On my walk to the pond this morning, I had one of those magical moments when a young deer who couldn’t figure out what to make of me. I’ve learned that the spell lasts longer if I sat down, so I did.
Once it seemed that I was no threat, hunger called, and the spell was broken.
At the pond, Mrs. Wood Duck’s special friend was back, and they were having their own magic moment while the ducklings foraged hither and yon on their own.
Meanwhile, the young blue heron was back and continuing to hone its fishing skills.
Then, as if all that wasn’t enough, a mallard hen flew in, and the American black duck hen immediately paddled right over and became her new best friend.
I eventually tore myself from all this amity and hiked down to the river.
I could see ripples on the water that the beaver were making, and as I tried to get closer, a red squirrel took great exception, which alerted the beaver, and they went back under cover. Oh well.
I saw no herons, muskrats, or otters on the river today, but on my way back south, I did spot a mallard hen with her three ducklings…
And a wood duck hen with her duckling.
Back by the mudflats, I got to see my first school of tiny bullheads for this summer.
Back up on the bluff, I spotted this pair of whitetail dragon flies still just getting acquainted.
Finally, in the weeds by the soccer fields, there were a few monarchs…
Yet another dragonfly, a female widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) this time, and …
A pretty little sulfur butterfly sharing a bull thistle blossom with an Agapostemon bicolored striped-sweat bee .
That’ll do it for today, and I hope you have a great 4th of July, maybe even with your friends and family!
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 