Birds, Butterflies and Flowers

Wow I saw a lot of great stuff this Saturday at the park! I spent roughly 3 hours casually strolling around the outer trails but got distracted by some spring wildflowers off the trail. I usually find these Violets in the same area behind the baseball diamonds on the west side where it is typically very wet and sometimes floods. As for Butterflies, I saw a few Cabbage Whites and Red Admirals which is typical for this time of year. There are also Dandelions out already which this Cabbage White Butterfly found attractive. I saw oodles of birds including numerous bright yellow American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Wood Duck, Canada Goose, lots of Mallard Chicks, American Robin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker and probably some others I'm forgetting. But possibly the most interesting bird I watched today were Black-capped Chickadees who were busy excavating a nest cavity in a dead tree. I watched both the male and female take turns going into the hole and coming out with a mouthful of wood chips. They timed it perfectly so that as soon as one would come to the entrance of the hole, the other would be ready to fly in. Their teamwork is pretty amazing and fun to watch. If you ever notice a Chickadee with wood chips on it's face, it's fairly safe to assume they've been hard at work! Oh right, I forgot to mention but the Marsh Marigold is also in bloom now near the southwest corner of the park. I just love seeing this native MN wildflower each spring as they are so colorful and short lived. I also saw numerous Painted Turtles today and also two Groundhogs as well. All in all, I took over 700 photos in total today and it was a beautiful day to observe nature :)

Spring is on the way

The park is starting to sprout up with both new foliage and new birds for the season. Here are some of my favorite photos from my hike around the lake today.

I also photographed my first-of-season (or FOS) Common Grackle. Their arrival is each Spring is usually not far away from the Red-winged Blackbirds which is generally around mid-March sometime. Later, I saw this Great Blue Heron flying over the lake which is another good sign that Spring it just around the corner! Also seen today but not pictured; Northern Cardinal, Mallard, Red-winged Blackbird and two Bald Eagles from across the lake.

First of Year Wigeon!

It was a very nice day on Saturday to visit the park. There is still a bit of snow on the ground in the shade and it being very early March, I didn't expect to see much today. For whatever reason, I decided to hike upstream along Shingle Creek from the foot bridge on the north side. I had barely gone 50 feet when there right in front of me came swimming an American Wigeon! This is a unique and beautiful duck if you can get close to one. And that is usually the problem. They are typically seen far out in the water and can be quite skittish. But that certainly was NOT the case with this one! This little duck (about 3/4 the size of a Mallard), was not shy in the least and didn't really mind my presence at all. It was a rare photographic opportunity that I wasn't about to miss out on. I followed the Wigeon slowly along the creek, moving up and back where he finally decided to jump up on the grass bank and preen himself among the Mallards. As I watched him he was noticeably assertive, even aggressive and would nip at any Mallard that came too close to him! I bet I watched him and took photos for over an hour, even calling a friend who came and met me at the park. It still feels early to be seeing new waterfowl so this was quite a special find. For some of these photos I laid flat down on my stomach on the wet grass trying to get as low an angle as I could. I'm guessing the Wigeon was a male based on the fairly colorful plumage, especially the green eye stripe. But I'm also thinking he wasn't quite in full breeding plumage yet as the green would have probably been even more bright and obvious. After sharing my photos on the Minnesota Birding facebook page, someone referred to him as a "Baldpate" which is a nickname for the duck based on it's white colored forehead. After this find I was quite pleased and really didn't try very hard for other birds. After all it was still early and very few migrants have returned yet anyways. My friend Ron enjoyed seeing the Wigeon as well and afterwards we hiked a little bit on the north side to see the Great Horned Owl reported nesting in a big Cottonwood tree. This was pointed out to me by another nature enthusiast some weeks ago and I highly doubt I would have spotted this on my own. Typically, Great Horned Owls nest in abandoned Squirrel nests. But this one chose the crook of a large tree which I think had a little depression. I have never seen an Owl nest in such a way, and the tree was so far from the trail, that one would have a hard time even seeing the Owl. We saw no sign of the male at all, though there are a lot of other large trees in the area where he could be roosting. I will have to check back periodically on this nest to see if it is successful. If it is, it will be interesting to see how the chicks manage this small space together with mom. Later the same day I actually stopped back to watch the Wigeon some more. I found him further upstream on the bank again but the low light was terrible and I only managed a few more photos worth saving. Oh yeah, I have to add this. A pair of Mallards were mating just below the bridge. Quite a sight!

Birds and Caterpillars and Mink, Oh My!

Well there are slowly but surely signs that the season is changing. There are only a few days left of February (including a leap year day) and then technically winter is over. When I say technically I mean "meteorologically" that Spring spans the months of March, April and May. I had a FOY (first of year) bird right off the bat today when I spotted a Brown Creeper making his way up a tree. I actually heard him first, which is only one of a handful of times that I've ever heard them make any noise. It was a high-pitched sound and I first thought it was a Cedar Waxwing which made me look up and find him. I didn't get a great photo but it was a good find regardless. On the duck pond was one lone Canada Goose who appeared to be soaking up the sun along the shoreline. I've seen a few small flocks moving around as of late which is another good sign. Since it was such nice light and relatively mild in temperature I decided to just stand for a while near where the water flows under the wood chip trail. In nearly no time at all, I heard a loud creature making it's way towards me. I though it was a Deer at first but I could see nothing. Then I saw a flash of white near the ground which made me thing it was a Rabbit or something. It continued toward me in a hurry and all of a sudden there appeared a Mink carrying his prey! I could hardly believe it. He stopped right in front of me on the edge of the water, likely sensing my presence but not actually seeing me. He was carrying quite a large chuck of dead animal and I'm still trying to figure out what exactly it was. It had almost white fur and reminded me of an Opossum but that seems kind of unlikely for the area. Whatever it was, it clearly lost a battle to the Mink which isn't surprising as Mink are apparently quite viscous little critters. It was one of the more interesting Mink sightings I've had at the park! Later I made my way around the remainder of the park stopping here and there for Chickadees, a male Red-bellied Woodpecker, a pair of Red-tailed Hawks and even a FOY Wooly Bear Caterpillar crossing the trail. Actually there were two caterpillars as well, just a few yards apart. Spring will be here soon!