I can't believe how fast the month of August has gone by. It's actually been a good month for bird watching though I typically think of August as slow and quiet –second only to maybe January. And having a new lens to capture things through has also helped motivate me to be out more too. I was not disappointed again this Sunday morning. The first thing I noticed right after parking was a trio of Hawks who appeared to be playing and practicing their aeronautic skills. I don't often see two together much less three, so I followed them around for a bit.
They were young Cooper's Hawks and I'm guessing they were likely a family that were born in or near the park this year. At one point all three perched in the same dead tree but only two were close enough to get in one photo. Not much later I spotted a Green Heron again in the little pond near the south parking lot. I had a good look and photo opportunity but I'm not posting it here today as I saw a variety of other interesting things. When I got to the two dead Tamarack trees on the south wood chip trail, I could see there was a lot of bird activity in the area.
One bird that caught my eye right away was this one with a white eye-ring which I believe to be a Nashville Warbler. This is a plentiful warbler in the spring but for some reason I've only spotted them at the park during fall migration. I thought it seemed a bit early but indeed Fall Migration has already begun for many birds near the 3rd week in August. The next Warbler presented itself in much better light in the same area but down near eye level. This Common Yellowthroat is clearly a male due to it's black mask but does not look quite like the others I've seen this summer. My
Stokes Field Guide to Warblers indicates it as a "Fall immature male."
I really love how this photo turned out except for the one little twig cutting in front of the bird. It otherwise would have been up there in my best photos of the year. And if a "Fall immature male" wasn't enough, I also spotted a Black-and-white Warbler today which very clearly means that birds are heading back south again. I had a tough time catching a photo of this one as it bounced crazily from one place to the next just as they do in the spring searching for caterpillars and insects. This one had quite a bit of white coloring versus black meaning that it could either be a female or possibly another immature male.
Black-and-white's are one of my favorite Warblers as they are so distinct in color and behavior from other Warblers. Though they forage at a ferocious pace like others, they are the only Warbler to walk up and down –and often upside down– on a bare tree trunk, much like a Nuthatch does. Oh I almost forgot but on the north side of the park today I spotted a HUGE frog sunning himself right out on the paved trail. I haven't seen a frog this large in quite some time. It was about as big as my hand. Because of this I thought maybe it was a Bullfrog.
But later I learned that Bullfrogs are found only in southeastern Minnesota in Winona and Houston counties. It took a fellow flickr user to point out that this was a "Green Frog" which is Minnesota's 2nd largest frog. The main distinguishing factor was that this frog had "lateral folds" of skin along it's back, which a Bullfrog does not have. And I also learned that a Green Frog is not always green in color as it's name implies. While taking photos, a biker came along and I wanted to make sure the frog didn't get run over. The biker stopped to have a look and the frog suddenly hopped right through the spokes in the rear wheel of the bicycle and into the grass. I wanted to share one last photo here of a Wood Duck on the east side. He was perched in a dead branch above the little pond there and I snuck my way into the woods just far enough to get a look without scaring him off. This year I've learned that what may look like a juvenile male could also be a mature male in what is called "eclipse plumage" which is a fancy name for non-breeding plumage.
Meaning that after breeding age they start to lose some of their brilliant coloring. I'm no expert but after studying my
Stokes Guide I would say that this duck is still a juvenile but quite far along. It still has indications of a light eyebrow or streaking behind the eye which should not be visible on an adult.
I only just learned this species earlier this spring so I was happy to see one again and even happier to get a decent photo! I kept creeping through the grass which led me to the edge of the woods on the other side of the field. Here I found kind of a neat area that I've only maybe walked through one other time. It is an interesting part of the park with a bit of diverse habitat. Here I started to see other birds flying about and I quickly picked up on one that I've been trying to find again since last week –a Swainson's Thrush. By this time the evening sun was casting an warm, orange glow on everything which to me is ideal light for photographs. I tried and tried and tried to get close to the Thrush but he would quickly move further away from me each time, so I had to settle on this photo which is quite cropped. 
I didn't actually see his backside or tail which is the best way to differentiate the various species of Thrush. I can't be 100% but since my good birder friend pointed out a Swainson's Thrush to me only yesterday, odds are best that this is also a Swainson's. In this same area I was seeing some even smaller birds flitting about, some moving quickly which would usually indicate a Warbler. Indeed, I spotted a Yellow-rumped Warbler and then suddenly a flash of bright yellow appeared. This was too bright for a Kinglet so it also had to be some kind of Warbler. To my surprise it was a Nashville Warbler as indicated by it's gray "hood" and sharp white eye-ring. 
I think I saw more Nahsville's this year in the park than in all previous years. But I think my identification skills are getting better too. Or at least I hope they are! Regardless, this was one pretty bird to see yet nearly one week into the month of October.
