A nice welcome back after the holiday.

It was a pretty nice morning in Estabrook, all-in-all. Sure, the skies were gray, but not too dark or precipitating, and the air was seasonably cool, but the winds were calm. I’ll take it!

Because of the cloud cover, I loitered over breakfast to let the skies lighten, and didn’t get out very early. Happily, my timing was just right to spot this handsome couple, taking a brief pause from stuffing their gullets with fine, river-bottom weeds, somewhere along the mild rapids on the lower river.

Also up at such a reasonable hour was this red squirrel feigning surprise that I’d want a picture of “li’l ol’ me?”

On the other hand, this foraging chickadee kept its eyes on the prize and didn’t even bother looking my way.

Our dynamic duo, the pair of hooded merganser and bufflehead hens, were still together and still working the upper river. Yay!

On my way back south, I finally managed to capture an image of one of the hairy woodpeckers who’ve been loudly announcing their presence for the last few days.

Back on the water, the herring gulls are still catching fish.

Finally, some of those intricate ice crystals that have formed lately are being left high and dry by the slightly receding river water. Here are some on a stick.