It wasn’t as warm nor as sunny this morning in Estabrook Park as it’s been lately, but it was still a perfectly nice time for a visit.
My first thrill of the morning was spotting this muskrat up near our riverbank and munching on its breakfast. They sure made themselves scarce over the summer, but here’s hoping we get to see more of them now.
Another critter that hasn’t let me get close lately is the kingfisher, but this one chased away the flicker I was aiming for, so I took its picture instead.
The gadwalls we had earlier in the month had orange on their bills, so were females, but the gadwall today has an all-black bill and more-distinctive plumage, which mark it as a male.
Speaking of males, I believe the wigeon hen we’ve been seeing lately has been joined by a young or eclipse drake today. Females only have a “dark smudge around the eye“, as the bird on the right has, and males have “a wide green stripe behind the eye and a white cap“, hints of which the bird on the left appears to have.
On my way back south, the raccoon we saw last week showed its cute little masked face today. Yay!
On my way to the pond, I spotted this gorgeous red-tailed hawk eyeing the rodents on the disc golf course. There was also a second hawk, and I suspect they were already acquainted because when the second flew by, this one merely watched it go.
Finally. as I was checking for butterflies at the southern soccer fields, I found yet one more last dragonfly of the season, and this one also appears to be cherry-faced meadowhawk, but I have since learned that “veins in leading edge of wing are orange, stigmas orange, [and] legs not completely black,” all mean that it is our very first saffron-winged meadowhawk (Sympetrum costiferum). Woo Hoo!
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 