Well, the snow sorta did eventually arrive here in Estabrook Park, but temps never got below freezing, so the little bit that did stick to the grass and branches is almost already melted. The big surprise for me this morning, however, was how high the river water has become. I estimate that it is 2-3 feet higher than when I was there on Monday, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it so high. Much of the river path was submerged.
Anyway, the birds were still going about their business, since they don’t really have a choice, and I saw quite a few. Here are the ones moving slowly enough for me to capture a decent image in such dim light.
A red-breasted merganser drake was on the pond and taking a break from fishing when I stopped by.
The mother goose was keeping her eggs warm on the island.
Along the river, I saw more brown creepers than I believe I’ve ever seen in a single day. At one point, I could see four of them on a single tree trunk and a fifth on the next trunk over.
The horned grebe was still on the river by the northern island, and it too was on break from fishing at the moment.
Farther south, at the bottom down the bluff from the southern playground, which was completely flooded, I found my first swamp sparrows for the season. Woo hoo! “Welcome back!”
Finally, there were also plenty of golden-crowned kinglets around, and I took another crack at getting a decent portrait. We’re not there yet, but I think you can get a general idea of what they look like.
Since I have a little room left, let me slip in a couple more pictures from Malawi. On our journey back toward Lilongwe from the Tongole Lodge, we stopped for supper at the luxurious Sunbird Livingstonia Beach Hotel on the shores of beautiful Lake Malawi, which I read “is far deeper than Lake Michigan,” although it has about half the surface area.
I already showed you the amazing pair of cut throats I saw there, but here’s another picture.
That is also where I saw a stunning adult wire-tail swallow that I promised you.
Finally, this amazing butterfly, which I believe is an African monarch or dorippus tiger (Danaus chrysippus dorippus) fluttered by and paused for just a moment. As you might have already guessed, it is a close relative of the African queen we saw on Comoros and to the monarch butterflies we’ll soon be seeing in Estabrook Park.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 