Let me tell you about the birds and the bees…

After a few dark mornings, we’re back to picture-perfect weather in Estabrook Park this morning. Without clouds blocking the sun, I had enough light to get into the park early enough to beat the crowds.

Let’s start with the birds. I didn’t get any pictures until I reached the north end, and the first one is this recently fledged indigo bunting who was calling to be fed and looking less than thrilled with the circumstances in which it now finds itself.

Back at the pond an eastern wood-pewee was also calling but for completely different reasons and from a perch much closer to the ground than usual, so here he is.

And a youngish looking great blue heron was silently on the prowl for more fish.

On my last visit to the river, I found another female belted kingfisher posing perfectly in the sun. Her rusty red band is much less complete than the one on the female we just saw at the pond.

Finally, the birch tree over the weeds beside the soccer fields was hosting an American goldfinch this time.

Now for the bees. This first one you may recognize as a western honey bee sipping nectar from the thistles below the birch tree.

Meanwhile, a red-belted bumble bee was doing the same just a few steps away.

This next bee, if my identification is correct, has quite an impressive name: pugnacious leafcutter bee (Megachile pugnata). I don’t believe it was cutting that leaf at the time, but instead was just warming up in the sun.

This fourth bee also has an oddly descriptive name, coneflower mining bee (Andrena rudbeckiae), and that is exactly what it was doing.

Finally, this last “bee” isn’t really a bee at all, but a moth that mimics bees and our first snowberry clearwing of the season. Soon I hope to find them feeding on bee balm blossoms because that makes for such nice pictures.

This is neither a bird nor a bee, obviously. Instead, it is an eastern harvestman (Leiobunum vittatum), and it appeared to be sipping moisture off that milkweed leaf, which I found fascinating.

Lastly, here’s another eastern pondhawk just because it is so colorful and posed so nicely in the sun for me.