Some interesting looks…

It was cloudy when dawn broke this morning, and it is cloudy again now as noon approaches, but in between there were a couple of hours of glorious sunshine in Estabrook Park.

Cooper’s hawks were very active today, and I saw a pair hunting together at the pond, possibly a third bird hunting on its own by the river, and then a pair again at the south end, probably the same pair from earlier. The one by the river let me have the best picture, so here it is.

The red-breasted merganser drake on the pond seems to be getting used to the attention he draws, and he let me get some more great shots, but I like the look on his face in this one. Between his spiky mohawk, the shadow across half his bright red eye, and the serrated edges of his bill, he looks pretty fierce, and I bet that is exactly how his prey sees him.

At the river, the most interesting sight was this chipmunk appearing to be captivated by the geese jostling for position on the water below. I don’t see them off the ground often, and this may be the first time I’ve ever seen one out on a little branch like that.

Farther south, this downy woodpecker seemed somehow to not notice I was standing not even eight feet away.

Finally, I was all excited when I saw this next scene because I thought it was some shrub beginning to blossom. Now that I’ve had a chance to research it, however, I have learned that the plant is American witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginian), and those aren’t blossoms. Instead they’re “persistent calyces” left over from when it blossomed late last fall. Oh well. Live and learn, right?