A Hike Through the Forest

My sister and I took a four mile hike through a local state park a couple weeks ago. During the trip we were able to search many wooded ravines around the park, many of which held some nice birds. The first good bird we came across was a singing Cerulean Warbler. These warblers are somewhat rare to our area but obviously this spring we had a few more than usual. Since he was up in the high treetops were were unable to see him. Not to far down the trail from the warbler we heard a Summer Tanager. Just like the warbler, he was hidden in the treetops. The trail was downhill and as we got to the bottom we began hearing Louisiana Waterthrush. We had four during the whole trip. I was able to actually see one as it walked around near a small stream. Another Summer Tanager was heard but not seen as well.

The non birding highlight of the trip was seeing a baby deer. Luckily my sister had a cell phone with a camera with her so we could get some pictures.

I love to hike in this park and am always finding something new and interesting there, especially when it comes to birds. I am going out there tomorrow and hope to find some more good birds so keep watching for a post on that.

Mammal Invasion

Mammals are taking over this post!

I had a few photos I got earlier this year and I wanted to share them since I somehow forgot to. I am not just into birds, I also am into amphibians, butterflies and other insects, mammals, and reptiles, although birds generally come first.

The animals in the photo below are American Bison. I got this photo at Broken Kettle Grasslands in Iowa back in January. A small herd was reintroduced to this large prairie area, the largest in the state. In this photo they are only in a small trap pasture to help them get settled into their surroundings. The preserve manager said that they usually sit on the side of the hill that the wind is hitting for some reason or another. They are expected to have babies before long here, in fact I think some have already been born.

This photo of a Red Squirrel was taken on Valentine's Day weekend at Gooseberry Falls SP near the feeders in northern Minnesota. They were around in good numbers there and around many of the feeders elsewhere in the north woods.
The last photo is of a White-tailed Deer. These common deer that have a wide distribution across North America are numerous in some parts of Iowa. This individual was underneath a feeder at a nature center looking for food. It is funny what you can find at feeders besides birds. When I get a photo of a Black Bear at a feeder I will make sure to post it!

That's all the mammal photos I have to share. Watch out for the next mammal invasion on Birding with Tucker.