It cooled off again, and the temp was back down to 1°F at sunrise this morning. The breeze was the lightest it’s been since this cold snap started, however, and the sky was crystal clear again, so it was a nearly perfect morning in Estabrook Park.
The common mergansers and goldeneyes are still on the little slices of open water, but I like the pictures I got yesterday better, so here’s a common merganser hen taking a break from fishing, …
and here’s her drake not yet ready to get out of the water.
I watched a red-tail hawk fly north over the far riverbank, but I didn’t see the Cooper’s hawk this morning. Luckily, it let me have so many nice pictures yesterday, that I still have something to show you.
The first new critter of the morning, at least since earlier in the month, is the little red squirrel by the pond, although today it chose a slightly different spot to warm up in the sun.
Another sight we haven’t seen in a couple three weeks is this song sparrow that hangs out by the river.
Finally, the mourning doves were in very posy moods this morning, and I think that this one near one of the seeps in the side of the bluff made the prettiest picture.
I see we’re in for a huge warm-up, and temps are supposed to be up into the 20s tomorrow morning, so it will be interesting to see who that brings out. Stay tuned…
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 