The warm-up has begun, and an increase of 18°F, from -9°F to +9°F, makes quite a difference. The howling wind and swirling snow clawed some of that back, however, and it was not the best of days for taking pictures of the critters in Estabrook Park. At least it wasn’t snowing very hard.
I did see the goldeneyes and mergansers on the river again, but at the distance from which I would have to take a picture, there was enough snow in the air to goof that up. Instead, here’s a young-looking European starling perched just above the ground below some berry bushes in which a few robins were feasting. It seems somewhat less than thrilled with the weather today, but it only made me stand about ten feet away to capture this image.
At the pond, the usual crowd of sparrows was in attendance, but they also preferred me to keep my distance, so I was happy to spot this downy woodpecker who was far more interested in what it might find in that stick than it was worried about me.
And those are all the pictures from today, I’m afraid, but the good news is that if you want to see more, I’ve got dozens in my “Best of 2024” folder ready to show this evening at the Friends of Estabrook Park Annual Meeting at the Blatz Pavilion in Lincoln Park. I saw Harold, the chairman of the board, this morning as he walked his dog through Estabrook, and I mentioned that some of you might join us, and he seemed glad to hear it.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 