Happy New Year!

Now that the big storm is all cleared out, things are pretty quiet in Estabrook Park. There’s still some ice on the river, but not so much that ducks and mergansers are coming south in search of open water. Here are a few pictures from the last two mornings.

A black-capped chickadee by the pond,

And a dark-eyed junco by the pond.

I was very excited to hear the call of this male belted kingfisher over the river. I haven’t seen one since last May.

Yesterday, there was also a pair of common mergansers on the river,

And one hooded merganser drake.

Today, there was one goldeneye drake and one common merganser hen, but they were both too far away from my equipment.

This morning, the sun tried a little harder to shine through the clouds, and here’s one of about a half dozen cedar waxwings picking berries.

At the southern parking lot, this male, red-bellied woodpecker wolfed down a crabapple from a nearby tree as it continued to announce his presence from the top of a light pole.

Finally, just as I was crossing the Oak Leaf Trail to exit the park, this grey squirrel caught my eye as it feasted on box elder seeds while hanging by its hind legs.

That’s it for now, and I hope your new year is off to a great start.