At -3°F, it was only a little colder this morning in Estabrook Park than yesterday, and the breeze was about the same, but it lined up a lot better with the river valley, so the windchill was noticeably colder. Brrrrr! Two intrepid birders came out to join the weekly wildlife walk, I am thrilled to report, and we ended up seeing 20 bird species.
One species that didn’t make the list is this immature white-crowned sparrow that I spotted by the pond while still on my way to the parking lot. The sun had not risen very high in the sky yet, so it’s not a great picture, but it is the first sighting of the year in Estabrook. I also saw a few white-throated sparrows, which we’ve already seen this month, and a fox sparrow, which evaded my camera.
Anyway, with our group assembled, I didn’t manage any pictures, but here are a few from after the crowd dispersed.
On my way back home south along the river, I found the trio of goldeneyes that I had already seen on my way north, but now the sun was up, and I had plenty of time, so here’s the drake, …
and here’s one of the two hens.
Finally, I came across groups of robins all morning that were foraging in the leaves on the ground beside the river. I suspect they were looking for berries dropped from the bushes above, and it was probably noticeably warmer down in the leaves than up in the bushes and in the breeze. Here’s one who appeared to be on break, and digesting a belly full of frozen berries, we can hope.
It is forecast to be even colder tomorrow, so we’ll see how that goes, but that is supposed to be the worst of it, and temps should be back to just seasonably cold by Wednesday, so come on out to the Friends of Estabrook Park Annual Meeting at 7pm Wednesday evening in the Lincoln Park Blatz Pavilion. “There will be food, beverages, door prizes, … a presentation by Beth Wentzel of MMSD on the plan for the fish passage through Estabrook Falls,” and some pictures by me. “All are welcome!”
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 