The warm wind out of the southwest must have continued through the night because it was nice and warm in Estabrook Park this morning, despite being pretty cloudy. This is the moment the toads have been waiting for, because they were singing like crazy at the pond and all along the river, and here are two on a log in the pond who are fixin’ to make polliwogs. Yay!
The warm breeze has not yet blown all the tanagers away, and here’s one of the three I found singing from the tops of tall trees. We’re supposed to be in their breeding range, but I have yet to see one after their initial arrival in the spring. Maybe this year we’ll get lucky.
The warm breeze, however, did blow in a ton of warblers! They were everywhere, and I counted individuals from 19 species this morning. Here’s our first bay-breasted warbler of the season.
And here’s my first ever Cape May warbler (Setophaga tigrina), freshly arrived from the Caribbean.
While I was busy taking pictures, this little red squirrel stopped by to see what I was up to.
Back in the trees, here’s our first chestnut-sided warbler of the season.
Finally, here’s a member of the warbler species for which I counted the most individuals today, an American redstart. We are actually in their breeding range, so we might get to enjoy seeing them from time to time all summer.
While I was busy capturing warbler images, I couldn’t help but notice this male house sparrow methodically stripping bark off a branch, presumably for nesting materials. Fun.
Back at the pond, this female goldfinch was trying to pick seeds from a few stems of last year’s grass that are hanging over the water, and a huge bullfrog leapt at least a foot-and-a-half into the air to almost catch it. Yikes!
By the river, this indigo bunting let us have a much nicer look than the tanager did.
At the end of a stick out over the water, this rough-winged swallow was taking a short break from catching bugs out of the air.
Finally, Ol’ Spiny was back up on the mud again, now that the river has subsided a bit, and trying to soak up what meager warmth from the sun was getting through the clouds.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 