Winter Distractions

As we enter the longest part of winter, I'm struck by how much expectations change at this time of year. Living in a northern border state means that the birds get pretty scarce during the winter months. A walk around the park at this time of year nets about 3 to 5 different species on a good day, a total that would have been counted a pretty lousy outing mere months ago. Some days I see nothing but American Crows. But any time I see more than 2 or 3 species on my lunchtime walks this time of year feels like a pretty good day. Bonus points when a chickadee sings and sings its cheerful song while flitting around my head:



Some people may deal with the depths of winter by simply staying inside and waiting for spring to come. I admit there's an appeal to that, but ever since reading "A Sand County Almanac", I've really appreciated Aldo Leopold's approach to January:

The months of the year, from January up to June, are a geometric progression in the abundance of distractions. In January one may follow a skunk track, or search for bands on the chickadees, or see what young pines the deer have browsed, or what muskrat houses the mink have dug, with only an occasional and mild digression into other doings. January observation can be almost as simple and peaceful as snow, and almost as continuous as cold. There is time not only to see who has done what, but to speculate why.

In my case, I get to sit and enjoy a sweet chickadee's song under a snow-covered pine tree without being distracted by all of the other things I could be seeing. In many ways, that's a pretty rare treat.

Bookend Birds

The last bird I saw in 2010 was an adult Bald Eagle soaring high over Powderhorn Park on the afternoon of December 31. The first bird I saw out my back window on the first of the year was an American Crow. Both sort of fitting in their own way, I think.

So, in honor of the crows, here are a few that I recorded on my walk around the park over lunch hour today (check out the nice croak around 0:18):


The was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the park for a while in early December, but I've not seen it since December 19. But there's another bird that's been showing up since the new year to spice things up a little bit. I've twice seen a Brown Creeper in the past few days. Hopefully it sticks around for the rest of the winter.

Ice cover and summer recap

With the lake now completely covered in ice (and park staff starting to clear the snow off the ice in preparation for the winter skating rink), most of the common migratory breeding birds from the park have now departed. So I figured now is a good time for a recap on the summer. There were a couple of things that struck me about this summer in comparison to last summer (since I've only been paying attention to birds at the park for two years, that's the only reference point I have):

• Great Egrets seemed to be significantly less common this year than last. The last one I saw was in July.
• Green Herons were relatively plentiful at the park last year, but I didn't see a single one this year. I did see them at other places around Minneapolis, so they were around, just not at Powderhorn Park. Very curious.
• The robins were pretty scarce over the summer, but they're quite abundant so far this fall and into the start of winter.
• Pied-billed Grebe was relatively common last fall, with multiple sightings in both September and October. This year I didnt' see a single Pied-billed Grebe in the park after April.

At the end of the yar, my park list stands at 106 species

It's a Crow's World

So, the transition has happened at last. It started slowly. A few more crows showed up in the park. Then a few more. Meanwhile, the Canada Geese started slowly heading for more hospitable climates. And some time in the past week or so, the Most Common Bird of Powderhorn Park™ has officially switched: from Canada Goose to American Crow. It was an orderly transition, though not a quiet one.

I know for some people the start of crow-gathering-season is not necessarily a welcome event, but I can't help but appreciate the sheer volume and personality of the crows, especially in such large numbers. Their antics and garrulousness provide endless entertainment where otherwise there may not be much interesting to observe.

Fall is coming

So, although I've been at the park regularly and observing birds there, I've neglected to update this blog in a very long time, so here again is a little recap of the past few months.

I've noticed a couple things about this year compared with last:

First, we had very few warblers coming through during the spring. I think I had a total of 8 warbler species, and for most of those I only saw a single bird of the species. I did see my first-ever Ovenbird at Powderhorn Park in June, which raised the total to 9 for the year, and it appears that the fall migration may bring a few more warblers our way. I've already added several additional species for the year (though they haven't showed up at Powderhorn Park yet): Black-and-white, Canada (a new species for me as well), Chestnut-sided, and Wilson's.

Secondly, it seems that heron numbers are down a bit at the lake compared to last year. I've seen a great blue heron regularly, but great egrets are rare, and green herons are basically non-existant this year. For a while, I was seeing a black-crowned night-heron or two regularly, but they also disappeared for quite a while this summer.

Some other less-common birds seen at the park since last update: Eastern Screech-Owl, Indigo Bunting, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Kingbird, and Cedar Waxwing.

Nests

Over my lunch hour, I took my usual walk around the park. I had seen bluebirds for each of the past two mornings and heard some bluebird twittering from the north end of the park. Following the sound led me to a bluebird nest, with both parents bringing food to a nest cavity near the upper playground. Also in that area, I discovered a White-breasted Nuthatch nest cavity.

Since it's been a while since my last post, I'll just include a brief list of some of the notable species I've seen in the last couple of weeks (species I've never seen before marked with a *, species that i've not seen at powderhorn before marked with a +). Notice the relatively large number of flycatchers and unfortunately low numbers of warblers:

• black-crowned night-heron
• cooper's hawk
• spotted sandpiper
• chimney swift
• olive-sided flycatcher
• eastern wood-pewee+
• yellow-bellied flycatcher*
• least flycatcher
• great crested flycatcher
• blue-headed vireo*
• red-eyed vireo
• eastern bluebird
• swainson's thrush*
• orange-crowned warbler
• nashville warbler
• american redstart
• common yellowthroat
• lincoln's sparrow
• white-crowned sparrow+
• baltimore oriole+

A few more warblers

Well, a few other warblers besides yellow-rumped warblers are finally coming through the park. They're not particularly easy to see due to the amount of leaves that are already out, nor are they particularly numerous yet, but in the last couple of days I've seen yellow-rumped (obviously), orange-crowned, and palm warblers. This morning I saw a lone Northern (I think) waterthrush (also a warbler, though a rather drab one).

Besides warblers, I've been seeing the spotted sandpipers regularly, and this morning I saw my first white-throated sparrows of the year at the park -- at least 20 of them feeding on the hillside below the tennis courts.