th and the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attack. I honestly can't believe it's been that long. In retrospect I think about all the time that's gone by and all the outdoor activities I've enjoyed since -hiking, biking, kayaking, snowshoeing etc and I'm thankful for every minute of it. Today you could feel the pending seasonal change in the air, even though it was a bright, sunny day. Small hints of autumn such as an occasional discolored tree or a Woolly-bear caterpillar could be found if you were on the lookout for them. As I passed along the north corner, I noticed a huge hoard of nymph Boxelder Bugs on -you guessed it- a Boxelder tree. I've seen these every year, around the same time, on the very same tree in fact, and I'm always amazed at the swarming mass of bugs. Only just a few hundred feet later I came upon what I call "Hummingbird Heaven," where the trail begins a long, straight shot north. There I was lucky enough to catch another few -possibly last- glimpses of Hummingbirds this season. They are likely "fueling up" now for their long, long migratory trip back to Central America. I'm amazed that these little birds, weighing 2-3 grams can travel such long distances. My later sights included some Mallards on the creek, a Hawk, Cardinal and some unknown, large beetle crossing the paved path. I tried to get photos of this large beetle but he was moving at a pace faster than the average Wal-mart shopper and my camera couldn't focus in time. I did spot a Bald Eagle not too much later but my final photo-pick of the day was luckily not moving at all. This colorful leaf -from I don't know what kind of plant- was sporting some amazingly contrasting color with stripes of solid white in between it's blended veins of yellow and green. I though it was a perfect summary of what out season is like right now, with balanced signs of summer and autumn.

Sights of September

After trying and trying to catch a photo of a Hummingbird last week, I finally succeeded this Sunday morning. Again, they were in the same place on the north west side of the park -right before the long, straight stretch of the path. Here there are plenty of flowering shrubs including Jewelweed (or touch-me-nots) which I got to watch them feeding on. With the temps having dropped considerably over the week, I was kind of surprised to see them still around. The previous latest date I've recorded seeing one at the park was August 18th. Despite the cooler temps, I'd never before seen so many Hummingbirds and so much activity. I think there were at least 3 pairs of them that I could see at the same time. Once in a while two would hover close together and make a kind of "chatter" noise before flying off chasing each other. Some even came up very close to me but despite my best efforts I just couldn't snap a picture before they buzzed away. I must have watched them for close to 30 minutes, in which time my best chances for photos were when they would perch for only a second or two before flying off again. I was almost all the way back around again before I spotted something of interest. This time it was a bird I'd never noticed before at the park. This long-legged bird was actually walking right on top of some "pond-scum" that had built up along Shingle Creek where it empties back out of Palmer Lake. It bobbed it's tail up and down constantly making for quite a comical display as it poked it's bill here and there among the mucky water. I'm not too familiar with "shore birds" but I guessed correctly that it was a Spotted Sandpiper -the first new species I've identified in quite a while.

Great Day of Birding

It was another warm day this Sunday but I got a slightly earlier start than yesterday. Even so I was eager to head into the cover of trees on the southwestern wood chip trail. About half way up the trail I spotted a large Hawk perched and facing directly towards me. From this vantage point I couldn't see it's tail or backside and it was also hard to tell the coloring as I was looking into the sun. Interestingly it was sitting on one leg with the other tucked in towards it's breast. Based on it's size and what little I could see, I would guess that it's a Red-tailed Hawk. It's head and beak looked too large for a Cooper's Hawk. He quickly flew off before I could definitively ID him although I still struggle with Hawks in general. As I made my way around I was able to positively ID a fairly long list of other birds including a Cedar Waxwing, Downy Woodpecker, Brown-headed Cowbird, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, Crow, Common Grackle, Northern Flicker, Cardinal, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Osprey and even a Blue Jay. The best bird sighting of the day however was the first Hummingbird of the season. On top of that it was smack dab in the place where I've been expecting one to be. I've been scanning the tops of these 4 or 5 dead trees on the northeast side for weeks hoping to see one and finally got lucky today. I got off one shot and as I was taking the 2nd, I could see him take off already. Luckily the camera went off not a moment too soon. Hopefully I will start to see them more often now. Another slightly interesting sighting was at the end of my walk right before I was about to head to my vehicle. This bird had a slightly larger and fuzzier head than most which is what caught my eye. It perched on a small branch and then would dart out for just a second before returning. I'm assuming it was catching insects and this behavior matches up with the description for an Eastern Phoebe.

Two visits in one day

Yep, I finally did it -I visited the park twice in one day. The first was just before 8:00am as I had taken a "mental health day" off from work. Over the weekend, the temperature itself had cooled down considerably, but surprisingly the humidity has stayed. As I was making my way to the north end of the park I stopped to spy on a couple of Grey Catbirds when I suddenly noticed a Humming bird buzzing around the same bushes. He stayed perched just long enough for one pic. Though it's not a great one, I was extremely pleased to finally capture their bright green-blue feathers. Shortly after, a second one came hovering by and they flew off together. Besides a couple Green Herons, there weren't many photo opps other than this small toad who'd hopped out onto the path. You gotta be careful lately to watch where you walk as there's no shortage of them with the recent wet weather. Later in the day I decided I'd up my daily mileage (I'm a big pedometer fan) and go for a jog. I figured I'd run with camera in hand JUST in case I spotted something like a big buck. As it turned out, I saw just that. Two of them in fact, were drinking water from a drainage ditch near the north side. Both had nice big velvety antlers but my camera was not cooperating due to the dim light. This is the best pic I caught -which I even lightened up slightly to show more detail.

More Winged Wildlife

It's close to two months ago now that I spotted a Humming bird in the park. I saw another one in the very same tree some time later but today I saw one a bit closer in a different part of the park. This one was on the northwest side but still perched high up in a dead tree. I'm used to seeing them only at feeders hovering in flight so it's neat to see them just sitting there on a branch out in the wild. You really get an idea of just how small they are. A lot of people jogging or biking by must have wondered what in the world was so interesting as I'm sure they didn't even notice it. Each time I've spotted one I thought it was just an old leaf still clinging to a branch. I'm not sure if the sun is making their colors hard to see or if maybe I'm only seeing females. I figured their bright red and green colors would be a bit more noticeable -but maybe I'm still to far away. These pics were still taken at maximum zoom. Only once did it buzz around for a bit before landing again. One thing I did notice this time is that their eyes seem to be situated kind of weird compared to other birds -more near the top of their head I would say. Later on the east side I had my first decent opportunity for a photo of an American Goldfinch. Though a common bird I see often, they just don't sit still for very long. There were two males bouncing around inside some thick bushes -which actually allowed me to sneak in closer without scaring them away. Again today, I saw another large Black Swallowtail Butterfly. Since getting a decent photo yesterday I watched only for a short time before moving on. When I did I spotted two Yellow Swallowtails together. These were both attracted to a muddy patch left by recent rains so I was able to walk right up behind this one for a quick pic.

Quiet evening, one new bird

The last couple of days were overcast with slight rain and this evening was the same. I couldn't believe how dead the park was. It was just quiet as heck -even the birds weren't moving. Then bam, like someone turned off the faucet, the sky cleared up in the west and sun bolted through lighting up the horizon. It was pretty late in the day though and for the most part, nature seemed to be still asleep. Upon rounding the northeast corner though, I spotted what I thought was a dead leaf still clinging to the top of a bare tree. When it didn't seem to change direction correctly with the wind, I realized it must be a SMALL bird. Only after zooming in all the way with my camera did I recognize the long skinny beak and realize it was a Hummingbird! This was pretty cool to see way up in the treetops and not anywhere near a feeder. One tends to only see these birds within the vicinity of a nectar feeder where they are easy to spot. It's amazing how small they are when you can place them in the same woods as other birds. Later at the south side I spotted my first Monarch Caterpillar in years. As a kid I used to go out and harvest these by the dozens, feeding them in a small aquarium and watching them cocoon and hatch into butterflies. Seems like there are fewer and fewer of them these days so it was fun to spot this one -less than an inch long yet.