It was a bit chilly this morning, and the only mammal I saw on my entire walk through Estabrook, to the north end and back, was this hapless little rodent that our new huntress had caught for her breakfast. I’m sure glad to see that she seems to be making herself at home. “Help yourself to whatever you find in the fridge, Sweetie, but the toaster oven has been on the fritz lately.”
Other than that, I didn’t even see a single gray squirrel venturing out into this cold, but there were plenty of birds up and about, and here’s a black-capped chickadee, …
a northern cardinal, …
a downy woodpecker, …
a house finch, …
and a goldfinch.
Meanwhile, on the water, there were just two groups of mallards, one at the top of the rapids, and one right above the falls. The gadwall drake was still with the first group, and I heard the kingfisher at the south end, but I couldn’t spot her this morning. Instead, there were about a half dozen pairs of common mergansers around, and here’s a hen fishing in the open water above the falls,…
and here’s a male showing off his iridescent green head feathers at the bottom of the mild rapids at the south end. I don’t see that from them nearly as much as I do from the mallards.
This cold snap is due to last another day, so perhaps all the ice forming upstream will send more eagles our way in search of open water. Keep your fingers crossed.
PS. Welcome aboard, Jordan!
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 