Monthly Archives: August 2020

Today must have heard me yesterday talking smack about it and so said to tomorrow, “hold my beer.” Wow, what a show! And I even managed to capture images of some of it. First up, a young Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) tried three times to catch a squirrel at the north edge of the soccerContinue reading “Again! And this time, with feeling!”

What a stupendous morning in Estabrook Park. I know there is one more day of August left, but it will be hard pressed to provide a better send-off than today. Might as well just call tomorrow September 0. The sky was clear and the air was cool, dry, and calm. The deer were grazing onContinue reading “A fine farewell to August.”

What a nice change in the weather yesterday evening’s thunderstorm ushered in, right? Once again everything looked fresh and clean, the pond was full, and the river was high. As I’ve been seeing a lot lately, a flight of Canada geese flew over with great fanfare, and a youngish-looking great blue heron visited the pond.Continue reading “The oddities continue…”

I got a late start in the park this morning, and it was plenty hot and muggy by the time I arrived. The closest thing to excitement was watching a young-looking great blue heron fly in low from the west, headed for the pond. By the time I caught up, it was already settled inContinue reading “Some oddballs…”

That’s right, this is our 150th day of continuous reporting, since all the way back to March 30, and the heat and humidity are definitely back. The river has risen again, too, due to the heavier rain they received upstream on Tuesday, I suppose, and taking its sweet time to get here. The new findContinue reading “Episode 150”

The park feels shiny and new this morning after yesterday’s rain. The pond is full and clear, and the flowers have perked up nicely. With the pond full, the stream to the river is running again, and those little fish, maybe darters, were already in it by the middle of yesterday afternoon. The river wentContinue reading “After a replenishing rain…”

We’re finally getting the soaking we’ve needed for a while. Plus, the storm is moving southeast, so it should be raining here through 10am, and so no pictures this morning. It’s kinda fun, for me at least, to sit here at the breakfast table, for a change, and watch the lightning and listen to theContinue reading “Rain at last…”

Oof! It was warm, still, and steamy in the park this morning, and I read that 90°F is in our forecast for this afternoon. Unfortunately, yesterday’s rain didn’t amount to much, the paths were still dry this morning under the bigger trees, and the brown-eyed susans looked no less thirsty than before. The pond wasContinue reading “Summer isn’t done with us yet…”

It was a pleasant morning in Estabrook Park. Signs of fall are starting to show, and some are probably being accelerated by the long stretch of dry weather we’ve been having. I’ve seen flocks of Canada geese flying out of the river valley in v-formations, and some of the sumac leaves by the falls areContinue reading “Starting to winding down…”

It was a quiet and slow morning in Estabrook today, and it appears that our cormorant has finally moved on from the pond, like the grebe, mergansers, teals, geese, mallards, and herons before it. The only one left there this morning was this single wood duck hen. The river was full of Canada geese, mallards,Continue reading “Along came a painted lady…”