Double the pleasure…

It was a nice enough morning in Estabrook Park, but a little breezy, so more like a copy of a copy rather than another cast from the same mold. I didn’t see any deer today, and the mammals were represented by this shy little cutie instead.

Belted kingfishers continue to make rackets along the river, and these two were particularly energetic as they appeared to be becoming acquainted. The female is below, with a chestnut belt across her chest, and the male is above without.

The pond was crowded this morning with a full dozen wood ducks, 14 Canada geese, and a hand-full of mallards. I didn’t see anything new or particularly photogenic, so I continued on to the north end. There I was treated to this darling hermit thrush feasting on the berries of some kind of spindle tree; either European spindle (Euonymus europaeus) or burning bush (Euonymus alatus).

Meanwhile, out on the northern island, there were two (2!) young bald eagles. One was almost all dark, …

and a second one had a lot more light feathers. This one also looked like it was trying to dry out, perhaps after a dip in the river, and it was beset by crows, but seemed unperturbed. Perhaps it is the same one we saw Tuesday, but I can’t be sure.

What did get its attention, however, was when this peregrine falcon made a couple of close flybys.

Nothing came of it, however, and the eagle resumed drying out, while the falcon continued north, perhaps to sample the selection of pigeons perched on the Port Washington Road bridge.

I’ve only managed to photograph falcons in Estabrook twice before, so this was quite a treat for me.