Plus eight more…

I had to skip yesterday so I could participate in the UPAF Ride for the Arts, but I’m back today, and it was surprisingly dark this morning. Perhaps there was a big cloudbank over the lake blocking the low sun. In any case, the dim light seemed to subdue the critters, and I don’t believe I heard a single warbler.

The good news is that in all the quiet, some of the shyer critters seemed a bit emboldened. Here’s a deer that gave me a breif look and then simply turned away to resumed eating breakfast.

Here’s a little bunny that let me get quite close.

Even the wood duck hen and her ducklings on the pond let me take a picture that was not of them fleeing.

The great blue herons were back, big time, and I counted seven: three fishing along the river at various spots and these four perched over the northern island.

Also by the northern island was this wood duck hen who must have heard that I saw a mallard hen with eight ducklings on Saturday.

A pair of killdeer were there and making as much noise as ever.

The mallard hen with three ducklings, whom we’ve been seeing for weeks, was there and even still had a drake tagging along.

Lastly, as I hiked south along the river, I could hear at least two crows going ballistic over something or someone, so I scampered up the bluff to see what the commotion might be about. First, I heard the call of a Cooper’s hawk and figured that must be who the crows were mobbing. But look who I found trying to hide amongst the leaves as I searched for the hawk: a young-looking great horned owl. You can still see some fluffy, white baby feathers peeking out. “Woo Hoo and welcome to Estabrook Park, sweetie!”