When September Ends

After a rainy day yesterday, it was perfectly clear and sunny this Sunday. It was just a great day for a birding hike around the park and I saw plenty of them, including; Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Black-capped Chickadee, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch and even a Cooper's Hawk. One of the first interesting things I spotted was not a bird though. There were TONS of these fragile, thin mushrooms growing out of the wood chip trail on the south side. They were in clusters of 5 to 20 or so and had just the faintest hint of pale blue coloring. Many of the tops were not flat like a disc but rather flared out like a flower. I have no idea what kind they are and couldn't find any good information online either. One of the birds that I probably saw the most of today were White-throated Sparrows. They are just everywhere you can find standing weeds yet and I'm assuming they are looking for seeds in the dried up foliage. At first glance these look pretty much like any other sparrow, only just slightly larger. If you can catch a glimpse of them from the side or front, you'll see a little patch of bright yellow and a kind of "furry" looking white patch on their throat for which they are named. Here in the same patch of weeds I spotted this Goldfinch who was looking rather pale and fitting in with many of the leaves that are now just starting to turn a dull yellow.

Saturday Soaker

This Saturday it rained almost all morning. It is much needed after such a dry summer but by now it's almost too late for many plants and trees that have endured yet another hot and dry summer. After about 1:00pm or so it stopped raining and I was able to get in a walk around the park. It was completely cloudy and everything was still wet but at least my camera would stay dry. There aren't many trees showing fall colors yet but there are usually a few exceptions where immature trees turn quickly and shed a few brightly colored leaves. I figured the recent rain might really bring out the birds but instead it was somewhat quiet. One good bird I did spot was a Tennessee Warbler who was picking on the white berries of a Dogwood bush. I always wondered what birds might eat these and now I know at least one. I didn't get a good photo of him and as I approached closer he flew off, but I could definitely ID him by that unique almost iridescent olive-green coloring on his back. Other birds I saw a lot of later on were White-throated Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Black-capped Chickadees and Northern Cardinals. After spotting a small yellow bird on the north side, I happened to notice this Woolly bear Caterpillar who was actually eating on a plant. Honestly I can't say I've ever seen one actually eating a plant before, and I never really knew what they might eat. I've almost always just seen them crawling on the ground. Surprisingly he was nibbling on a common Thistle plant. It looked like maybe the plant had broken and he was eating the inside, or maybe it was the Caterpillar himself that was responsible for eating right through the stalk. Woolly Bears have a fascinating life cycle and can actually freeze completely solid through the winter before pupating the following Spring. Eventually they turn into what is called the Isabella Tiger Moth.

Another Nice Saturday in September

It was after 4:30 by the time I arrived at the park this Saturday. It was another beautiful, sunny day just right for birdwatching. Only in the past week I've begun to notice both Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers returning to our area. Only a short distance from the parking lot on the east side I spotted a few little birds in the Willows behind the baseball diamonds. I was able to get a few good looks at this Yellow-rump. I used to think all of these dull colored ones were females but now I doubt that. This one in particular, though very dull, looks to have a distinctly darker head making me think it is a male in his fall plumage but I am no expert yet. Another Warbler that I got to see today at the park is one that I'm somewhat only recently familiar with. Though I've seen this warbler in other places, I believe this is my first positive ID and photo of a Nashville Warbler at Palmer Lake Park. This one was spotted above the little creek connecting the two most western bodies of water –which is a great place to see wildlife in general. Later near the north end of the park I spotted something brightly colored moving around in the top of a Buckthorn tree and had to take a second look. It appears that someone had dumped a fair amount of apples under the trees and a Gray Squirrel was taking advantage of the plentiful meals. I've noticed piles of these same apples in a couple other places along the trail on the east side as well. I doubt that it's very good for wildlife as they can become accustomed to being fed. But for a change I'm gonna find the silver lining here and say that at least apples, corn and other food I've found at the park is at least biodegradable, and for sure better than dumping garbage in the park! On the northeast corner of the park I decided to poke around a bit in the woods where I've seen Ovenbirds in the spring, hoping I might get to see one again. They really seem to like this particular area underneath the mature cottonwood trees among all the leaf litter. I didn't see one but instead noticed a drab colored bird just a bit smaller than a Robin but with a white breast with some faint spotting. It was getting darker already by this time and even darker now under the tree canopy. I can't say for certain what bird this was but it had to be either a Veery or some kind of Thrush. Going by the prominent white eye-ring, I would be more inclined to say it was maybe a Swainson's Thrush!

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.