A wild goose chase…

It was a little cloudier and a little breezier than recent mornings in Estabrook Park, but mild and very nice for November. I found our dynamic duo still together on the pond, and here’s the woodie, …

and here’s the nearby hoodie.

At the river, there was a great blue heron fishing at the falls on the far side, our on-again-off-again owl was off today, and our belted kingfisher was perched over the far side of the northern island, so nothing amazing. Instead, the big surprise was this mature bald eagle, the likes of whom we haven’t seen in a while, and who flew across the river to perch over the far shore and dig into something it had caught that I can’t quite make out.

Then I got word from my old pal Brian that a Ross’s goose had been spotted on the river in Lincoln Park, and since Estabrook Park abuts Lincoln Park, and I was already at the north end, I decided to just keep hiking north to see what I could find.

On my way, I encountered a small bunch of American tree sparrows, and this one must have liked enough the junco portrait from yesterday, that it struck a similar pose.

At the north end of Lincoln Park, I came across about a dozen wild turkeys, which I haven’t seen in Estabrook since May, and here’s either the boldest or the hungriest one.

Finally, on my way back south, another kingfisher offered me a better shot.

There was also a red-tailed hawk and a pair of merlins, but they were all too far off for my equipment, and neither Brian nor I could find any geese other than Canada geese. Oh well. It was a very nice day for a walk.