A Few Good Photo-ops

Though I heard and saw my first Red-winged Blackbirds of the year in early March, none of them have been approachable until today. I visited the park after work this Wednesday evening as there is still enough light now. I wasn't sure what to expect but as I rounded the corner from the east side into the southern end of the park I could hear Red-winged Blackbirds trilling loudly from the cattails not far off the trail. I made my way in closer, crunching on cattails and figured I would scare them away. But surprisingly this male stayed put and gave me my first good looks of the year! The light was fantastic to begin with, but as I approached closer I could see that my background was all brown cattails. I decided to kneel down and shoot upward just slightly as this angle would give me some nice blue sky behind the bird. I really love RWBB's despite how common they are. Nothing compares to hearing them in early spring and knowing that nicer, longer days are still ahead. I've not seen any females still, but it shouldn't be too long now. About 5 minutes after shooting these photos, the sun disappeared behind the clouds for the rest of the day. In fact it went from sunny and nice to almost dreary in a matter of minutes. As I hiked the wood chip trails on the southern end, I heard and saw a small number of flighty birds moving from a Dogwood shrub to the cattails and back. I first thought they were Juncos but they turned out to be American Tree Sparrows. I used to pass up on photos of this particular species because I saw them so frequently. But over the years I've come to realize they rarely give you good views and generally tend to perch in thick cover. I waited patiently for some time until one or two finally came out into the open. I didn't quite realize at the time but the colors of this bird really match it's environment here and it's no wonder they can blend in so well. I really wanted one to perch on the Red-Osier Dogwood you can see on the left side here but that never happened. As I started running out of daylight, I turned around at the duck pond and was headed back when I hear a distinct owl hoot. It sounded close but after scanning around I could not see anything. I tried following the sound and was either fooled about the direction, OR maybe I was hearing a second Owl, I'm not sure. Finally I honed in on one source long enough to make out a dark shape in a tree. I don't see Great Horned Owls often here on the south side so it was a nice surprise. As I approached many yards away, the Owl bumped from it's perch to a new one much further away. As I kept hiking it moved yet again, this time choosing to perch directly above the wood chip trail! Unfortunately it was very high up and the light had now turned ugly. I decided to take a guess at some different camera settings and I somehow managed to get something I could at least share here. It nearly looks like it's snowing out the sky is so white, but that's the camera compensating for the poor light. The Owl stayed perched here even as I walked directly underneath him and beyond. It was a memorable sighting for me.

Late February and First Red-winged Blackbirds!

I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to the park today or not. I had the day off of work but I have also been summoned for Jury Duty this week. After making my mid-day call, I learned I didn't need to report so I went for a long hike instead. Except for a few slightly cool (and average) days, today was another warmer-than-usual day for February. I believe we hit 48º or so and the sun was shining to boot. I wanted to check Shingle Creek on the north end of the park to see if any early waterfowl had returned yet, but all I found there was a lot of Mallards and a small group of Canada Geese. Shingle Creek has not been iced over for probably the entire month of February if not more, which is pretty unusual. There was also no sign of the Belted Kingfisher I spotted in the first week of this month. As I hiked around the south end of the park, I heard a familiar sound that I could not immediately place. It was a faint "chek" sound coming from my right. Then it hit me –a Red-winged Blackbird! The arrival of this bird (especially to the Palmer Lake area) each year has become an important observation as a sign of the coming Spring season. I swung around to my right, peering into the cattails and there he was! My first-of-year Red-winged Blackbird. I hiked in closer to the area in hopes of catching a better photo but it was not to be. In all of my previous years watching birds, my first RWBB's have always been spotted in March so to have seen them in February is a new record for me! As I continued on the south side I paused more than once to take in the golden light being cast over the cattails and tall grasses looking northward. This area is truly unique to find within such an urban area. In certain spots (like this one) you can forget that you are surrounded by urban sprawl on all sides. Today I was also carrying a new camera lens with me for the first time in over two years. I decided to give it a whirl on some of the Mallards in the "duck pond" on the southwest corner of the park. Both the light and the ducks were fairly cooperative so I got a few keepers. Surprisingly though I did not witness any mating behavior among them today. I guess they were too busy preening and soaking up the sun.

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!

Big Month Day 12 and 4 Days in a Row!

Today was the 4th day in a row I've visited the park. But today I had to come after work and that left me precious little light to find some birds in. To my surprise I spotted a Golden-winged Warbler near the ground! This is a bird I've seen before in other areas, but the very first one I've seen at the park. It was in a thicket only inches off the ground where I've seen Ruby-crowned Kinglets before. Knowing how tough it was to get photos of the Kinglets in the same place, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Sadly, this is the best image I got, though I was SO close to the bird! Later it flew up into the trees where it was even more obscured. I saw some Mallards in very nice light, but blew those shots as well. The only other decent shot I obtained was this young Red-winged Blackbird right before dusk set in. Other birds spotted included; Song Sparrow, American Redstart, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, and White-throated Sparrow.

Great Blue Heron, Mink and the Grey Ghost

Our weather for the end of March has been unseasonably nice. I decided this afternoon to sit along the edge of Shingle Creek and hopefully see a Wood Duck or Northern Shoveler. Technically some of the migrating ducks have returned, but it's still probably a bit early for them to be congregating on the creek. Regardless, the weather was so nice that I decided to try anyway. On my hike from 73rd Avenue out to the bridge on the north side, I spied my first Great Blue Heron for the park this year! Myself and some others had seen our first one of the year just yesterday at the Coon Rapids Dam. This one today at Palmer was standing in the drainage ditch on the north side that was re-dredged out a couple of years ago. It spooked and flew off shortly after taking this photo. Within minutes of finding a decent spot to plant myself along the creek, I noticed a mink hop up onto the creek bank opposite me. He hopped a little ways, paused and turned to look downstream. It was a perfect picture moment, and my camera failed to turn on! Once in a while I have problems with the contacts or something and I have to turn it off and on once or twice to get it to power up. The mink hopped further downstream and out of view as I swore at my camera. But sure enough a second mink came out of the grass and walked along the edge of the water. This time I was ready for him and was able to snag just one focused image. They are interesting and curious critters and always fun to watch. There were no waterfowl on the water yet, not even downstream and I was getting discouraged. I heard one or two Wood Ducks fly overhead but none stopped on the creek at all. After waiting for probably over an hour, I noticed something else flying very low over the cattails. A friend told me just yesterday that he'd seen FOUR Northern Harriers at the park on Friday in the rain. Indeed this is what I was seeing as Northern Harriers (also known as Marsh Hawks) hunt their prey by gliding very low to the ground, and or hovering in one place while they look downward. This hunting habit is probably the most reliable method of identifying a Harrier, however they also will show an obvious, white "rump patch" when they turn their backside toward you. Both of these signs were visible to me right away, but what I didn't realize at the time is that the male Northern Harrier is very grey in color compared to the female who is more brown in color. Because of this, the male is nicknamed "The Grey Ghost." He was a long ways away and my photos here are very cropped but there is still some detail. If you ever get the chance to see one close up, like at the Raptor Center of Minnesota, you'll see that Harriers have a roundish "face disc" sort of like Owls do. They are fascinating raptors and it has been some time since I've seen them at the park so I was quite happy to forgo any waterfowl for this sighting! Later I ended up hiking the rest of the way around the park and spotted; American Robin, Song Sparrow, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal and lots of Red-winged Blackbirds. Near sunset I ran into the same aforementioned friend and we hiked out into the field near 73rd Avenue. We didn't really see anything else but enjoyed a nice sunset.

Return of the Red-wings and other FOY Birds!

Each year as I hike around Palmer Lake Park, I've come to learn there's nothing quite like the return of Red-winged Blackbirds to the park. Though they're not the first migrant bird to return, their presence and familiar sound are more of an "official kickoff" to Spring and quite an exciting thing to a bird watcher! This year my first sighting comes exactly one day after the first day of Spring. I always forget though that they're not as easy to photograph when they first return, as they have a habit of perching high in the treetops the first week or two and then seem to move down into the cattails as time passes. I caught this one relatively lower to the ground on the east side of the park near the little pond. After stopping at the Duck Pond and watching the Mallards for a bit, I found myself in the woods on the North side of the park watching a couple of Black-capped Chickadees flitting about. In watching and photographing birds over the years, I've learned that Chickadees are one of the toughest by far to photograph well. Like other small birds they are constantly moving but Chickadees present a unique challenge in that their dark eye is surrounded by the black feathers on their head. So even if I'm lucky enough to get a non-blurry shot, the eye(s) are usually barely visible. Thus I've put Chickadees on a list of birds that I often avoid wasting my time trying to photograph. But all that changed in just a minute or two today after not giving up on this little guy! I knew I had maybe one or two keepers in there but I was nicely surprised to see how well this one came out once I viewed the photos at home later. There was truly a LOT to see today at the park including Deer and even other FOY (First of Year) birds. One bird I had seen weeks earlier but missed photos of was a Pileated Woodpecker. Today I heard one drumming loudly on a dead tree and followed the sound to the bird. A handsome male stayed perched here in the same place for over 10 minutes while I tried to manage a photograph that didn't look like I took it from underneath. No such luck on that part but at least I did get a focused photo. There were plenty of Robins out today as well and though such a common bird, they can really show personality if you watch them long enough. This one stayed right above my head picking off Buckhtorn berries one after another. I snapped a few shots but didn't even realize I'd caught this moment until later when reviewing my photos. I really like the photo but wish it had been a bit more sunny at that moment. I was really taking my time walking around the park today and it kind of turned into an epic journey of many hours. I would end up spending a huge chunk of time on the east side near the pond that was attracting not only Red-winged Blackbirds but also Common Grackles! The Grackle is also in the Blackbird family and tend to arrive around the same time or earlier than the RWB's. This was also a first of year sighting for me and I was intent on capturing some good images of them because I really think they are a beautiful bird. This bird has some degree of iridescent plumage over most if not all of it's body, but it's head is the really special part, distinctly emblazoned with coloring that can look black, blue or purple depending on the light and angle. After sitting for some time I was able to spy a couple close to the ground perching above the open water of the pond. I'm really happy with how this one turned out and I think it really shows how uncommonly beautiful the Common Grackle really is!

Lots to See on a Sunday in July

I took well over 100 photos today on my hike around the park. There were lots of birds out today including young ones such as a juvenile Barn Swallow sitting on the baseball infield with his mouth agape waiting to be fed. There was also some bird courtship on display –this time from a pair of Baltimore Orioles high up in a tree. I was looking directly into the sun during this so I had to drastically lighten up the photo to see any detail. But it was interesting none the less to see that it almost looks like the female is pursuing or displaying for the male instead of the typical other way around. I don't know if that's truly what's going on in this photo and I'd have to do some research to find out if that's even a possibility. After stopping to watch a Rabbit in the green grass and take note of an unidentified bird overhead, I found the male Indigo Bunting singing from the treetops near his usual territory on the north side. It's been such fun to see this guy so often this year but he's sure hard to catch any lower than about 25 - 30 feet up in a tree. Thus most of my shots are "under view" perspective but at least I'm picking up a bit more detail now with my new Tamron lens. One more bird I spotted on the north side today was something I've just not seen much of at all this year. In fact I heard other birders also say that Eastern Phoebe's (a very common summer species) have been somewhat scarce this year. I first took notice of this myself way back in early Spring around April. In other years at PLP, I have noticed that Eastern Phoebes are one of the very first migrating songbirds to return. In fact I usually start to notice them when I'm out watching the returning Waterfowl which come back weeks earlier than most of the songbirds. So finding one today was something of a treat. They're not a distinct looking bird by any means but rather plain looking. Mostly brown with a belly that looks olive-yellow in the right light. In fact there are number of other species that can look quite similar –also being in the same "Flycatcher" family. Don't even get me started about Flycatchers. There are two species of Flycatchers known to be differentiated ONLY by the call they make, otherwise looking perfectly identical in appearance. One bird that is often misidentified by birders around the country are Red-winged Blackbirds. Specifically the female Red-winged. She is also drab and mottled and lacking any very distinct coloring or patterning. Many times birds of each sex from the same species will bear some general resemblance to each other. But I've always thought the male and female RWB almost break that mold. After seeing so many females in the park each year I've become a bit more familiar with their shape and behavior so that I'm seeing other variances. Such is the case with this one who appears more yellow colored overall, especially in the face. She is in fact a juvenile female Red-winged Blackbird who hasn't grown into her full adult plumage yet. Other species seen today included; Barn Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Mourning Dove, Common Yellowthroat, and American Robin.

Easter Sunday and some Firsts for the Season!

I'll have to double check my records but it seems like every year for the past few years it is just days before Easter that I see my first Yellow-rumped Warblers return. After not seeing any the previous week and even yesterday, I was beginning to think they passed by the park this year. But then this evening I spotted my first one of the season. It was on the north side in the scraggly tree overhanging the trail. I saw just one single bird and I couldn't manage a decent photo –but at least I saw one finally! There were quite a few waterfowl out on the lakes this evening and one that I spotted was something I've not previously documented at the park –a Ruddy Duck! These are one of my very favorite ducks and I was lucky enough to see them close up a the Coon Rapids Dam area last spring. This one (a male too) was pretty far out there with a group of Northern Shovelers, but I took a photo anyway just to confirm my sighting. He is on the far left in the photo. On the south side of the park in the little tiny pond near the parking lot I noticed a pair of Blue-winged Teals and managed to catch a half-way decent photo of the male. Like many of the more wild ducks, they are easily spook-able and tough to get close to. I guess I ought to mention that the weather was incredible today at 75º and sunny. The park was just teeming with people who were out enjoying the weather. The park just emanated Spring today, from the smells to the constant calling of birds, to the Pussy Willows who's fuzzy white catkins are now morphing into bright yellow-green color. I walked the entire 3 mile circumference of the park tonight and boy was I really seeing a lot of birds. I was taking photos of even common birds so that it would help me remember them all when I got home. I will list all the birds I spotted tonight at the end, but one that I managed a pretty good photo of was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. This is one of the smallest birds we see here in Minnesota, and they are known for not sitting still for very long. I've been seeing them fairly regularly in the past week but it seems that I am seeing more females than males. Like many birds, the species is so named after the male who exhibits a tiny, bright red patch on his head that can raise up like a crest. The females look exactly the same but without the red crown. So this one here is obviously a female. Coming back to the east side parking lot I spotted an unusual looking bird perched in the setting sun. Upon looking closer with my binoculars I realized it was a female Red-winged Blackbird! This is somewhat exciting simply because it's the first female I've seen this year and shows that the females tend to show up weeks after the males do. I have yet to ever come across a RWB nest which seems odd simply because of how many there are in the park. I had one more surprise for the evening as I sat on the granite bench overlooking the eastern most body of water. I could see a few Common Mergansers way out there and this is a species I've only documented one other time before at the park. There were actually two pair –two males and two females but I didn't get them all in this shot. I am always surprised at the variety of waterfowl that pass through the park each spring! It always makes me wonder –if the water was less polluted, would they stay longer? And might there be even more species that would visit Palmer Lake Park?

My total list for the day (32 species):
1. Red-winged Blackbird (and first female of season!)
2. Brown-headed Cowbird
3. Common Grackle
4. Song Sparrow
5. Fox Sparrow
6. American Tree Sparrow
7. Northern Cardinal
8. Blue Jay
9. Cedar Waxwing
10. American Coot
11. Mallard
12. Ruddy Duck
13. Canada Goose
14. Blue-winged Teal
15. Common Merganser
16. Lesser Scaup
17. Wood Duck
18. American Robin
19. Great Blue Heron
20. Pied-billed Grebe
21. Hairy Woodpecker
22. Red-bellied Woodpecker
23. Pileated Woodpecker (heard)
24. Ring-necked Pheasant (heard)
25. Great Horned Owl
26. Tree Swallow
27. Mourning Dove
28. Yellow-rumped Warbler
29. Black-capped Chickadee
30. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
31. American Goldfinch
32. Northern Shoveler

First Red-winged Blackbirds of 2014

Though I've seen that other people have been spotting Red-winged Blackbirds already (further south), I have not seen any yet this year at Palmer. But with the sun out today and temps finally staying above freezing now, I pretty much new that this Saturday I would have a good chance. And before I'd even walked very far the parking space at 73rd Avenue, I heard a loud squeaking that wasn't very familiar. This was not the long, scratchy call that is more common so I had to follow the direction of the sound. Sure enough, high up in the trees on the north side was a RWB -the first of the year for me. Over the last few years I've come to measure the true beginning of spring more by this event than by the calendar itself –and boy was it a welcome sight and sound this year! The photo here is not of the first one I spotted but one of many more as I made my way around the trail. Soon their numbers will increase dramatically enough to nearly drown out the sounds of other birds. The males are always the first to arrive and it is also noteworthy to record when I first spot any females. On the northwest corner I spotted this bright red Cardinal who seemed OK with me inching closer and closer for a photograph. Up until this past winter I was never satisfied with any of my Cardinal shots but this is probably one of the better –if not the best– I've taken so far. I've always wanted to capture one against a white background with snow falling but I am totally fine with waiting another year for that!!! Shortly after the cardinal I spotted a raptor zooming overhead so I tried to catch a photo. I could see with my naked eye that it's tail was longer which points to a Cooper's Hawk (or maybe a Sharp-shinned) but either way it was NOT a Red-tailed which are somewhat more common. This photo is cropped way in but I think it's kind of a neat photo and you can see some detail here of what I'm pretty certain is a Cooper's Hawk. The banding on the tail is quite distinct. I recently learned one tip to distinguish a Cooper's from a Sharp-shinned whey they are soaring overhead. A Cooper's will flap it's wings slower and make larger sized circles while the SS will flap a little faster and turn in noticeably smaller circles.

A Dreary Day in April but Good Birding!

After losing only about 2" of our recent snowfall, the sun went away today thus making Spring seem all the more unattainable. I wasn't quite as motivated to get out to the park today but I dragged myself anyway, knowing that despite looking and feeling like February, the birds know that it's actually late April! In the end I was very glad I went as I saw nearly 30 different species including: Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Canada Goose, Ring-billed Gull, American Robin, Hermit Thrush, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, American Coot, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Cooper's Hawk, Wild Turkey, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Red-winged Blackbird, Dark-eyed Junco, American Crow, American Goldfinch, House Finch, Wood Duck, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Ring-necked Pheasant, Mourning Dove AND I distinctly heard Sandhill Cranes for the first time ever at the park! I never saw them but I heard them long enough to assume they had at least stopped somewhere in the park for a bit versus flying over. I took quite a few photos today so here goes. First was the Ring-necked Duck which was a great way to start off. I was very surprised to see one in the "Duck pond" which is the western most body of water in the park. In fact it was both a male and female which is exciting because I can't positively say that I'd seen a female Ring-necked before. I tried getting closer but of course as I did the pair swam further away from me. I decided to sit for a while but by the time I finally found a dry fallen tree, they decided to fly up over me and head into the middle of the park. That led me to the other side of the waterway where I quickly noticed both a Blue-winged Teal along with some Coots very near each other. Coots aren't much to look at but they are quite fascinating if you ever get to see them out of the water. Walking on land they appear much more like a chicken than a duck. These were the first ones I'd seen at the park this year but seeing the Teal there was of much more interest to me. I don't know very much about them but they are quite beautiful even though on the water you cannot even see the "blue wing" for which they are named. That portion is tucked away on the upper inside portion of their wing. As the Teal quickly swam back towards the middle of the park I again found a dry place to sit for a while, hoping he and other ducks might come back around the corner if I waited long enough. As I sat there I noticed my friend from yesterday, the Hermit Thrush bouncing around along the ground to my right. Of course I couldn't help but follow him too as he flew back and forth between the bare ground and some low trees. Once he perched on the side of a tree trunk kind of like a Nuthatch does which was something I didn't expect him to do. Finally as I moved around quietly he came to perch in a tree just slightly above my head and I had a nice clear view of him versus when he was on the ground and blending in. They are quite a beautiful bird and I hear they have a wonderful song though I've yet to hear one make the slightest peep so far. After this I continued up the wood chip trail where ahead of me I could see a commotion of two large birds. They were clearly raptors of some kind but I mostly could only see their light colored under sides. One of the two then swooped out straight towards me and then upward to land in a fair sized nest high up in the trees. This was the same nest I'd seen Cooper's Hawks in two years earlier. I could only see the tip of the tail over the edge of the nest so I decided to keep going and see if I could get close to the other one. The other had pretty much stayed in the same place but was kind of flapping about precariously trying to find a bigger branch to hold it's weight. Even from a distance I could see it's bright rusty breast and distinct red eyes, confirming they were indeed Cooper's Hawks. Quite an exiting sight -especially since they appeared to be preparing a nest! On the north side I was hurrying along in hopes that I might get to see some Sandhill Cranes that I could hear faintly but distinctly. I didn't know where to look but as I scanned back and forth I caught a glimpse of one lone Wild Turkey to my right. It was in the vicinity of where I think one had nested last year which made me wonder if it was scouting out a sight. Shortly later I ran into another park goer who said she just saw a pair of Turkey hens so I assume this was one of the two she saw. She mostly had her back to me but eventually turned and headed to the right away from me. The last thing I photographed today was a male Red-winged Blackbird who along with a group of others was making quite a racket. I've still not seen any female Red-wings yet but I assume they are here in small numbers or maybe they're just not as visible yet. The females do tend to blend in way better and it seems like they stay near the ground or near the bottoms of the cattails more. This male tolerated me being quite close to him and I waited until he belted out a loud raspy call for this photo. Every time they call it looks like they put every ounce of energy they have into it as they throw their shoulders and head back, thus showing off their bright shoulder patches. Palmer Lake Park would not be the same without Red-winged Blackbirds.

Early Spring and TWO Brand New Species!!!

At this time last year Spring-like weather had been in full swing for nearly a month already. Last January felt more like February, February more like March and March more like April. But this year has been nearly the opposite -seeming like our weather is one month behind instead. But after today it feels like Spring has finally arrived after all. Very early in the morning we awoke to claps of thunder and lightning which led to a steady downpour of rain most of the early morning. I was itching to go for a bird hike so badly that I put on my full rain suit top and bottom and grabbed my old "pocket-sized" camera instead of my newer DSLR which is impossible to keep dry. By the time I arrived however it had completely stopped raining and I could just tell how much stuff was going to be out today. You could just feel it in the air -and hear it as well! I drove back home, ditched my rain pants and grabbed my newer camera -and boy was I glad that I did. Sometime during the week a LOT of other Red-winged Blackbirds have found their way back to the park and they could be heard abundantly today -though all males so far. If I were to define Spring with a "sound" it would be that of the RWB. I was very hopeful that today I might catch a glimpse of at least one returning species of bird -and it didn't take long until I did. The first were Tree Swallows that were zooming all over the cattails on the north side. There were maybe 4-5 of them and they just continuously flew back and forth, climbing and diving over and over again. I waited for a long while hoping to catch one perched for a bit but they never took a break. So to prove my first sighting for the season I had to attempt to catch one in flight which proved pretty difficult. Along the way I had already heard lots of Goldfinches chirping away but I was finally able to spot a group of them feeding on seeds from last year's plants. Though Goldfinches might not completely leave our state during the winter, they don't always stay around the park in the winter. In fact I'd say you are more likely to see a Robin versus a Goldfinch at PLP in the wintertime. I'd already spotted a Goldfinch last weekend that was quite yellow already but didn't get a shot of one until today. There were both males and females in various stages of "yellowing up" for the season -yet another sure sign of Spring. When I got to the bridge over Shingle Creek I could see lots of waterfowl way downstream through my binoculars. They were very far away but I thought I caught a glimpse of something interesting like a Goldeneye maybe. I also knew that Hooded Mergansers had been spotted a couple weeks ago already up at the Coon Rapids Dam area so I was hoping I might see some of them as well. I decided to hike downstream along the banks of the creek, attempting to avoid the loud, crunchy snow wherever I could. After making lots of noise and pushing all the waterfowl further downstream I finally made it to the last big Cottonwood and kind of crouched behind it for a while. From here I could tell that there were quite a few Hoodies and Wood Ducks on the water but I had to let them forget I was there and then hopefully they would move in closer to me. My plan worked when after a while a pair of male and female Hoodies decided to swim right past me. I just absolutely love seeing the males -especially when they lift their crown all the way up. This one didn't do so as they swam by but it was quite awesome to see them so closely. After I was satisfied I'd gotten a decent photo in there somewhere, I waited for another long while just in case more came back upstream. I was getting tired of waiting when I popped my head around the corner of the tree and was shocked to see a beautifully colored duck that I'd clearly never seen before! It had beautiful silver sides, a strangely patterned black and white bill, and very bright yellowy orange eyes. This was likely the same duck I'd seen from a distance and guessed was maybe a Goldeneye. Right when I saw it, the duck had just come up from underneath the water with a little fish of some kind in it's bill. Of course when it saw me it immediately turned the other way and kept getting further and further away. I wildly snapped as many photos as I could but of course I was not holding as steady as I should have in my excitement. I did not know at the time that what I was seeing was in fact a "Ring-necked Duck" per my new Stokes Field Guide. You can just barely make out the faint brown "ring" around this male's neck for which they are named. A completely brand new species for me! I was so happy after seeing this that the rest of my walk could have been in the dark for all I cared. BUT, as I was heading back to my vehicle I couldn't help but notice yet another interesting bird wading in an area flooded by melting snow and hopping from one clump of grass to the next. As the time of year seemed right, I assumed I was seeing my first Grackle of the season. Grackles are not quite all that interesting or uncommon but I do like their iridescent blue-purple heads so I went in for a closer look. I watched a pair of them turning over leaves and grasses but wasn't quite seeing that beautiful head I was looking for. Even upon coming home to show my wife my photos for the day, I still told her I'd seen my first Grackle. But upon picking my best photo to post I started to wonder if this was indeed a Grackle at all! I pulled out my field guides and pretty instantly realized that it's beak was not as big and thick as that of a Grackle, though it did bright yellow eyes telling me that it was NOT an immature Red-winged Blackbird. I had a hunch of what it might be but I decided to immediately post my photo into a new "discussion topic" on the Birdshare group of Flickr and ask others opinions. Sure enough, so far the general consensus is that I saw a Rusty Blackbird -a second brand new species to me! In total, I counted 24 species in just one day today which might also be a personal record for me so far at PLP!