Anne and I are in Chicago this morning to visit some relatives passing through, so here are the rest of the pictures from yesterday that I couldn’t cram into yesterday’s post.
Right after seeing the grossbeak, I was thrilled to also get one more chance at an eastern towhee portrait. This guy was more elusive, but I followed him for a bit, and eventually captured this image. I wish I had more light, but what can you do with birds that like to lurk in the underbrush.
Happily, this northern parula was not so shy.
In fact, it appears that he was hoping to be seen.
Down at the river, this common yellow throat behaved more like the towhee.
Just a few yards up river from the nesting great blue heron, I also spotted a couple of green herons. Now that I know what their nests can look like, I will have to keep my eyes peeled.
After I was done with the oriole, I turned around to see this crazy scene unfolding on the pond. The mallard hen was talking, too, which might have made an even better picture, but she always turned her head a bit when she spoke so that her face was in shadow. Anyway, the turtles seemed transfixed.
There were also a few wood ducks on the pond, and here’s a hen coming to check the lawn in front of the bench to see if I left her anything. I keep telling them, though, “I’m not that guy.”
Here’s one of the drakes in tow, just in case she needs help with anything.
Finally, this American lady butterfly seemed more interested in sipping some moisture out of the damp soil while basking in the sun and left the fruit tree blossoms to the red admirals.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 