Labor Day Painted Lady

Today was Labor Day and I had the day off of work, though I didn't feel all that great. The previous evening I contracted a sore throat of the worst kind, but no other symptoms so I still tried to be out and about and doing things. My wife and I had hiked extensively for the past few days, visiting nearly 4 different parks in the metro area and today was kind of day to ourselves. I forgot to mention that she was also sick as of the previous day but was further along than I and wanted nothing more than to stay inside and recover. Anyway, I found myself hiking along the paved path on the north side starting at 73rd Avenue. I quickly noticed not one but two butterflies on a plant I know well; White Snakeroot. But here's the interesting part, I can't say I've EVER seen any species of butterfly on this plant. It is a native, but with it's small white flowers it generally doesn't attract much attention from pollinators, especially butterflies in my experience. But it's worth mentioning that this particular year was a "boom" year for Painted Lady Butterflies, and they are being seen by the hundreds and sometimes thousands in various parts of Minnesota this summer. Anyway, when I spotted two Painted Lady's and one Red Admiral on the same plant I just had to take some photos. Only a few hundred feet later I spotted yet more Painted Lady's again on White Snakeroot. And boy were they in perfect sunlight for photos! I think these might be the best shots I've ever gotten of this butterfly species. After sharing these on facebook, I had people with waaay more experience than I tell me that they had also seen them on White Snakeroot AND that it was the first time they'd seen that too! Since the Palmer Lake Park area doesn't support a wide variety of flowering native plants, my guess is that the Snakeroot was the best option these butterflies had for nectar. A bit later I bumped into a friend of mine and we hike together for a little bit. We spotted a Viceroy Butterfly as well but it was too far off the trail for a good photo.

Confused Plants and Canada Goose

I wasn't seeing many birds today during my hike around the park. It's that time of year when variety of species really decreases and you are happy just to see a Mallard or Chickadee. I also saw the usual suspects including Northern Cardinal and Dark-eyed Junco. But when I came to the southwest corner I spotted a bright yellow color near the ground that made me look twice. What I saw made my jaw drop open. A rather large patch of Marsh Marigold was in bloom! This native MN wildflower typically blooms in March or April and are rather short lived in my opinion. As I busily took photos I couldn't help but notice the snow on the ground surrounding the plant. This is now officially the latest in the season I've seen this plant flower and I'm just not sure what to make of it. Could our warm and wet Fall have created just the right conditions for the plant to flower again? Or is there a larger plot to the story? I am truly amazed at nature's ability to adapt and change. I plan on sharing my find with others to get their thoughts. A short time later I found myself at the "duck pond" watching a large group of Mallards that have started to congregate here this winter. Among the many ducks was one lone Canada Goose who seemed to have something wrong with his left wing. It was noticeably low hanging, even dragging on the ground as the Goose walked. At one point he waddled down the embankment and waded into the water but did not get in and swim. I think this bum wing might have even prevented it. At this point I became more concerned and wondered how we was going to forage in the water and eat when needed. I watched him for another 30 to 45 minutes during which time it stayed mostly up on the bank, never attempting to fly or get back to the water. I wondered if I could do anything and then called a friend of mine who has experience in rescuing injured wildlife. He came with a crate while myself and another park goer named Orville (?) helped me to gradually coral the Goose away from the water and up near the paved trail. After about 40 minutes my friend was actually able to catch the goose by tossing a blanket over it and gently picking it up. We hopped in his vehicle and delivered the Goose to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville, one of the largest rehab clinics of it's kind in the entire United States. After a week they said I could contact them back for an update on the Goose's condition. I sure hope there is something they can do for it, but my friend made me aware that many times there is nothing they can do but euthanize the animal. Now I wasn't so sure that we did the right thing or not. But time will tell I guess.

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 :)

Magical Marigold!

Today being November 9th, the LAST thing on earth I expected to find at the park today would have been a flower. But as I was hiking around the southwest corner of the park I couldn't help but notice two little bright yellow flowers near my feet just barely outside the paved path. This is the area where I find Marsh Marigolds blooming each spring. I've come to really appreciate this beautiful wildflower as it's blooming period is actually very short somewhere between 3 - 4 weeks at most between late April and early May. This plant thrives in low, wet areas and even the ones I find in the spring can be tough to get close to without getting your feet wet. Maybe it was all the rain we've had lately, coupled with the well above average temperatures for this time of year that has this plant confused and blooming again in November. I could hardly believe my eyes and thought it had to be something else. But that flower and shape of the leaves were unmistakeable. But after running into a friend of mine who really knows his plants, I showed it to him and he agreed instantly that it was indeed a Marsh Marigold. There were just two flowers but a third unopened pod was visible as well. After sharing my finding on a number of online sources, many people reported back to me about other very-late blooming flowers in their own yards. Our temps have been unusually warm, but wow this really proves it! I spent nearly the rest of my time today around the duck pond on the southwest side after spotting one lone Northern Shoveler among the Mallards. It was so drab and mottled that it had to be a female, though it's very hard to tell this time of year. Last year both a male and female pair hung out in the exact same spot for a week or two around the same time. It was hard to follow her along the shoreline as she blended in so well against the shore and nearly disappeared. She also seemed to have something hanging off and stuck to the side of her bill. Periodically she stopped and tried to pry it off with her webbed feet to no avail. Whatever it was was almost the same orange color as the bill so I wondered if it she'd been injured. She never did get it off after several attempts. I sure hope it wasn't garbage of some kind, especially a fishing lure! Other birds seen today included the usual suspects of Northern Cardinals and Black-capped Chickadees.

Late June and Blue Skies

Skies were blue this Sunday morning but the foliage was covered in rain drops from earlier. One of the first birds I encountered was this stately looking Tree Swallow perched over one of the small ponds. After rain subsides it always seems like bird activity picks up and so it was today. I saw a number of good species including a female Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Gray Catbird, Baltimore Oriole, Black-capped Chickadee, Mallard, House Finch, American Redstart, American Goldfinch and American Robin. Most birds were busy feeding either themselves or bringing the food back to nests. I also saw large clumps of Common Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed and a pretty patch of these tiny white flowers called "Fleabane."

A Lot of Birds and Sun

I had this Friday off of work and it was a beautiful day to watch wildlife in the park. There are many dozens of Mallard chicks on the little ponds now and they are fun to watch scoot across the water after their parents. Near one of these little ponds I noticed a female Red-winged Blackbird straddling between two Cattail stems. Although she had her back to me she turned her head and I thought it made a nice picture! The females can actually be more fun and easy to photograph because they're not solid black like the males where you don't see many feather details. Near the northwest corner of the park I happened upon a vocal little bird that ended up coming closer to me when I "pished" (making a sound that sometimes draws curious birds closer). It ended up to be a Warbling Vireo and this is likely the best views I've had of this species so far. It came down to nearly eye level and posed well for me a number of times. I could see even with my naked eye that it had some feathers missing near the bottom of it's breast and so it's possible it escaped a larger bird of prey in recent times. As with all Vireo species, you can see a very thin "hook" at the end of it's bill but I'm not exactly sure why this is. There were also many Tree Swallows visible today. This species and other Swallows are almost always seen in flight and seeing one perched is always a treat. Their blueish feathering is highly reflective but this one also had a lot of brown visible so it could have been a first Spring bird. Later I stumbled upon a nice big Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant which is a native Minnesota wildflower. Other birds seen today included; Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch, Wood Duck, Common Grackle, Killdeer, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart (male and female), Least Flycatcher, Hairy Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and an Eastern Kingbird –a species I rarely see here for some reason!

Day 11 of My "Big Month" and a 2 New Birds!

I had the day off of work today but it rained most of the morning. I made it to the park in the afternoon and realized this was my 3rd day in a row around Palmer Lake. I don't really have any rain protection for my bigger camera equipment so I was a bit hesitant to go out. But had I known what great photo ops were in store for me I'd have probably gone out sooner! First was a Northern Waterthrush on the southwest corner. This is a bird I almost always see on the ground, so getting one in a tree was extra special. You can really notice the pink/orange legs in this image with the green in the background. Northern Waterthrush also bob their tail nearly continuously, as this one also did so in the tree. The next bird I photographed was a male American Redstart. This tiny little Warbler was likely alarmed by my presence, or maybe it was flirting with a female because it had it's tail fanned out. I've seen Redstarts do this previously but I've rarely been lucky enough to capture a photo of it. The rain was off and on as I hiked around the park but thankfully it had subsided enough by the time I found my next bird of interest. Two Great Crested Flycatchers were seen hopping about together near the duck pond. I've never ever seen this species so close to the ground before. They were pretty much at eye level and were perching right in front of me. I couldn't believe it as this bird is nearly always in the treetops –mostly heard but not seen. Eventually I got into position where one of the posed nicely for me with a perfect green backdrop. This might just be one of the best images I've captured so far this month! Also on the south side I stopped to admire and photograph Marsh Marigold plants that are in full bloom now. They plants were larger than I remember in the past, with a lot more flowers too. I've seen these flowers "picked" before by people which is such a shame as they are so short lived and need specific conditions to grow. So I really hope nobody bothers them this year. I saw a good variety of birds overall today but I spotted one near the end of my hike that I've never seen before at the park. I assumed it was a Swamp Sparrow which is a species I've learned can be found at the park. But after looking more closely I noticed a lot of tan coloring –referred to as "buff" or "buffy" by bird watchers. This is one identifying characteristic not of a Swamp Sparrow, but of a Lincoln's Sparrow! So while it's possible I've seen a Lincoln's before, this is definitely the first time I've positively ID'd one. And that's always an extra plus when it happens to be at my favorite park! Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I spotted a brand new Warbler as well today –a Canada Warbler! It's the first one I've ever seen anywhere but I was unable to get a clear photo of it. A big bummer, but at least I get to count it towards my May list and also my 2015 list. Other birds seen today included; Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat (male & female), Magnolia Warbler, Black-capped Chickadee, White-throated Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch, House Finch, Common Grackle and Song Sparrow.

My 2014 Nemesis Bird Captured!

This spring, I had the fortune of having some unexpected time off of work. I spent as much of this time as I could at the park searching for springtime migrants and I had done very well for the season, even picking up a couple brand new species. But there was one bird in particular that I never spotted all spring –a Scarlet Tanager. There were visits I made where I specifically went in search of this bird, parking on my stool sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting only to never see one. On May 22nd of last year (2013) I had an amazingly close encounter with a Scarlet Tanager who was on the ground. So of course I expected to have a similar encounter this year! Yeah right. Remembering that day made me appreciate it even more after the entire spring of 2014 had passed without even a glimpse of one. I had given up hopes that I would be able to log this species for 2014, which of course is generally when something tends to happen. On the south side wood chip trail today I noticed some movement in the thick Buckthorn trees above me. I saw some bright yellow, which is always a color that makes me look closer this time of year. But this was too large to be a warbler. It was mostly obscured by the thick foliage and I didn't even have my binoculars with me. But after a few mostly blurry photos through the trees, I noticed the bird had very dark wings. Ah ha, it was a Scarlet Tanager!!! I waited and watched as patiently as I ever have for this bird to come out into the open but it just wasn't happening. A few times I could catch a better glimpse through a small opening in the leaves but every time I did, the bird would move again. I decided to try and lure it out with some bird calls but for the most part it did not seem interested. Finally after tracking faint glimpses of it's movement back and forth, it began working it's way to the edge of the tree. I found a pile of logs to climb up on and precariously tried to put myself in a good position for when it came out fully. Finally after nearly 45 minutes the bird appeared in front of me, unobstructed and with a nice blue sky behind. I quickly snapped as many pics as I could and I'm glad I did because only seconds later the bird flew off again. I tracked it to it's new spot even higher now in a Boxelder tree. To my surprise a second Scarlet Tanager flew in to meet it! Then I got an even bigger surprise when this second bird opened it's gape wide to beg for food! Indeed this was a juvenile who had been following around the parent Tanager. Though nearly impossible to capture a photo of this moment, I felt fortunate to have witnessed such a sight –and with such a special bird for my year. Though not in it's typical bright red "scarlet" coloring, I believe the parent to be a male. I could certainly be wrong but according to my Stokes Field Guide, the male would still possess black wings even in it's "yellow" (fall/winter) phase, while the female would show dark –but not black wings. Oh, I forgot to mention but in the very same place, a male AND female Rose-breasted Grosbeak both landed. They were in a very shaded area and I was not able to get a decent photo. I was so happy after my Tanager sighting that I hardly paid much attention to other birds for the rest of my walk. I did however see other species including Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Phoebe, Wood Duck, Mallard, Black-capped Chickadee, Common Yellowthroat and my first "fall" White-throated Sparrows. Further on the south side I was surprised to catch a Monarch Butterfly again. It has been so cold last week that one would have a hard time imagining that they are still hatching or making their way south to Mexico for the winter. But indeed they are still around. This one grabbed hold of a small yellow flower that I believe to be Tall Hedge Mustard –a non-native if I'm correct. This was my favorite shot with the bright blue as a backdrop. Later I found another butterfly, this time a Cabbage White Butterfly on the only thistle flower in the area. In fact I'd stopped to see what was so bright pink on the edge of the trail first, right before the butterfly landed on it. I've recently read that this species of butterfly which is so common to our area is declining in the state of Florida. I am not sure what the reason is.

Awesome August Sights!

I arrived at the park just after 8:30am this Saturday and started hiking on the south side. While making my way around the duck pond along the wood chip trail I could see a bird or two near the water's edge among the Willow and other low shrubs. The first one to my surprise was a Great Crested Flycatcher. I'd never seen one this low to the ground before as they tend to stay up in the treetops. Unfortunately the lighting was too dark but at least I saw one. But then a second bird in the same area caught my eye and lo and behold it was a Warbler. Not just any Warbler but a Northern Waterthrush! I've not seen one of these since early spring and seeing as it's August now, I'm thinking that possibly this one is already on it's return trip back south. So this bird is officially my first "fall Warbler." There are lots of great plants and flowers and Butterflies out now as well and I spotted this beautiful patch of Blue Vervain just starting to flower. Though tiny, these little flowers are a vibrant violet and bloom from the top down along their flower stalks. This is one of the very first native Wildflowers that I learned and thus they are my favorite Minnesota Wildflower. Blue Vervain tends to prefer moist areas so it it prevalent in Palmer Lake Park. And speaking of Butterflies, I found more than one today. The first one shown here is called a "Cabbage White" Butterfly and they are quite common. I've tried countless times to photograph one in good light and detail and I think I finally succeeded with this shot. I don't know what kind of plant it was on but I do recognize the fuzzy leaves. Then not to much later I found this Red Admiral Butterfly hanging around a plot of Touch-me-Not plant. Maybe it's early enough in the season but this Red Admiral's wings were in pristine shape making me wonder if it wasn't that old yet. Sometimes Butterflies can get pretty beat-up. And such was the case with the next one I found –a Viceroy Butterfly! This was probably my most exciting find so far as I can't even remember the last time I've seen this species. A Viceroy is a "mimic" of the much loved Monarch Butterfly. The reason is that since Monarch catterpillers eat Milkweed plants, they are toxic to birds and are avoided as a food source. The Viceroy, looking so similar to a Monarch in color and pattern, are also avoided. Looking closely at the lower wing of a Viceroy, one can see an extra black line that runs perpendicular to and crosses the other lines. A Monarch would not show this pattern. And just when I thought I'd found the most interesting piece of nature for the day, something darted out ahead of me on the paved trail while hiking along the north side. It was a Pheasant, which isn't all that odd except for the fact that it stopped dead in it's tracks in the middle of the trail and craned it's head to look back. I knew something was up with this and got my camera ready. Sure enough, tiny Pheasant chicks came running out of the tall grass to catch up with mom! It was the first time for me seeing Pheasant chicks. I believe there were four in all and they were already grown enough to fly for short distances as evident by this photo showing the last one in flight. I tried to quickly run up ahead as I could see the group still on the edge of the grass on the opposite side of the trail. By the time I got up far enough, all but one chick had darted into the grass and I didn't get a good photo of the one. Quite an interesting sighting I think! Wonder if they had nested in the park?

Birds, Deer, Insects and Flowers

I didn't make it to the park until just after 5:00pm this Sunday but there was still plenty of light left and lots of things to see. Upon arrival I noticed a Great Egret out wading in the flooded baseball fields on the east side. As of late I've been more interested in flowers and plants so I've also been trying to look down below me more often too. As I did I noticed this neat looking insect landing on a plant that hadn't even really flowered out yet. I don't think it is a Bee but rather some kind of Wasp, though I honestly don't know. It looked almost black and white. Later on the north side I climbed a little hillside to look around for Goldfinch but instead noticed a Flycatcher of some kind –likely a Least Flycatcher because of a very noticeable white eye-ring. As I watched the flycatcher, a Doe suddenly walked into view right by the bird. This isn't the best picture but I thought it was funny and maybe the only photo I've got with both a Deer and a Bird in the same picture! Near the west side of the park I stopped to watch a Common Grackle picking up slugs out of a puddle on the paved trail. Like many birds with iridescent feathers, I'm always trying to capture the different colors one can see in them. After poking around the water for a bit, he flew up to and perched atop one of the freshly cut Willows that had been trimmed by the city. Near the end of my trip I noticed a brilliant purple flower growing near the cattails. I've seen this before but not paid too much attention until now. Upon looking up the flower later I learned it is called "American Vetch" and is in the "pea" family. I hope it is one that I can remember from now on. Other birds spotted today included American Redstart, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird (juvenile), Yellow Warbler, and a Killdeer who pretended to be injured when I approached!

A Beautiful Morning and a New Species!

I arrived at the park around 9:30am today and had decided on taking my portable stool with me in the hopes I might find another hotspot for bird watching. Looking back at my blog, it has been almost a year to the day since I had seen the Scarlet Tanager on the ground along the wood chip trail on the southwest side. So I headed to this area just in case he decided to show up again. But before I got there I did a lap around both of the baseball fields on the west side in hopes of maybe seeing a Savannah Sparrow that another birder had spotted yesterday. No such luck there but I did run into a very brave little Tree Swallow who stayed put despite me coming up to within just feet of him. Tree Swallows have been around for some time now but this is my first good photo of one this season. Also perched on the chain link fencing were a pair of Eastern Bluebirds. I can almost count on seeing Bluebirds near these baseball fields for the past few years at least. I tried to get close to the male but he quickly scared off and flew to cover in the edge of the woods just beyond the outfield. Here he didn't mind me as much. It was the exact same tree where I'd photographed the male last year –and for all I know it might even be the very same bird! Later while scouring the wood chip trail for any possible signs of a Tanager, I could hear two different Great Crested Flycatchers calling to each other. They sounded very close so I was hoping I might get a photo but when I finally found one, I was directly underneath it and facing into the sun. This is a particularly interesting and colorful bird so I'm hoping I get more opportunities to see them this season. I finally parked on my stool here, far enough back into the woods where nobody on the trail might see me. I thought about how it wont be long before mosquitoes make it much harder to just sit in one place for a while. I really wasn't seeing anything here so I ended up moving further down the trail and sitting along the water way that connects the two western most bodies of water. Here I saw a Great Blue Heron but it scared off quickly before I got a photo. But in the Buckthorn ahead to my left I caught a glimpse of a small bird moving around quickly like a Warbler. I couldn't tell quite what it was but suspected that maybe it was a Tennessee Warbler. It had somewhat drab coloring the way Tennessee's do but when it finally presented itself in a clearing, I appeared more like a Vireo. But again it didn't quite look like a Vireo that I am familiar with. I wondered if it was maybe a female or juvenile until I got home and looked in my Stokes field guide. The bird that looked most similar was a Warbling Vireo –something I've not positively identified before. I went one extra step in confirming my suspicion, by posting my photo on the Minnesota Birding facebook page, where a couple of other birders agreed. This was kind of exciting as it's been some time now since I've come across a new species at the park! Indeed with bird watching, there is always more to learn. Later I went to the very end of the wood chip trail specifically to photograph the Marsh Marigold that I noticed flowering yesterday. I don't know a whole lot about this plant, other than the habitat and time of year to find it. I did learn though today from the Minnesota Wildflowers website, that the plant is also known as "cowslip."