Eagles, egrets, and osprey! Oh my!

This morning in Estabrook Park turned out to be far nicer than forecast. It seems that the overnight rain washed all the grey out of the sky, and it was a perfect crystal blue.

On my way to the pond, I came across a monarch in the pollinator garden on a rough blazing star (Liatris aspera) blossom. It was a good sign.

At the pond, I counted 10 wood ducks, and here’s one still waiting for its flight feathers to arrive.

I didn’t see anyone else around, so I headed over to the river where I was thrilled to see one of our first fall warbler migrants, this northern waterthrush, on its way to Central or northern South America. The picture is barely good enough for identification, but it is only the first of many, I hope.

At the north end, things got crazy, and I sometimes struggled to pick what to photograph next. First off, there were four (4!) great egrets and five (5!) great blue herons flitting around between high perches on the island and the water below. Here’s an image with one of each, plus a bonus mallard. It looks as though the heron is slightly bigger than the egret.

There was also a bald eagle, …

a couple of belted kingfishers, …

a diminutive blue-winged teal, …

and an osprey! Holy Moly!

I eventually tore myself away, and on my way back south the sun had warmed things up nicely, so I stopped by the pollinator garden again to find this female pondhawk. You may recall the bright blue male we saw back in July.

There was also the first viceroy I’ve ever seen in Estabrook. Woo Hoo! Maybe they’ve been here all along, and I just didn’t recognize them, but I sure do now.

Finally, on the bull thistle amongst the burdock beside the soccer fields, a found this skipper that is quite pale on the outside, except for one dark spot, …