The forecast cold front did roll through last evening, and it was cool and blustery in Estabrook Park this morning, with winds out of the ESE and clouds slowly thickening.
Thus, the wood ducks huddled against the eastern shore of the pond instead of their usual place in the northwest corner where they can soak up the sun. Sadly, the leaves have only turned a little yellow here instead of the reds some have at the other end.
The owl was in the same spot as yesterday, even though I took this picture from a different angle. In fact, if you check back through the last four days, you can see that little curly branch under its feet is in every picture. Ha! Even better, if you look at the coloration of the face and breast feathers, you can see that the bird from Thursday has a lot more white than the bird from today and Wednesday. At last, I have a way to tell them apart when I see only one. Yay! Here’s hoping I have a lot of opportunities to use that in the coming weeks and months, eh?
Out on the river, we have a new visitor today, and it appears to be another female or immature male green-winged teal.
Meanwhile, I’m happy to report that our lone wigeon is still around and enjoying our fine Milwaukee River plants.
And here are the two soloists together for a moment. Once again, you can see how tiny the teal is compared to the wigeon, which is itself smaller than a mallard.
Speaking of small birds, the kestrel, “North America’s littlest falcon,” stopped by for another visit. I watched it make a try for a flicker, but I didn’t see it catch anything today.
That’s all I got this morning, but I still have some recent pictures that I haven’t yet used, and here’s another look at the young red-headed woodpecker from yesterday.
Finally, I didn’t see any dragonflies today, and the few sulphurs I did see were fighting mightily against the wind, so let’s go with the fiery skipper sunning itself on the paved path around the pond yesterday morning. Soon enough, I won’t even be able to find one of these for you.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 