Here Goes September

September is definitely one of the best months to be outside in Minnesota. The weather is (typically) starting to cool off and the hours of daylight each day is hardly getting shorter -at least not noticeably yet. I started off the month with an early morning visit to the park arriving about 7am. Right off the bat I noticed a very interesting bird -that at the time I had no clue of what it could be, only that it was likely some Warbler I'm not yet familiar with. I caught a decent picture of it hoping around in a grapevine and decided I would try to ID it later on. Well, about this time I started getting too busy at work and even at home and started letting all my park photos pile up quickly on my desktop. I am actually writing this post much later and as it so happens I would see this species one more time -making me really wonder what the heck it was. After coming back to it periodically, I've determined that it is in fact a Magnolia Warbler! And more precisely, it is an immature in "Non-breeding Plumage" which was yet another aspect making it more difficult to identify. The great thing about the internet as it relates to birding, is that once you get an idea of what something "might be," you can just look up hundreds of other images for comparison to yours. And funny enough when I did, that the photo that resembled mine the most came from a fellow birder in my same area: Ecobirder. The next thing I saw I was really not expecting, and it only was there for a split second, making it seem all that more unique. As I was rounding the west side of the park near the outfields of the baseball diamonds. I caught a larger bird out of the corner of my eye land in a tall dead tree high up above me. I instinctively swung around to snap a photo and realized it was an American Kestral! I've not positively ID'd one at the park since April of 2011 so it was quite a nice sighting. Then as soon as he had landed, he took off and I was unable to follow where he went. I didn't even have a chance for a better photo but still very cool to have seen one again! Later on the north end of the park, a Doe had wandered out onto the trail and was lazily grazing along the edges. She was far up ahead of me and I just had a feeling that maybe some Fawns were with her. Sure enough they too popped out onto the trail and this is when I decided to try and get in closer. Both mom and the kids were just curious enough about me to let me approach fairly close and let me and even other people coming by just watch them for a while. I ended up taking a whole lot of photos of just one or the other Fawn as they munched on everything green, but this was my favorite photo of the day.

Some Good Sights

This Saturday I arrived at the park just after 11am. It was about 24º and overcast. I bundled up a bit more than normal but I'm still far from having to get out my heavy winter jacket. Though I took just 13 photos in all today, some good sights were seen. The first was this Deer on the southwest side of the park -a place not all that popular for Deer as it's pretty close to the road -West Palmer Lake Drive. I could tell it was a young one by it's face -being slightly more chubby looking, or something I can't put my finger on just yet. Notice the trash laying on the ground? It's an all-too-familiar sight for myself and the Deer alike. As I came up to the northwest corner, I no more than thought about the possibility of seeing a Shrike again than I looked out across the cattails and spotted one! Though my experience with Shrikes is still very limited, I can point out a couple of tidbits for someone who might be on the lookout to spot one; In the winter months, look for bird about the same size and shape as a Robin. Look for it to be perched at the very top-most part of the tree -the highest up you can go. Look for a bird seeming to have "no legs" like it has been "stabbed onto" the tree like a marshmallow on a stick. Finally look for a "bluish-grey" coloring accented by a black wing and a long tail. And if you're close enough, a black mask across the eyes and a hooked bill. My goal this winter is to get much closer to one and catch a better photo of this fascinating "predatory songbird." Not too much later I passed a larger group of people than I would normally see on a day like today. I quickly realized the group included 2 friends of mine who were participating in the annual "Christmas Bird Count" put on by the Audubon Society. I was happy to realize Palmer Lake Park was being included in this highly regarded program and hope to get involved myself soon in similar programs that help record and tally bird species. Later on the east side I spotted a small group of about 10 birds making an unusually cheerful, spring-like noise. After I spotted a flash of white on the rump I realized they were Juncos. They were already closer than I can normally get to them so I stepped off the trail and into the woods just a bit to see if I could get closer. Here and there one would land closely for just a split second before flying off. I listened to the group's short "twittering" sound and tried hard to remember it. I also noticed that a few Sparrows were among the group of Juncos. Later I spotted a bird along the mouth of Shingle Creek with a dull yellowish color and my only guess is that it was an American Goldfinch. I will have to investigate further.

A good walk soured by stupidity

Today was my last visit to the park this October and the weather is still warmer than normal. I hope it lasts even longer. I arrived just after 8am and the sky was a hazy mix of overcast and spots of orange sunshine trying to break through. My walk was rather quiet and uneventful until I go all the way to the north side just before the bridge where I spotted a Doe and two Fawns. I was glad to see that the trio has so far been spared by the archery hunt that had started at the beginning of the month. I later spotted a large Hawk in a tree across the park -too far for a good picture. As I was making my way around the southeast side I noticed some containers among the cattails about 10 feet off the trail. They looked to be full of dark liquid and I thought to myself "no way would someone toss out used oil in a park." I had to find out for sure so I walked into the cattails, stepping into wet muddy places where my shoes sank halfway. Sure enough, I found multiple gallon containers filled to the brim with used motor oil!!! I could not believe it. I was torn with feeling both anger and disappointment, trying my hardest to figure out why someone would do something so inconsiderate. With how much discussion of environmental concerns that our society has on a regular basis now, the person who did this must either be completely oblivious to all media; extremely uneducated, or have a personal vendetta against something that I don't understand. With a still overwhelming feeling of disbelief, I picked up as many jugs as I could find and brought them to the path. Luckily the caps were still on and holding most of the oil inside. Sadly there were more than pictured here, and I even fished another full gallon out of the water on the opposite side of the trail! As I was gathering up all of these jugs, an older gentleman on a bike came by and decided to help me bring them to the nearest trash can. He then volunteered to call the City to tell them what we had found & have them pick it up. I felt a bit better at this point, thinking -and hoping- that the majority of people would recognize this action as a mistake and try to correct it. I thought about how upset this made me and how minute of an event it was in comparison the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year. The problem with some of the mistakes we make on such a large scale, is that they might never be corrected. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

Milder start to August

We've finally caught a break from our hot and humid weather. Both the temps and dew points have dropped considerably making it actually comfortable to be outside again. Also we've had no rain for more than 4 or 5 days, so I was able to take the wood chip trails again. As I got onto the first one from the south side, I quickly realized how overgrown things had become. The trail was almost grown shut from both sides with tall Thistle and other weeds. It was somewhere in here I think that I noticed this Dragonfly with a nice bright red tail. I couldn't get a photo of him from the other side but was happy with the detail in the wings. It was right about then that I was getting seriously bit-up by mosquitoes so I had to keep moving. When I got to the north side, I stopped near the flowering bushes where I'd seen Hummingbirds before. I quickly noticed a flash of orange and realized I'd just seen an American Redstart dart off into the taller trees. I waited for a bit with my camera ready and he came back again for just a few seconds. I snapped this quickly and the focus wasn't quite ready but I'm happy just to have captured one again! I noticed later too that he actually has something in his beak. Not sure if it was food or something to build a nest with. Later in the shadier part of the northeast side I spotted the pair of Fawns again. They seem to be in this area a lot and don't even seem to mind the people watching them. One of the two looked right at me before deciding to lay down for a while. I could just barely still see his gigantic ears through the weeds. The other lazily munched on some green leaves with his back to me. I waited for a while for a better angle but the Fawn was more interested in leaves than it was with me.

Hot Hot Hot

It was nearly 12:30 in the afternoon by the time I arrived at the park this Sunday. It was extremely hot and humid today and I'm learning that I deal better with cold temps than I do with hot. During my entire walk today all I could think about was how hot I was! Minnesota doesn't just get hot but it also gets some pretty extreme humidity -sometimes much worse than even Florida. With the hot temps I really didn't see much for the first half of my walk. When I came to the footbridge over Shingle Creek on the north side, I stopped in my normal spot to take a photo of the creek. I rested my arms on the metal railing as usual but pulled them off quickly as I nearly burned myself on the hot metal! There was a female Wood Duck with quite a few ducklings on north side of the bridge and I almost envied them floating along in the cool water. Not too much later on the northeast side, I spotted a Doe quite close to the edge of the trail. I watched behind her and quickly noticed a pair of fawns trailing behind. A lot of times when I encounter Deer very closely at the park I will crouch on my knees and lower myself to appear shorter and smaller. Surprisingly this has worked to my advantage time after time and generally the Deer will either pay me no mind or even walk closer towards me. This was the case again today as the Doe walked almost within arms reach of me. The Fawns followed right behind but scanned the crossing well before venturing across. Each Fawn was only in plain sight for just seconds before they jumped across the trail. I tried for some more photos at this point but they were already moving so fast that I wasn't able to focus very well. Later in my walk I spotted an Indigo Bunting but was not able to get a photo. I stalked it for a little while, listening to it's call and trying to devise a pattern in my head to remember if I heard it again. I remember it seemed to have 7 notes with an emphasis on the first 2 but I will have to look it up and see if indeed I was listening to the correct bird.

Good Summertime Walk

I arrived at the park just after 9:30am this Saturday. It was already warming up to near 80º and I wondered what I would see if anything. There are fields of tiny yellow wildflowers near the south side that stretch quite a ways out towards the middle of the park now. These areas can look more yellow than green. As I was looking closer at one of the flowers I noticed this white moth on the underside of a flower clump. I think these are the same common white moths that never seem to stay still so I took advantage and grabbed a photo. Later on the wood chip trail I noticed a few Dragonflies with almost a bright yellow body. I'm paying a bit more attention to them now after learning just a few varieties recently. There were two of this color hanging out together and it took me a while to sneak in close enough for a photo without scaring them away. I will have to learn what this variety is called. On the northeast side I ran into another park-goer who was obviously watching something outside of the trail. I spotted two Fawns right away as they were not that far off the trail and heading slowly closer. These are the first pair of Fawns I've seen this year and they are quite big already -much bigger than the small ones I'd spotted in the month of June a couple years back. I waited patiently for a good photo but had the toughest time getting a clear shot as the pair were still shorter than most of the surrounding foliage. It's a bit darker in this area too and I just couldn't steady my camera long enough to focus well. As I was heading back to the south side I heard a bird call that I can now easily recognize clearly as a Common Yellowthroat. I scanned the spindly young Willow trees surrounding the little pond and eventually found him there. I'm not sure what it is about Willow trees but I've found Yellowthroats there more often than anywhere else. Sometimes the Willow leaves can look almost the same color yellow so I wonder if it is just a safe place to roost for them. I wonder about why this bird has such a dark coloring right across it's eye. I have a feeling it is an adaptation of being most active in the bright summer sunshine.

New month

April has finally arrived and it feels good to have the snowiest months behind us now. The early morning temps are still below freezing so I had dressed accordingly warm. The big difference now is that temperatures can climb up into the mid 40's before I make it around. So there I was today in my heavy winter jacket and stocking cap while joggers ran by me in shorts. From the parking lot I noticed a group of black and white Ducks on the far end of the lake. I assumed they were more Goldeneyes but when I looked closer I could not see the white patch on the head. Then I realized they were Common Mergansers. I'd only ever seen one single female last fall so these were the first males I've spotted at the park. On the southwest side I noticed Pussy Willows blooming and speckling the horizon with bright white dots. The trees should be budding any day now too. The last few weeks has been good for Deer sightings and I'm averaging about 10-12 every walk. Today was about the same but the first ones I saw were also being admired by a lot of other park goers within just feet of the trail. All 3 looked like young ones and they were tilting their heads in the air trying to smell me.

Vernal Equinox 2011

Today is a day we Minnesotans have been awaiting for close to 4 months -the first day of Spring! Though we're not out of the woods yet with snowfall, this winter season finished in 6th place -I believe- in the top snowiest winters on record. Overnight we had a fair amount of rain that has helped deplete our deep snow pack. Not counting snowbanks that were piled high all season, the only measurable snow now can be found in shaded areas or in thicker woods. On the north side that's where I spotted this one lone Deer that appeared to be a yearling. Later I spotted 3 others bedded down in the snow. I also noticed Canada Geese as well as just two Ring-billed Gulls stand out on the ice. From the parking lot I snapped this long range pic of the Gull in flight with one of 7 more Deer below it.

Here a Deer, there a Deer

This evening was my first after-work visit to the park since last September due to the fact that Daylight Savings Time kicked in over the weekend. I was pretty excited about it too as the sky was mostly sunny with a temperature just shy of 40 degrees! I spotted 3 Deer fairly early into my walk, just behind the baseball diamonds on the west side. Little did I know just how many more I would see. When I got to the foot bridge on the north side, I was curious to see how much more ice had gone off the creek. I looked upstream and noticed at least 10 or more Deer standing out on the thin ice! It was hard to get a count of them cause they were spread out and moving all over the place. Most seemed to be quite interested in drinking the standing water while a few other boisterously darted up and down the banks of the creek. As the group slowly meandered across the creek and into the field near the townhomes, a whole other group of 10 or more Deer started to appear behind them! They too were fascinated by the creek and almost seemed to be "playing chicken" with the thin ice. Many would dart right out to the very edge and then dig in their heels (or hooves) and almost skid right up to the edge of the very thinnest ice. I knew it would happen sooner or later so I was ready for it and caught this moment when one of them broke through. It made quite an awful sound but the Deer kicked and bucked it's way right out in only a few seconds. In all I witnessed this happen three times. I was laughing to myself and thinking this must be what Deer do for fun. I could barely drag myself away but the sun was going down quick so I headed back, assuming I'd just seen every Deer in the whole park. I was wrong though when I noticed a group of 4 more about ten minutes later. These two posed for a quick photo for me. I was rushing by this time, trying to get to an open field to catch the nice sunset that I'd seen setting up through the trees. As soon as I got around the edge of the woods, I just walked out across the snow into an open area. Right as I was framing my shot, I could see something running across the field in my peripheral view. So I waited just a bit before snapping the shutter and caught the first of 5 more Deer heading into the sunset. So basically, I couldn't even take a photo tonight without a Deer in it!!! I figured this a few different ways but I estimate on the conservative side that I saw at least 32 Deer in one visit this evening!

Long Sunday hike

Today was Superbowl Sunday and another typical Minnesota Winter day. I feel like I haven't seen the sun in weeks now because it seriously only clears up during the work week -while I'm stuck inside the office. I might have discovered where the Mink went as I noticed a whole bunch of small cat-like footprints on the frozen water on the southwest side. When I went to take a photo of the tracks, I realized I forgot my memory card! Luckily I had a spare in my camera case but it was super small and would hold only 16 photos. On the north side I noticed one deer way back in the woods near the town homes bordering the park. I decided to walk into the woods upon finding a nicely worn Deer path and headed directly toward him. As I got closer I could see that there were four of them, two Does and two Fawns. They were in some pretty thick stuff and stayed more or less in single file, likely due to the deep snow and the narrow path they had. The Deer trail worn into the deep snow split off in many directions but would often merge back with the main trunk. With all the activity I soon began to think that it might be a good place to look for shed Antlers. So I found myself on quite a long hike following the weaving trails that took me to some places of the park I've never ventured before. The trails were narrow but packed down enough to hold even my weight. However, if I accidentally planted my foot just inches off the trail, my leg would go crashing through the snow up to my waist! When I eventually made it back onto the paved path, I heard an Owl calling from a close distance. I looked behind me to realize I'd hiked right past him, probably because I was focusing more on the trail. He was pretty close so I trudged right through some untrodden snow to get closer. This proved to be pretty difficult as I was again up to my waist in snow with every step. He was facing the opposite way at first but eventually turned around to face me. As he did so I caught a closer display of their large talons than I've ever witnessed before. It's no wonder they can scoop up small mammals as they almost have hooks on the end of their feet.

A December To Remember

Earlier this month I realized I was inching ever closer to my record number of visits in one month. That was 13 visits back in May. Since then I set a goal of hitting 15 and today I even exceeded that with 16 visits in one month! -a new record that I doubt I will ever top. And it was a good visit on top of it as I was to see my first Barred Owl of the season. He was perched among the thick trees on the north side after the bridge. This is the area of the park where I'd first spotted a Barred Owl and I've come to look for them here ever since. I was just as amazed today as I was the first time, at how well they are camouflaged in this area. Even though I knew right where he was, I found myself having trouble finding him again every time I took my camera off him. He stayed there a long, long time, long enough for me to have a whole conversation with another bird watcher about Owls and Hawks and winter bird watching. Later down the trail, I spotted just two Deer heading out from the middle of the park. It was one Doe followed by one Fawn through the snowbanks right out onto the trail. The Doe paused for just a second on the trail, allowing this one picture before trotting off with the Fawn trailing behind her. I'd seen and photographed so much this month, including big Bucks, Eagles, Owls, Coyotes and Blizzards and it will definitely be a December to remember!

Another Warm Day

It was warm again this Wednesday with temps reaching just over 40º in the afternoon. With some of the snow starting to melt it was one of the first times I ventured off onto the south side wood chip trail. About half way in, I looked up to notice a big Owl in the trees not too far from me. Upon not seeing his face, I thought it was the first time I'd ever walked up behind an Owl without him seeing me. As I started taking pictures, his head swiveled around and I realized he was in fact perched with his breast toward me. When he realized how close I was he got visibly anxious and flew off pretty quickly afterward. At the north side I decided to walk down the other trail again where I'd seen the Deer yesterday. Again there were a whole bunch of them near the creek and it was tough to count them all as some were close and other further back. As I stood there getting my camera out, a Doe and two Fawns decided to venture out much closer to me. You can see how deep the snow still is even after two days of melting.

Rare Sun and Warmth

Today was seriously the nicest day I think we've had so far this December. The sun was out in full blast and the temps (in the sun) shot up to slightly over 40 degrees! Considering how crummy this December has been, it was a breath of fresh air. I ended up taking just a couple of pics by the time I was well past the bridge on the north side. I thought I'd heard an Owl down another paved entrance to the park so I went to check it out. Instead I found this male Cardinal that was holding so still I actually thought he was fake for a second. As I wandered further down the new trail I spotted 3 or 4 Deer through the woods near some houses on the edge of the park. It looked like there were at least a couple of Fawns and Does who found something of interest near the edge of the woods. Later I spotted a couple more down in the valley of the creek/drainage ditch that I could only view with my binoculars. As I was watching them, a much larger Deer with a 6 or 8 point rack walked through my long distance view! They were much too far away for a photo but I thought it was cool to see a Buck again regardless. By the time I got back to the parking lot it was nearing 4:30pm and the sun was starting to cast an unfamiliar orange glow on the tree tops. I stopped for one last photo of icicles hanging from a Pine tree -another reminder of how warm it was today.

White Duck and Two Big Bucks

On Friday afternoon it started snowing like crazy and it continued through the night. By the time I arrived at the park on Saturday morning we had a fresh blanket of at least 6 inches. Though walking was tough, it was a great visit with a surprise around every corner. I'm not sure if it was because of the snowfall but everything in the park seemed to be active. I know for sure that I almost doubled my previous record of most photos per visit, taking 135 pictures today! After taking in all the beautiful scenery, I noticed an odd-duck, literally among all the Mallards in the water near the southwest side. This Duck was pure white with a bright orange bill and it stuck out like a sore thumb. I don't know if it's a different species or maybe an Albino. It seemed to be accepted and get along just fine with the other Mallards. Right before the bridge on the north side I spotted a couple of Deer on the other side of the Shingle Creek, along the high banks. They definitely spotted me too when I hit the un-plowed bridge which echoed loudly under my steps. There was a Doe and a Fawn that seemed cautious at first until I stopped mid-way on the bridge. I watched them for only a minute or so before the Doe jumped was startled forward by something other than myself. I thought this strange and until I realized what was coming up behind her. From behind the hillside of the creek bank, a massive Buck suddenly appeared and held motionless. Though I'd been solid as a statue while watching the Doe and Fawn, he was obviously aware of me and made little to no movement after first appearing. After I decided to move closer he trotted off behind the other two but reappeared as I rounded the corner after the bridge. Here I got a straight on shot him and his enormously wide antlers. Seconds later he trotted back towards the high creek bank where he immediately found interest in something tasty up in the trees above him. He was half on the hillside already, angled upward but eventually leaned back to stand up on only his two hind legs. I've only seen deer do this one other time and it's kind of funny looking -but to see a big Buck do it was a real treat. He must have been near 8 feet tall -especially with his massive antlers. I watched for a long time but only after looking at my photos on the computer did I realize that he must have been after the black berries above him. After he lost interest in those, he actually started heading my way again, stopping here and there to paw at the snow. Eventually he walked as close as he got to me and posed for some better pictures. When I saw him in the park I was sure he was roughly a 12-pointer. After studying the photos more closely the rack has a defined 10 points for sure. After taking my share of photos of this guy, I was plenty satisfied and went on my way. Only about 3 minutes later down the trail I spotted another single Deer. Thinking I'd already seen my only Buck of the day, I didn't even slow down at first until I noticed yet another set of decent antlers. It's such a rare occasion to see 2 Bucks in one visit that at first I thought it had to be the same Deer. But unless he was walking right behind me, it could not be. This one though had a distinctively symmetrical 8-point rack. I watched him for while as he made his way through some thick brush, even closing his eyes to avoid poking his own eye out. Eventually he walked right out into the open and crossed the field near the drainage ditches on the north side. I can only think of one other time that I've seen 2 Bucks in the same visit. Be sure to click on the photos for a larger view!

Even Closer Still!

Either cold temps have come a little early or maybe it's just been a long time but 15º this morning felt darn cold! All the water in the park, including Shingle Creek had a thin layer of transparent ice. As I crossed the bridge on the north side I looked down to notice hundreds of Carp huddled in a big mass just underneath the ice. This photo was just a small section of the group that had to be about 30 feet long by 10 feet wide. After last week I would have never thought I'd get any closer to a Deer in the park but I was wrong! In roughly the same place but on the other side of the trail were a Doe and two Fawns. One of the Fawns stayed further back as the other two slowly made their way closer to me as they searched under the snow for food. Again I knelt down on one knee holding motionless other than the occasional raising of my camera. This time it was the Fawn who took interest and in an extremely deliberate way, trotted right up to me. It stopped only five feet from me! I was dumbfounded and slowly reached out my hand thinking it might just come up and smell my glove. Just as quickly, it decided it was no longer interested in me and moved on to munching on some green grass just a few feet away. At this distance I really should have gotten better pictures but unfortunately I was aiming directly into the sunlight. There are at least two groups of Does and Fawns in the park but it seems logical that this was the same group who's Doe approached me last weekend.

Close Encounters

The day before Halloween would prove to be a nice sunny day full of of great sights. My first encounter was the only one that would not count as "close" but I figured I'd post the photo anyway as it's the first Merganser I've ever seen at Palmer Lake. I think this is actually a female "Hooded Merganser" as opposed to a "Common Merganser" due to the way the tail is pointed upwards. I sure would love to see a Male Hooded here -they are probably the neatest waterfowl I've ever seen! On the east side I stumbled upon the Doe and two fawns who are now so used to people that they allow me to get amazingly close. I watched the trio forage on the inside of the trail, then cross the trail to the outside. Mom went across first, then the two fawns. They've lost all their spots now and are pretty much the same color as any other deer. The only way you'd recognize them as fawns is by their smaller size. As I was watching the deer, a large Pileated Woodpecker was flying back and forth over the trail. At one point he even landed right behind one of the fawns as I was taking another picture. I couldn't focus on both and I was in a dilemma on what to photograph first! Later I'd end up with both as I crept up on the large Woodpecker from behind. My previous encounter with two Pileated's took forever as I kept scaring them away. This one I walked almost right up to and snapped a couple of real nice pics before it took off. This one is a female with a black "moustache" behind it's bill. I've noticed that they seem to use their long tail feathers to balance themselves on logs -almost like a third leg. Upon coming back to the parking lot, I spotted an Eagle that I'd seen a couple times during my walk, flying over the middle of the park. This time I caught him perched in a tree against the clear blue sky. For the longest time I really thought this was a Golden Eagle but the more I thought about it, a Juvenile Bald Eagle seemed to make more sense. One thing that really throws me is that his bill is pretty dark colored near the tip -very different from the familiar bright yellow bill I'm used to seeing on Bald Eagles. But quite possibly his full coloring has not developed yet if he's still young.