No new critters, but several new sights

Despite the improved forecast, the weather this morning in Estabrook Park was not much better than it has been over the last few days. The skies were plenty dark and still leaking enough that I had to drape my hat over my camera at times to keep it dry, but at least it wasn’t pouring down rain like yesterday.

Anyway, the first surprise was spotting this red-eyed vireo in the middle of the parkway. When I tried to encourage it to move to someplace safer, it could only manage to fly a couple of feet at a time, and it couldn’t get over the curb, so I picked it up, took this picture, and placed it in the nearby bushes. “Best of luck, little cutie!”

The indigo bunting with no tail feathers was still foraging among the flower stalks at the north end, …

and today I spotted another one, who does have a full tail.

The most exotic sight on the river today was one last egret hanging around, but that was until a couple of Canada geese got into it in a way I had never seen before. Each one had a bill full of feathers on the other’s neck, and neither one wanted to let go. You can just make out through the water drops that the one on the right has a grip on the neck feathers of the one on the left. The fracas lasted for nearly a minute, enough time for even me to get a picture, and attracted the attention of all the other geese on the river. I’ve seen them be very territorial when nesting, but soon after the goslings hatch, they are all comrades in arm again, and I have no idea what these two might have to fight about now. Odd.

Finally, there’s a brand new fungus among us, at least for me, and it is this amazing white clump, which appears to be one of the species in the Hericium genus, maybe coral tooth (Hericium coralloides). It is described as “edible and good when young,” but absolutely, positively, under no circumstances should you trust my identification. In other words, DO NOT EAT THIS based on my say so alone.

And that’s all I have time for today. Let’s hope the weather continues to improve and I have more for you tomorrow.