Monday, May 9, 2011

T S Roberts Bird Sanctuary

This weekend I took a trip over to the T S Roberts Bird Sanctuary in south Minneapolis. The sanctuary is part of Lyndale Park and was officially designated as a bird sanctuary in 1936 by Christian Bossen, who was the superintendent of Minneapolis Parks at the time. In 1936 the park was originally called the Lyndale Park Bird Sanctuary but in 1947 the park was renamed after Thomas Sadler Roberts. Roberts was a retired physician who became a professor of Ornithology at the University of Minnesota. In 1932 Roberts published the book, "Birds of Minnesota" which was ground breaking at the time, and is still considered an important book for anyone birding in Minnesota.
The sanctuary was created primarily as habitat for migratory song birds, particularly warblers. There are trails and a boardwalk that run through a variety of different habitats, wetlands, fields, and forest, that can be used as a stop over for warblers as they migrate. Unfortunately the only warblers that I was lucky enough to see on this trip where yellow-rumped warblers and a single ovenbird. I have visited the sanctuary a couple of times in the past. While it once may have been a hot spot for migrating birds the creation of other larger parks nearby, Fort Snelling State Park, Hyland Park, Minnesota Valley NWR, and others may have decreased the number of birds that now use the sanctuary. However it is still great habitat for many of the birds that choose to nest in the area, such as sparrows, robins, and chickadee.
This years abundance of snow and rain has increased the size of the wetlands in the park. Several trails are still flooded over making detours necessary in some cases.
While the excess water may make it a bit more difficult for some visitors other visitors have taken full advantage of the new wetlands areas. Mallards and wood ducks can be found swimming in low land parts of the park that are usually dry.
The reason for my visit to the sanctuary though was the fact that there was a great horned owl pair that still had young that had not fledged. The other couple of nests that I had been watching had already fledged and were now difficult if not impossible to find. This pair of owls appeared to have nested a bit later then normal and so they still had young in the nest.
The nest was located in the back of the park very near to a trail. The location was very good for people who wanted to get a good look at the owls, or perhaps a photo or two, but it was probably not the best location for the owls. Many people know about the nest, particularly because of its location, and stop by to gawk. The owls do not seem to mind this invasion of privacy too much except for perhaps an occasional yawn of boredom for all of the strange humans below.
I don't think that the young ones will be in the nest for much longer though. They are already quite big. The squirrels nest that the parents confiscated, great horned owls do not make their own nests, is pretty small for the two big babies and mom. So soon it will be time for the young ones to leave the nest, and perhaps head off to college, or at least some nice mouse laden field around a college.

12 comments:

Sylvia K said...

What an incredible place! I particularly love your shots of the owls! How beautiful they are! Hope you have a great week!

Sylvia

progressive mum said...

What beautiful pictures in a very natural world! My daughter can't get enough of the birds! Thanks for sharing!

I have My Mothering World to share, I hope to see you at my page! :)

Michael and Hanne said...

We took a walk by the river today, and riverside, every tree seemed to have one or more Yellow Rumped Warblers looking for insects on the flowers. Thanks for sharing your great photos!

genie said...

What an out of this world place to go and spend the day. I cannot believe the photos. They are beautiful. Love the duck and the baby owl with its mouth side open. At the moment I am photographing an eaglet and it mom and dad who built a huge nest on my way to work. It is an incredible experience. Love your post.

Kay L. Davies said...

That duck is SO darned cute, but even its cuteness can't compete with the adorable owlets. They look so fuzzy and cuddly, but of course they're anything but cuddly!
— K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Anonymous said...

PLEASE BE CAREFUL. BE QUIET--- ESPECIALLY NOW. If these owlets fledge too soon (leave the nest) without flight feathers ready they might not make it.

Anonymous said...

Amazing close-ups of so many wonderful creatures!

Arija said...

Amazing captures of the Great Horned Owls. They really are pretty as pictures!

dianasfaria.com said...

I love your owl family pictures - how adorable!

Stewart M said...

Hi - I always find it strange that anything as fluffy and stupid looking as an a owl chick can turn into such a wonderful bird - the only ones that beat them are parrots!

Great Pictures.

Stewart M - Australia

Guy said...

Hi I have to say I really enjoyed the photos of the owls. They are so whimsical.

Guy

Eileen Sabes said...

Jeff, It was great meeting you at the Sanctuary. I appreciate your knowledge and I hope to see you at other natural events!

Eileen