The second batch of snow this week arrived overnight, and now we’ve got close to ten inches on the ground in Estabrook Park. Plus, this storm isn’t through with us yet, and so the clouds are still super thick. The air was almost still, however, and temps are approaching freezing, so it was a wonderful morning for a hike in the park anyway.
On my way north, I found our riverside hermit thrush in its usual spot, near the bottom of stairway nine.
My first big surprise of the morning is that the great horned owl put in a repeat appearance on the southern island, and it was way less buried in the sticks than yesterday.
At the pond, I did see a fox sparrow, and the young white-crowned kept out of sight, but the star was this white-throated sparrow plucking seeds from the sumac.
Finally, as I returned to the river on my way back south, look who decided to show up, our “rare” catbird, and it might have put on its best show for us yet.
That’s it for this morning, and now I’m off to Havenwoods State Forest for the Winter Break Milwaukee, where Bird City Milwaukee will be leading a couple of 1-hour bird walks at 1 and 2 pm. I’ll be there till 4pm, so come on out if you are able, dress for the weather, and I hope I’ll see you there.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 