The sky was a lot less cloudy than forecast this morning in Estabrook Park, and the winds were nice and light, so it was a perfectly nice mid-winter day.
This pair was pretty far out on the river, at the north end, but I don’t often get the chance to catch a herring gull and a common merganser in the same frame, so here we are.
The pond was quiet today, and I didn’t see any of the fancy sparrows, but the lone song sparrow back at the river did come out for a nice picture.
Eventually, the winter wren did, too.
As I was looking for the catbird or the hermit thrush, I stepped around a bend in the path and was surprised to find nearly two dozen mourning doves roosting on low branches over the side of the bluff. Often, when I get that close, they will all bolt, but not today, and this one offered the best combination of a nice pose and a clear shot.
While still searching for our recluses, I was pleasantly surprised again to watch a couple of blue jay swoop in. They usually make themselves quite scarce here in the winter, but today was my lucky day.
Finally, here’s yet another long-eared owl from my field trip with Jeff on Wednesday, and this one really shows how tall and slender they can look.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 