Funny Ducks

It was another cold day at the park this Sunday morning. I really didn't see much until I came to the southwestern corner of the park where I could hear all the Mallards quacking even before I got there. I figured I would spend some time looking among them in hopes of maybe finding an American Black Duck which is an entirely different species. It didn't take long before I noticed an unusually dark looking duck. After seeing it's wing patch or "speculum" I could see it was missing the wide, white border that is present on Mallards. It's funny how predictable they have come to be here each winter. I am learning more all the time about Black Ducks and one thing in particular I am learning is that a high percentage of them have Mallard genes, meaning the two species commonly interbreed. In fact someone pointed out in one of these photos that there IS still the tiniest sliver of a white border on the wing patch, something that should be completely missing on a pure American Black Duck. Knowing this now, it's more apparent that the vast majority of Black Ducks I have spotted thus far have not been 100% pure American Black Duck. Maybe a few have but they would actually be the exception to the rule it seems. Whenever I do see one that I suspect has at least some Black Duck genes, I find it helpful to get a photo of them next to a regular Mallard for comparison. My second photo here shows just that. There was one other odd looking duck in the group today who seemed to possess the qualities of maybe more than two different species! One term I've learned over the years that is often used to describe such ducks is a "Manky" Mallard. Manky is a British term that generally refers to a wild duck that has bred with a domestic duck. Which is exactly what I thought I had here. BUT after sharing the photo with other bird watchers, their consensus was simply another Mallard x American Black Duck hybrid. So probably two wild ducks and not necessarily any part domestic, thus not really a "Manky" Mallard. I've found a LOT of variable ducks over the years and I find them to be a confusing yet very interesting topic. Every time I think I know what I'm looking at, I find out I'm not as versed as I think I am. Oh well, they are certainly fun to guess at! Here is an interesting online source I stumbled upon some time ago: http://www.10000birds.com/manky-mallards-domestic-feral-or-just-plain-odd-mallards.htm Later on I spent some time trying to relocate the Northern Shrike from last week but could not find it.

Sunset Wood Duck

Not much to write about but saw a nice female Wood Duck on the east side on the little ponds. Her plumage really showed off nice in the low sun. Also paused to photograph a Wild Cucumber fruit. These are actually native plants though they tend to creep and spread over wide areas. And I also saw a female Northern Cardinal on the east side as well. 

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 Long Walk on Superbowl Sunday

A number of years ago I remember hiking all the way to the little dam on Shingle Creek (in Brookdale Park) on Superbowl Sunday, so I decided to do it again today. After all it was a nice sunny day and the birds were fairly active. With more minutes of sunlight and warming temps the snow is melting quickly and Shingle Creek has been ice free for maybe two weeks or more. There is a drainage ditch on the northeast side of the park that generally smells horrible 90% of the year, but today there were small groups of Robins and Cedar Waxwings routinely coming to the open water for a drink. So I found a snow-free area along the ditch and just sat for a while enjoying the birds. Many Robins tend to "over-winter" here at Palmer Lake, so it's not unusual to see them this early. I caught a photo of this one right after it had a drink. Later on my hike I came to an area where Great Horned Owls nested (unsuccessfully) last year. I pulled up my binoculars and sure enough the female was using the same spot. I cannot divulge exactly where this is, as word about roosting or nesting owls spreads like wildfire and can attract photographers who might visit repeatedly and potentially stress the owl. In fact I wasn't even going to post this image, but I feel it tells an interesting phenology lesson, AND I want readers to be able to appreciate the park for the good habitat it offers some bird species. Great Horned Owls are the first birds to nest –as early as late January. Besides, the people who stalk owls likely already know about this location anyways :( Later as I was heading north, I heard the unmistakeable call of a Belted Kingfisher! I could hardly believe my ears, until I saw the bird fly over Shingle Creek to a new perch. Belted Kingfishers may also "over-winter" wherever they can find open water but this is the earliest by far I have ever spotted one in the area. Typically I wont see one here along the creek until late summer. I took a long distance photo for documentation and then attempted to get closer but was horribly unsuccessful. I could hear the bird periodically and it always sounded hundreds of feet ahead of me and eventually I lost track of it as I hiked the trail connecting to Brookdale Park. Here in Brookdale Park I spent some time watching the Mallards, and even saw a pair engaging in courting behavior of "head bobbing" as they faced each other. The pair eventually copulated which also surprised me to see so early in the year. Apparently Spring is on the way!

Duck, Duck, Black Duck

Today was one of those rare visits to the park where I actually found what I was looking for –or somewhat expected to see. For the past few years I've been able to locate an American Black Duck or two mixed in with the Mallards in the duck pond on the southwest corner of the park. I scanned the group looking for anything darker than usual and sure enough there was one there. I shared one of these images with other bird watchers on the Minnesota Birding facebook group and some quickly pointed out that the bird was not a full fledged Black Duck, but a hybrid with a Mallard. There were a few reasons but the one that resonated most with me is that this bird actually showed some white on the edge of the speculum (blue wing patch) which shouldn't be visible on an American Black Duck. I suppose I can agree with that but for my own purposes I'm still counting this as a Black Duck versus a Mallard mostly because the bird is just waaaay darker in overall appearance, and has other Black Duck traits such as the olive colored bill. In fact in this next photo where you can see a female Mallard in the background, you can see just how different looking this bird is. Anyway, about the only other bird of interest I saw was this adult Cooper's Hawk. As a bird watcher it can be a constant challenge to differentiate Cooper's Hawks from Sharp-shinned Hawks as they tend to look so similar. I'm basing some of my ID on the fact that this bird seems to have a "dark cap" on the top of the head which stops there, whereas the dark area on a Sharp-shinned would continue down the neck. Tough to tell for sure in this particular image though. Oh, and the strange Muscovy X Mallard Hybrid was also still among the Mallards.

An Odd Duck

Despite our recent mid-winter thaw, we've not seen the sun all weekend. I hiked around the park today with a friend but I carried my camera and binoculars just in case. We didn't really see much but we heard some Red-bellied and Downy or Hairy Woodpeckers. But we did run into a surprise at the "duck pond" on the southwest corner of the park. There were a LOT of Mallards present and I was explaining to my friend how it's sometimes worth a shot to scan the entire flock as there can be other species sometimes mixed in. In a matter of seconds my friend said "you mean like that one?" as he pointed to a darker colored and unusual looking duck. At first glance I had no idea what it was. It wouldn't be out of the question to see an American Black Duck, but this didn't look like a Black Duck at all. It was slightly larger than the other Mallards and had a kind of "lankiness" to it's appearance –like it's neck stuck out further than the other ducks. I did give me the faintest reminder of the Muscovy Duck (a domestic breed) I'd found in this same exact location in October of 2014. So now I was leaning towards some type of domestic duck. As we walked around to the other path we got to see the bird from behind and I noticed some very beautiful iridescent purple feathers and a striking emerald wing patch or "speculum" as it's called. I couldn't help but think of how similar it's plumage was to a male Wood Duck! I'd never seen anything quite like this. I figured if I got some good enough photos that I could post online later and as for help in properly identifying the bird. I believe a couple of very good birders on the Minnesota Birding facebook page nailed it. A Mallard x Muscovy Hybrid! After viewing some additional photos of said combination, I feel pretty confident that is what this bird is. You just never know what's gonna show up in the Palmer Lake Duck Pond! We also saw a few Northern Cardinals, and a pair of Great Horned Owls that were being mobbed by Crows.

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.

Nearing Thanksgiving

My visit to the park this Sunday morning included a stop at the "duck pond" on the southwest corner of the park. Mallards have already started to congregate and it makes me think of the hundreds of ducks that may be huddled here in the winter. It's always fun to stop and look through the Mallards in hopes of finding anything other than a Mallard. Kind of like "Where's Waldo." I couldn't find anything of interest but took a few photos of the green heads that I like so much. Later on the north side when I came to the bridge, I noticed the faint amber sun reflecting on the open water of Shingle Creek. It was a very pretty sight, and later when I bumped into a friend, he lamented about it as well. Interestingly I took this photo at 10:30 in the morning. Looking at it later it looks like it could near sunset. The sun is so low this time of year in Minnesota, that it never really gets overhead. My friend and I then hiked together for a while, looking around to see what we could find. To our surprise we stumbled upon a pair of Great Horned Owls, perched somewhat near other and likely a mated pair. One of the Owls flew from it's perch in no time at all. Conditions were quite dark by this time but I took some photos anyway of the other Owl. It was fun to see Great Horned's again and I'm hoping they will find a place to nest somewhere in the park this winter.

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 :)

First of Year Wigeon!

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

Another Slow Day

This February has been some of the slowest birding I can remember. But I keep telling myself how normal that is for this time of year. Unless you get really lucky, one can only hope to see the "usual suspects" of Woodpeckers, Chickadees and Mallards. I guess the most interesting thing I saw today was a Muskrat who appeared for a bit in the creek on the south side of the park. I feel like I used to see Muskrat more often and now they have become scarce for some reason. When he went down under the water I saw his long, hairless tail slip beneath the surface. A visit to the duck pond turned up the usual Mallards only but they can be fun to watch non the less. I caught this one doing his morning yoga stretches. Later on the south side I spent a lot of time watching some Black-capped Chickadees. I had brought along a jar of peanut butter today and was leaving gobs of it on some nice red Dogwood shrubs in hopes of enticing them to pose nicely for me. But after many minutes of waiting around, they still hadn't found it and were more interested in whatever was on the ground below the shrubs. Eventually some did come up near eye level but when I left they still hadn't found the peanut butter. Other birds seen today included; Red-tailed Hawk and Northern Cardinal.

Goodbye January!

Well another January is officially in the books and I'm pretty happy that today is the first day of February. We're just one month closer to spring in my view! The park is anything but spring-like though and likely wont be for quite some time. I didn't arrive until late afternoon, and with an already cloudy day, I had very limited time for photos. Not too long into my walk around the park, I came upon a group of Dark-eyed Juncos. I watched them for a while, not know if I would see anything else of interest on such a gloomy day. Junco's really fit in nicely on a gloomy day with their lack of color. As of late I've been trying quite hard for better photos of both Junco's and Chickadees. But as they are both small, move quickly and blend into the winter landscape, well it's quite the challenge. At least this one who paused for a brief second had a bit of a warm toned background behind. I think the group of birds were attracted to this particular tree because of it's seeds or something. But then maybe that wasn't the reason. On the ground beneath the tree lay a chuck of bread that looked freshly discarded. And to my surprise, the Juncos would land in a small group around the bread and nibble at it! I would have never guessed they'd try to eat bread, but in a Minnesota winter, I think all animals do whatever it takes. After this I spent most of my time at the duck pond, photographing the Mallards with the fading light. "Whitey" the pure white Mallard was present, but I liked this photo of Mr. Green better.

A Cold Walk with Good Sights

The temperature today when I arrived at the park was 0º but at least there was no wind and the sun was shining. I hadn't walked real far and was on the south wood chip trails when a large raptor suddenly burst out above me. It was a Great Horned Owl and I was surprised to see one in this area of the park. I watched to see vaguely where it re-perched and went back the way I came in hopes of a photo. Eventually I did find it again but it was now facing away from me and much higher up. I wondered if a pair were scoping out nesting areas here but I found no evidence of that. Later when I was hiking near the duck pond I noticed quite a few Robins hanging out near the little patch of open water that rarely freezes –even in zero degree weather. As I was watching them I noticed one that looked the wrong color. Then it bobbed it's tail repeatedly, making me look closer. To my shock it was a Hermit Thrush! This is a bird I typically see in late Fall (November) or early Spring (April), but I've never seen one in January! I kept an eye on him but it was hard as he blended right into the patchy shoreline of brown leaves and spots of snow. Gradually he moved into a nice sunny spot and just stayed there while I took photos. When I got home I reported this bird over ebird.org and sure enough it was listed as "rare" for this time of year! Only my second real "rare bird" report since I started using ebird. I decided to back to the open water and get down nice and low for some closeup views of the Robins. I'm very glad I did as I walked away with a couple of photos I'm proud of –even if it is of a very common species. Actually I always like sharing photos of Robins in the winter, as many Minnesotan's tend to think of them returning in the Spring. What actually happens is that while the majority of Robins DO migrate south, a certain percentage will stay all winter in areas where they have access to food and water. This behavior is referred to as "overwintering" and a great deal of Robins happen to choose Palmer Lake Park as their place. I also think it's fun to try and catch them (or any bird for that matter) bending over to drink. Nearly all birds except for Doves and Pigeons have to lap up water and then tilt their head back in order to actually drink. I read once before that it has something to do with their nasal cavities and they don't have the ability to "suck up" the water. Interesting huh? I also spent some time watching the Mallards in the duck pond doing exactly the same thing. It's always nice to see their beautiful green heads shining in the sun on a cold winter day. One other bird I got close to today was this male Downy Woodpecker (as evident by the patch of red on the back of his head). He was so busy hammering away on this branch that he let me sneak up within mere feet and snap some photos. I also saw Hairy Woodpeckers, and a domestic cat roaming out in one of the fields.