It was cloudy and a little breezy this morning in Estabrook Park, but at least it was warm and not raining.
The osprey was back yet again, and why not? The weather has been balmy lately, and the fish are tasty, so what’s the rush, right?
Similarly, I counted eight wood ducks on the pond who also appeared to be in no hurry to go anywhere.
A female belted kingfisher was there, too, but we’re in her “year-round” range, so we might be lucky enough to find her there till the pond freezes over.
The surprise of the morning, however, was also finding a hooded merganser on the pond, and she’s got the brown eyes of a female. She also has a ways to go, but I sure won’t complain if she sticks around for a bit.
At the river, an owl was back again this morning, but it was doing a great job of hiding. You can just see its tail sticking down and to the right from behind the horizontal tree trunk.
Between the islands, the male wigeon appears to be thinking, “hey, if the osprey and wood ducks don’t have to fly south yet, then neither do I.”
Meanwhile, from its perch high above the northern island, this great blue heron has an expression on its face that seems to say, “stay or go, I could not care less. Just don’t eat my fish.”
Finally, from the north end I crossed the bridge to the Holliday Inn parking lot to join the 9am Westabrook Trail Hike, hosted by the Sierra Club and the River Revitalization Foundation, to learn about the latest details of the Estabrook Falls Fish Passage Project and the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern.
The hike was great, and there are some big changes afoot, which I won’t bore you with, but while waiting for everyone to arrive, I noticed that a merlin had swooped in and perched just above the great blue heron.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 