May 3, 2015 - Metro Area Birds

The Old Cedar Avenue Bridge is a birding area just south of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. This pair of Canada Geese was in one of the small ponds and seemed very interested in something up in the air. I couldn’t tell what they were looking at but they were certainly concentrating on it.

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It wouldn’t seem like spring without seeing American Robins. In fact, people often say that spring has arrived when they spot their first Robin of the year. Actually, each year some Robins stay in Minnesota throughout the winter. If they can find food, they are able to survive our cold season.

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At the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge, there is a boardwalk that gets you out into Long Meadow Lake. I was at the end of the boardwalk when these swans flew in and all of them landed at the same time.

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The Bass Ponds is another birding area near the Mall of America. This Song Sparrow was actively defending its territory at the edge of a pond.

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Of course I had to get a photo of a Song Sparrow actually singing.

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At Silverwood Park in St. Anthony, Minnesota, the resident Great Horned Owl pair raised two chicks this year. Here’s a look at one of the adults and one of the chicks. These baby owls grow quickly and you can see this one is almost as big as the adult, although it can’t fly yet. It will still take all summer for the young one to learn all the tricks involved in hunting for food.

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