As dawn broke this morning, the sky looked like it was going to be clear, so I hustled out the door soon after I noticed, and it didn’t take long for that to pay off. I had just crossed Wilson Drive, stepped into the park, and hadn’t even crossed the Oak Leaf Trail yet when a good Samaritan called for my attention from across the street. When I turned around, he pointed out this gorgeous red fox (Vulpes vulpes) on the front steps of Kingo Lutheran Church. By the time I aimed my camera in its direction, it was already trotting down the sidewalk, and so this is the best picture I could get with what little light I had.
Meanwhile, back in the park proper, things were pretty quiet, though the kingfisher was making her usual calls as she fished along the lower river.
And there was a flock of geese on the water above the falls making a racket again, but I couldn’t spot any buffleheads among them today.
Finally, things were so quiet, otherwise, that I even swung by the pond, to see if anyone was home. It was completely frozen over, but the bushes around it were full of little birds, and here’s a sparrow trying to keep warm before the sun shines in. The little bit of yellow above its eye makes me think that it’s a “tan-striped” form of the white-throated sparrow.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 