This’ll be a short report. My sister and I walked the Quinnipiac River Gorge Trail to Hannover Pond and back this morning, and there was plenty to see (8 deer and 45 bird species!), but the skies were very dark, so I don’t have a lot of pictures for you today.
I was quite surprised to spot a common merganser hen standing on a rock in the middle of the Quinnipiac River. We get them on the Milwaukee River in Estabrook Park, for sure, but only when they come south during the winter and maybe linger a bit into the spring, but not in mid-May.
At the Hannover Pond, we saw a great blue heron wading in water a bit deeper than I usually see them.
Finally, we counted 30 mute swans on the pond including this mom with her cygnet.
We saw a few swifts and a couple of barn swallows hunting over the pond, but they stayed pretty far from shore, so here’s another look at the friendly barn swallow from yesterday, when the sky was nice and blue.
Along the trail, we heard several Carolina wrens and even spotted a couple, but there was so little light I didn’t even try for a picture, so here’s another look at the one from yesterday in the nice bright sun.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 