A couple of new sights for the season…

It was a nice enough morning in Estabrook, but the air was a little foggy, so no good for long shots, and the birds were a little busy, so in no mood for portraits. Thus, I didn’t take many pictures and saved a lot on film.

I was happy to see again the great blue heron who’s been hanging around, and here’s one picture I did take.

All the regulars are still on the water at the north end: Canada geese, mallards, common goldeneyes, common mergansers, hooded mergansers, a pair of buffleheads, and even the solo scaup drake. One new-comer, whom I failed to capture, was a wood duck hen. We saw a couple of drakes back on March 2, but this is our first hen of the season.

I didn’t see our eagle this morning, but here are some pictures from Monday that I haven’t shown you yet. It seems that it had an itch to scratch.

I hope that felt as good as it looks, but it’s probably gotta be real careful with talons like those, right?

Anyway, another first for the season was the little chipmunk that scampered across the trail in front of me. It had no time for me or my camera, but this grey squirrel already had its morsal and was luxuriously munching on it beside the pond in a brief slice of sun. “Why don’t ya take a picture? It’ll last longer.” “Thanks! Will do!”

The ice continues to melt on the pond, and I’d guess the water is about 30% clear. There were two pair of mallards today, but the geese were up grazing on the lawn beside the road. I see we’re in for a real warm patch this afternoon, so here’s hoping that helps things along.