The recent big warm-up continued this morning in Estabrook Park, and almost all the river ice has now melted. The critters continue to make themselves scarce, but I somehow managed to have a little better luck with pictures than I did yesterday.
The American black duck has reappeared, or I’ve finally been able to spot it again, and here it is, to the right of a mallard hen and drake. That thin white stripe beside the blue patch on its wing makes me wonder if it might be an American black duck x mallard hybrid.
At the pond, I managed to capture this male downy woodpecker at the moment it paused its preening to check for predators. It appears that I was deemed safe, and it went right back to work after this shot.
Finally, when I checked on the screech-owl, I was surprised to find out just how far back into that hole the little rascal can get. Now I wonder how many times I failed to notice it even though it was actually in there.
Lastly, I met a new fellow nature photography enthusiast this morning, Dylan Menefee, and as we were comparing notes a bit, he mentioned that he saw something by the pond back in the fall that he hadn’t yet positively IDed. When he showed me the picture, I could barely believe my eyes. It is shaped just like the stoats I saw in South Holland, but on this side of the Atlantic, I believe that it’s an American stoat, aka American ermine or short tailed weasel. Either way, it’s a Mustela richardsonii.
Now I will have to redouble my efforts, and I look forward to seeing Dylan’s next amazing find.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 