After the breezy start yesterday, the still air this morning was a very welcome change. That, plus the crystal blue sky, more than made up for temps in the 40s, and it was a perfect morning for visiting Estabrook Park.
I found my first fun sight, beside the river at the north end, with the help of three crows who were trying to convince this young bald eagle, hiding in plain sight, to move along. The eagle didn’t budge, however, and the crows eventually gave up and moved along themselves. I wonder if this youngster is related to the adult we saw just yesterday.
Below the eagle, the river was full of geese, mallards, a great blue heron, and three of these little cuties. They wouldn’t get close to a mallard for a clear comparison, but I don’t believe they were anywhere near as small as the green-winged teal yesterday. Instead, the little white patch on the wing makes me think they are female or molting male gadwalls. Sweet!
As I was working on eagle and gadwall pictures, another beauty dropped in for a quick visit, our first male American kestrel in a while.
Almost right below the kestrel, this belted kingfisher also paused for a moment.
I had searched for an owl on my way north and again on my way back south, but I had no luck. Then as I traipsed farther south on the river path, the little birds in the canopy high above were making more of a racket than usual, and when I looked up, I found out why. This owl is about as sound asleep as I have ever found one, and I never saw it look towards or react to me in any way, although it did turn its head once when a crow called nearby. “Sleep tight, sweetie!”
At the pond, the wood ducks were all excited about something, but I never managed to find what it might be. Meanwhile, this great blue heron, standing on the branch that the wood ducks often use, looked as if it could not possibly care less. Maybe the wood ducks were just annoyed that the heron was using their branch.
On my last swing by the river, I was happily surprised to find that they are still making damselflies, and this one, with its regular black and blue dot-dash pattern, appears to be a familiar bluet.
Once I turned around from taking the bluet picture, I spotted this sparrow, which looks a bit like one of the dozens of white-throated I’ve been seeing lately, but not exactly. That’s because it’s a Lincoln’s sparrow, which we only get to see once in a while.
Finally, as I crossed the soccer fields at the south end, I found our first yellow-rumped warbler that was willing to show off its yellow rump. “Thanks, Cutie!”
Lastly, for the first time I’ve seen in Estabrook Park, here’s a monarch butterfly sampling the nectar of one of the sunflowers planted out in front of the pollinator garden. I know the goldfinch love them, but it is good to know that the monarchs will tank up there, too. So, yet again, we manage to eke out one more “butterfly of the day.” Woo Hoo!
As always, the images are embedded from flickr, so you can click on them to see the full resolution version.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 