The clouds are back over Estabrook Park today, but the air was a bit warmer than yesterday and a lot less breezy. Add to that a reduction in commuter traffic noise for the holiday, and it was a perfect morning for enjoying some peace and quiet along the Milwaukee River. The icing on the cake was when I managed to reach the wide and slow part of the river beneath the pair of radio towers over the far riverbank before they started their cooling fans. I don’t know if that’s because they crank up their power during the day, or for some other reason, but for a while, I could hear a pin drop, plus a lot of bird songs. It was glorious.
As I approached the water, I could see that someone was making ripples right at the water’s edge, so I kept a little grass between us and my camera in front of my face as I edged into view, and this muskrat was kind, or hungry, enough to go right on enjoying its breakfast of fresh roots.
After a couple of pictures, I left the muskrat in peace and continued upstream just a bit before I found our late season hermit thrush again.
Above the falls and on the southern island, one of the great horned owls was in its usual spot again, though facing the other way today.
The pair of great blue herons continue to stick with us, too, but this picture from yesterday, before the sun reached down over the bluff, was nicer than any I could get today.
While I’m showing pictures from yesterday that didn’t fit with yesterday’s sunny motif, here’s a glimpse of an eastern cottontail hiding in the brush along the river. Compared to the summer, they really start making themselves scarce about this time of year.
Finally, ice has started to form on the pond, and the combination of still air and temps barely below freezing is allowing enormous crystals to form on the surface. These spears of ice were over a foot long.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 