It was another dark and dreary morning in Estabrook Park, and I seriously considered not even getting out of bed. But, it wasn’t raining, I needed the exercise, and “exposure to nature has been linked to a host of [mental health] benefits,” so I got myself up and went for a walk anyway.
I saw a great blue heron on the river pretty early on, but the pictures aren’t very pretty so I’ll spare you. Instead, check out this darling little puffball of a swamp sparrow, who had been foraging in the grass across the river from the radio towers and took a perch in this maple tree to keep an eye on me.
At the pond, the wood ducks still swim among us, and this drake happened to catch what little morning light there was just right.
Back at the river and farther north, a red-tailed hawk appeared to chase a Cooper’s hawk, but its efforts seemed half-hearted, and I wonder if it wasn’t just having some fun. In any case, the red-tailed perched for a moment before continuing the pursuit, and here it is.
Out on the water, the wigeons are still here, I am happy to report, and this time, here’s the drake.
The big surprise of the day, however, is this stunning new visitor: a non-breeding northern shoveler drake. Woo Hoo! We have seen them in Estabrook before, but not very often.
Even better, there were two hens with him, and here they are almost lined up perfectly. Just look at those amazing bills!
Finally, all this recent warm weather even managed to produce some islands of color, and here’s a bicolored sweat bee chillin’ on a thistle blossom.
I see the sun is forecast to come out a bit tomorrow, and I sure could use some of that.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 