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, and this single heron.
The monarchs and bees were mobbing the bull thistle for its sweet, sweet, nectar.
And this pretty painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), whom I don’t believe we’ve seen before, was sipping on drops of sap on this leaf. It looks very similar to the American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) that we saw back in June.
I read in the Pedia of Wik that it “is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America.” Furthermore, across the pond, “it migrates from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Britain and Europe in May and June, and from the Red Sea basin, via Israel and Cyprus, to Turkey in March and April.” And, “after heavy rain produced an abundance of vegetation in the deserts, Southern California saw these butterflies migrating by the millions across the state in March 2019.” Quite the travelers, eh?
Finally, thanks to everyone who has already signed my petition to keep the parkway through Estabrook Park closed to motorized traffic. We’re up to 150+ signatures this morning, and if you’ve been to the park recently, you may have noticed that the parks department did move the northern barricade to the southern edge of the middle parking lot, providing access to the ADA parking spaces near the dog park. Here’s hoping we can help make that the last time they need to move them.
Oh, and before I forget, I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to know that my park beer was nice and tasty last evening, as one would expect, right?
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 