It was about as cold this morning in Estabrook Park as it was yesterday, but the sun struggled to shine through a varying layer of clouds, so there wasn’t much basking going on amongst the critters. For most of them, however, the sun seems to be just a pleasant supplement, and their primary source of warmth comes from the calories they burn. Thus, with fresh seed left by someone in the woods off the northeast corner of the pond, the place was full of little birds.
Here’s a male house sparrow doing its best to conserve the heat put out by the little furnace it has inside.
A nice surprise today was a pair of blue jays who swooped in for a moment.
Many of the finches and sparrows fled when the jays arrived, but this female northern cardinal didn’t even flinch.
A red-bellied woodpecker also stopped by, but this picture from yesterday, when the sun was bright, and the sky was blue, is a lot prettier.
I didn’t get a picture of a downy woodpecker today, but I couldn’t resist this scene from yesterday.
I have seen nuthatches picking out seeds by the pond, but I didn’t see this cutie until I was on my way back south along the river.
Finally, the big surprise for today was spotting this muskrat up on the river ice to preen itself at the far south end. Besides that cold-looking red squirrel from yesterday, I’ve hardly seen a mammal since this cold snap started, but this muskrat must have really felt the need to spruce itself up a bit. Temps were in the single digits, and I probably watched it scrub and scratch for a good five minutes before it decided that was good enough and dove back into the water to start swimming upstream. I hope it has a really hot date!
We’re forecast to enjoy a relative heatwave tomorrow, with temps up into the low 20s, so come on out for our weekly wildlife walk if you’re able. As usual, recheck the forecast in the morning, dress for the weather, and I’ll see you there. Oh, and don’t forget to bring the good luck we’re gonna need to spot our first owl of the new year.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 