It was plenty cloudy this morning, and just above freezing, but the precipitation held off, so we had a good day for our weekly wildlife walk in Estabrook Park. There were eight of us, all together, and we spotted or heard 26 bird species, including that now-confirmed American black duck from yesterday, and one muskrat. I completely failed to get any pictures, however, so it’s back to the editing room floor again.
Here’s an American goldfinch from Friday busily feasting on burdock seeds beside the river at the north end. Oddly, since then they have gone from being one of my most reliable finds to being scarce as hens’ teeth. We did hear one today, but only one, and that’s a far cry from the dozen or more I used to see every morning. Hmmm.
Finally, here’s another northern Cardinal on the island in the pond, also from Friday. Thankfully, there are still plenty of them about.
Lastly, here’s another look at that black duck amongst the mallards yesterday. She certainly looks like a mallard hen, as many other female ducks do, but she’s noticeably darker than the mallard hen beside her, and her bill is all dark instead of the orange and olive mix on the mallard.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 