We had another nearly-perfect January morning in Estabrook Park today, with temps in the teens, a very light breeze, and mostly clear blue skies.
The treats started early for me when I spotted this mature Cooper’s hawk even before I crossed the Oak Leaf Trail on my way into the park. I would see it later at the pond, and then again over the river, but this was as close as I managed to get today.
In addition to the Cooper’s hawk at the pond, this little red squirrel did its best to recreate the pose by the gray squirrel that I liked yesterday.
Back at the river, our resident song sparrow popped out of the grass for a moment to say “hi”.
Meanwhile, I did hear the winter wren chirping, and I did glimpse it once or twice as it dashed from hiding place to hiding place, but it would not come out for pictures, as it had done so nicely yesterday. Thus, I think this nice shot of its backside from yesterday is appropriate.
Finally, as I searched in vain for the grey catbird or the hermit thrush, it was this male red-bellied woodpecker who put on a show instead. I took a few photos, and this one does have an unfortunate alignment of a stick in the background with his beak, but it does the best job of showing off the relatively huge claws he has and how he uses his stiff tail feathers as a third leg.
The forecast for our weekly wildlife walk tomorrow morning is 24°F and sunny, but with a 17 mph breeze out of the WSW. With any luck, the breeze won’t be quite that strong, and/or we’ll find it blocked around the pond and along the river, so come on out if you’re free. Maybe the grey catbird, hermit thrush, winter wren, song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, fox sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, eastern bluebird, or Cooper’s hawk will grace us with its presence.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 