I rode in the UPAF Ride for the Arts yesterday morning, including two trips over the Hoan Bridge and back, and then the rest of the day got away from me, so I never got to take pictures in Estabrook Park. Sorry about that. Happily, the nice weather continued into this morning, and I did manage a visit this time.
The mallard hen and her one duckling are still on the pond and were foraging along the path when I first arrived. I didn’t want to force them to retreat to the water, so I left them alone and was glad to find them taking a little break from grazing by the time I returned for a second visit.
I also saw a mallard hen on the river with four ducklings, and we might have seen them before, but I couldn’t get close enough for a picture this morning.
The wood duck hen who started with seven ducklings, and then had five for a while, appears to be down to just four, sadly, and I saw no sign of the second hen or her seven ducklings. Here’s one of the remaining four.
On the path from the pond down to the river, I found this red squirrel mom taking a break from nursing to grab some breakfast of her own.
While looking for monarch caterpillars on milkweed plants, I found these crane flies, perhaps ferruginous tiger crane flies (Nephrotoma ferruginea), instead
Finally, on my way out of the park, a colleague pointed out this red-belted bumble bee (Bombus rufocinctus), a first for me, sampling the Virginia waterleaf.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 