Really starting to feel like summer…

It seems that summer has arrived, at least psychologically and meterologically, if not yet astronomically, and I was happy to see that Estabrook Park looked hardly worse for the wear generated by the throngs of revelers enjoying a Memorial Day weekend with probably the nicest weather on record.

Anyway, the lonely wood duck drake on the pond yesterday had acquired a companion for this morning. Here they are, just two dudes chillin’ on a log.

At the river, the bald eagle was back on the same branch for the third day in a row. Yay!

There were also two Canada goose families on the near shore a bit downriver, and I tried to reassure them, but they opted to paddle over to the island just to play it safe. Here’s the one with five tweeners, …

and here’s the one with four teens starting to show their iconic two-tone faces.

Once I got further upriver and the eagle had moved to the island, I was able to get a nicer portrait. Some morning sun didn’t hurt either.

Here’s a killdeer foraging on one of the many sandbars now exposed around the islands.

On my way back south, a group of at least four cedar waxwings was foraging in the trees over the beer garden, and here’s one of them.

Also by the beer garden was another baby bunny.

Below the falls, I finally found a spotted sandpiper close enough for a picture.

But the huge surprise was finding this trio of wood duck ducklings on the far shore without their mom. I waited around a bit, and here’s hoping that she was just waiting for me to continue on my way before she emerged to collect them.

Finally, a red squirrel was quite curious and came out to get a better look at me after scurrying up a tree when I first approached.

Lastly, the Canadian or Canada columbine, aka eastern red columbine or wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) are starting to blossom along the river trail.