Today at the AHATS WOA, I Saw Babies.

Today at the Arden Hills Army Training Site Wildlife Observation Area, I saw lots of babies.  The trumpeter swan pair have 5 cygnets.  The common loon pair have two young.  And a whole bunch of wood ducklings were around minus one.

I witnessed an interesting behavior from one of the swans, something I've never seen.  The swan attacked a momma wood duck.  She disparately tried to distract it from one of the ducklings but the swan was determined.  The duckling would submerge for a few seconds but when it popped up the swan would lunge for it.  After a few minutes of this comical chase, the swan succeeded. It held the duckling under water and then shook it around like a dog playing with a chew toy.  It was an interesting site to behold.  Wish I would've had video and/or a 10,000mm lens.

Toady at the AHATS WOA, I Saw Clouds and Birds

Today at the AHATS Wildlife Observation Area, I saw clouds and a plane. Actually, I saw 6 or 8 airplanes. I also saw a pair of bluebirds, about 8 tree swallows, 1 Cooper's hawk, 1 turkey vulture, 1 pileated woodpecker, 1 song sparrow and a bunch of ducks and Canada geese and Red-winged blackbirds.

The first for the day was seeing a downy woodpecker inside one of the bluebird cans.

Today at the AHATS WOA, I Saw a Bald Eagle

Today at the Arden Hills Army Training Site Wildlife Observation Area, I saw a bald eagle.  Well, I may have seen two or this one twice.  I heard my first of the year song sparrow but didn't see it.  I also saw Mr. and Mrs. Northern Harrier.  Nothing quiets the red-winged blackbirds as quickly as a harrier fly-over.  Saw a Mr. Cardinal signing, some chickadees, goldfinches and lots of Canada geese and unidentified ducks on lake Marsden.

Today at the AHATS WOA, I saw clouds.

Today at the AHATS Wildlife Viewing Area, I saw clouds. Not many birds yet. I did see two trumpeter swans flyby, but they didn't stop. The lake is still frozen. Saw four chickadees, two downy or hairy woodpeckers, one crow and a couple mallards.

Today at the AHATS WOA, I Saw Chickadees

Today at the Arden Hills Army Training Site Wildlife Observation Area, I saw black-capped chickadees. I put some seed out on the bridge and a lone chickadee came by to enjoy my generosity.  I also saw some crows, Canada geese, mallards and a goldfinch.  Heard some downey/hairy woodpeckers.

Here's a video of it thanking me:

Today at the AHATS WOA, I Saw Eagles and a Coyote

Today at the Arden Hills Army Training Site Wildlife Observation Area, I saw a bald eagle. Within just a few minutes of getting setup this young bald eagle flew over head.

Shortly after that, I saw a coyote walking on the ice.



And then another eagle landed on a dirt pile on the ice:



I also saw a half a dozen crows, about 20 mallards flying over, a downy/hairy woodpecker and some chickadees.

Today at the AHATS WOA, I Saw Sumac...and Clouds

Saw the bluebird pair and some crows today along with the sumac. The sumac trees are really taking over. Oh and the lupine is blooming!



Here are some clouds:

Today Near the TCAAP WVA, I Saw Lots of Stuff

I spent a good part of the weekend in the Arden Hills Army Training Site.  Today, I got to see 10 white-tailed deer navigate the cliff surrounding the gravel pit like they were mountain goats.  I also saw: 1000s of ducks; about 40 robins; a bald eagle; a pair of red-tailed hawks; some woodpeckers; a dead coyote and heard a pileated woodpecker.

Here is a slideshow:

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Pileated Woodpecker on Christmas Eve

Pileated Woodpecker DSC_1794, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I got out early and found some birds near the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. This pileated woodpecker follow me through the woods for a while. Here are a couple more birds from nearby:

Eagle Butt

Crowded Take Off

Red-tailed Hawk

Today at the TCAAP WVA, We Counted Birds

Bald Eagle DSC_1070, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Actually, it was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. I joined some St. Paul Audubon Society members to count birds in the Arden Hills Army Training Site. It was great fun. We saw hundreds of birds. By far the most were mallards in the gravel pit but I also saw more than a hundred American Crows. I wasn't the note taker so I don't have our official totals but here is a rundown of what we saw.

Northern Shrike
Great Horned Owls
Red-tailed Hawks
Bald Eagles
Black-capped chickadees
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Goldfinches
American Tree Sparrow
Blue Jay
Canada Geese
Turkeys
some deer and one gigantic bird made of grass.

The light was very flat most of the day and the early morning photography was pretty much worthless. I've linked to some photos above but don't expect any really big high quality prints. ;-)

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Ghost.

Happy Halloween from the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Northern Shrike

Northern Shrike DSC_7296, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

This is my first sighting and first photograph of a northern shrike. I was out at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing area despite the flat light and dim conditions.



I also saw a couple northern harriers. The male (bluish gray) dropped something (presumably prey) into the water so the female made a radical maneuver and snatched it up.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw at Least 4 Otters

At Least 4 Otters DSC_7008, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I got to see the otters again this evening at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. I saw them at dawn today. This is the first time I saw them twice in the same day.

Not my best photo. Terrible technically. Poor gray light and cropped severely.

There are four river otters in this shot. I saw at least five today. They swam from one of the lake to the other and back again. It looked like they were feeding. They would breach not unlike whales. Very fun watching them.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco DSC_6906, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Sunrise at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area was chilly this morning. 30F. Here is another bird on barbed-wire I've added to my best of birds on barbed-wire collection.

I also saw five river otters. Unfortunately, they were in the shade so the shots are that great. I think you can still tell they are otters. Let me know.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Gold Water Tower

Gold Water Tower DSC_5697, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Here is another shot of the old water tower from the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area.

Don't forget to like my Facebook page to view exclusive content and make comments.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw Pretty Much Everything.

Nine Point DSC_5644, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

This nine point bucked walked up to me at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area tonight. He could hear the shutter clicks. Notice his ears locked onto my position. I was very still so he didn't appear to see me and I was down wind.

I also saw one of the river otters. For the first time I saw a downy woodpecker land on the barbed-wire...added that to my best of birds on barbed-wire slide show.

There are still some great fall colors out there.



This was my 5th shot of the night. This coopers (I think) hawk flew off just as I approached the bridge viewing platform.



And here is another one of the nine point buck.

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Chickadee

Chickadee DSC_5171, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Here is another shot of my favorite bird, the black-capped chickadee.

Yesterday at the TCAAP WVA, I saw Vines, Berries and Wire

Vines Berries and Wire DSC_5387, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Here is another shot of the vines on the barbed-wire at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Sunset and Water Tower

Sunset and Water Tower DSC_5435, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

It was mostly cloudy all day with some spotty rain showers. I really didn't feel like going out to the Wildlife Viewing Area but I did anyway. The clouds mostly parted near sunset. In fact, things really got colorful just after a woman left the area. She showed up for a couple quick snapshots with her fancy DSLR and left before it got really good. I noticed her flash going off so I assume she was in auto mode. Too bad for her. She really missed show.

The shot on the right was made a few minutes after official sunset. Gotta stick around after sunset!

I really like this shot of the vines on the barbed-wire.



And this one of some grass caught up in the barbed-wire:

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw Chickadees and Juncos

Chickadee DSC_5158, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

This morning I went out to the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area for sunrise. Last week I saw a deer jump over the fence. Today, I saw a flock of black-capped chickadees and dark-eyed juncos. I love watching how they work an area for seeds. They slowing migrated in my direction so I stayed very still. This guy on the right noticed me once he/she got about 15 feet away.

The light was much better a few minutes later when I caught this dark-eyed junco on the barbed-wire. Except for the shadow across the top of its head, I think this is a pretty cool photo.