The rain finally took a break, the sun came out, and it was a gorgeous morning in Estabrook Park. Plus, my visit started off with a bang when I spotted this deer sneaking into the woods at the far south end.
Even better, she turned around and and struck a pose for us. We haven’t seen hide nor hair from them since I caught three of them crossing the frozen river back on January 18, and it sure is a treat to see them again.
The sun finally came out as I was making my way north along the river, and I thought two red-bellied woodpeckers on the same branch against a bright blue sky would make a nice picture.
They took their sweet time getting into position, however.
But once they did, the action happened fast!
On my way to the pond, I ran into Lisa, and she said there wasn’t much to see there today, so we headed to the islands at the north end, where I hoped she would spot a great horned owl for me, and she hoped I would make an eagle materialize. Well, neither came to pass today, but we did spot a pair of buffleheads, which might be the last pair we get to see this season.
On our way south, we spotted a winter wren and a trio of golden-crowned kinglets, but I got no pictures this time. We did swing back by the pond, but Lisa was right about there being nothing to see there, and then she had to go to work, so I headed back to the river. On my way, I came across a couple of fox sparrows singing to each other, and here’s the handsome one.
When I finally got back to the edge of the water, which I haven’t seen this high since early last spring, I found this dark-eyed junco checking out our mushrooms, which my old buddy, Mike, claims to have “on good authority are oysters.“
I barely turned around from that scene to find this acrobatic, white-breasted nuthatch showing us its stuff.
Finally, after I wrote yesterday’s post about the eagles’ nests, I did find a gap in the rain, and headed out to find my first live Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), the Wisconsin State marsupial, after nearly two full years of searching. Woo Hoo!
As I look out my window now, I see that it is already raining again. Oh well. I hear we need the water, and the critters don’t seem to mind, but it sure was a beautiful morning while it held off, eh?
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 