It was a beautiful February morning in Estabrook Park, with temps in the mid-teens, a very light breeze out of the west, and a crystal blue sky overhead. Even better, four hardy souls came out to join me on our Weekly Wildlife Walk. Despite all the fancy sparrows by the pond, the winter wren, and the catbird all taking the morning off, we did manage to observe 21 bird species before folks had to get on with their days.
I did not, however, manage to take any pictures, so after we said our goodbyes in the parking lot, I headed for the north end to see who I might yet find, and this gorgeous, mature Cooper’s hawk is who was waiting for me there. “Thanks, Darlin’!” It’s belly feathers seem a little less pristine than usual, and I wonder if that might be due to a recent breakfast.
Then I stopped by the pond, one last time, in hopes that the sparrows had woken up by then, but those stinkers were still keeping out of sight. Instead, our cold red squirrel was out for its usual warm-up in the sun.
The big surprise at the pond today was spotting this hermit thrush. We had already seen the one that I often see at the river earlier in the morning, and I can’t tell if it had since flown up to the pond, or if this is a second thrush. Either way, it sure was nice to see one bathed in the warm morning sunlight for a change.
Finally, I did see three goldeneyes this morning, but none made as nice a picture as I managed to capture yesterday, so here’s a quartet of common mergansers on the river at the south end, instead.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 