Despite flipping to a new page in the calendar, the wet weather continues unabated here in South Holland. Happily, the birds just keep singing, and new ones keep arriving, so here’s who I could get a picture of this morning.
The wrens have been loud and proud for a few weeks now, but usually from good cover, so this bold little cutie really caught my eye.
Here’s another one you’ve seen before, but can you guess who it is?
Ta da! It’s a bluethroat, whom we’ve only first seen a couple of weeks ago showing off the band of orange on his tail feathers.
The graylag geese have joined the Egyptian geese and are now also leading little flocks of goslings.
While I was checking out the geese, I was stunned to see a flash of bright yellow, but not too stunned to track it into these reeds.
Even better, the little sweetheart crept back out of the reeds so that we could get a good look. This is the first western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava) I’ve ever seen and a close cousin of the white wagtail (Motacilla alba) we saw just last weekend.
There are still more shovelers than I wanted to count, and here are two drakes putting their big bills to work.
Speaking of big bills, the spoonbills have been back for a few weeks, but this is the first time one has given me a chance to take a picture.
Finally, even though the Egyptian goose goslings near campus are already starting to look nearly grown, here’s a trio out on the polder that look quite a bit fresher.
The rain is forecast to dry up a bit overnight, so here’s hoping we get some blue sky tomorrow.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 