The winter weather resumed this morning in Estabrook Park, with temps around freezing, cloudy skies, and a light breeze. On my walk north along the river, I found the beaver having breakfast up on the ice again in almost the same spot as yesterday.
This time, I had a slightly better view through the brush, and was able to capture a nice little video showing how it eats the bark of that twig as you might eat the corn off a cob.
A ways upstream, and just below the falls, I found another critter out and enjoying the relatively mild weather. This is probably the same muskrat that Peggy spotted yesterday on our wildlife walk, but I couldn’t find it myself then. Perhaps it felt more comfortable today with a smaller audience, so it held its ground.
Above the falls, the great horned owls, yes both of them, were in their usual spot today after completely stiffing us yesterday. As has often been the case, one was hiding deep in the sticks, and one was perched much more prominently. Here’s the latter.
I didn’t see anyone on the water around the islands, other than geese and mallards, but there was an unusual twitter in the treetops on my way back south, and it turned out to be coming from three or more bluebirds passing through.
I didn’t see anybody but finches and house sparrows at the pond, so I hiked back down to the river. That’s where I found this little cutie, my first song sparrow of December, who made me chase it through a couple of hops, but then it posed for a nice picture.
Finally, I scoured the trees along the river on my way home, but I didn’t see the osprey again today, so perhaps it took my advice and is already in southern Illinois and on its way to the Gulf. What I did find instead, is my first red-tailed hawk of December.
“Chased” sounds too strong for the lackadaisical pace they were both at, so perhaps “escorted” would be a better way to describe how a herring gull flew along behind the hawk until it was sufficiently far upstream from where the gull was trying to fish. Then the gull turned to resume fishing, and the hawk perched on one of the guy wires in the background of the flying osprey picture I showed you yesterday.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 