The influx gathers steam…

It was cool and pretty cloudy this morning in Estabrook Park, but the wind and rain were on pause for a moment, so I brought the rain cover for my camera and headed out to see who was new today.

My first treat came at the pond, where I found this handsome devil, my first male purple finch. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a female before, and I’ve mistakenly thought I’ve seen a male once or twice, but this is the first unmistakably “raspberry red” finch I believe I’ve ever set eyes on. As I was told would happen, once I saw it, I knew exactly what it was and why all the others simply weren’t.

I couldn’t find a grebe or heron at the pond today, so I headed to the river, where the great horned owl was also absent, but this white-throated sparrow, in full breeding plumage, was kind enough to let me sneak a closeup through the sticks while it was taking a break from singing and foraging.

All the fancy ducks appear to have moved on, at least for today, and the next interesting sight at the river was this pair of pigeon chicks on their nest under the Port Washington Bridge. You may recall that we saw the mom on her nest back on the first day of spring, and this is what she has to show for the effort.

On my way back downstream, I managed to catch a ruby-crowned kinglet, seemingly in a moment of repose, but it was only a moment before it bolted off to gobble down its next bug. They’ve begun singing energetically throughout the park, so it was nice to get a picture to go with the song.

I continued past the islands, and that’s where I caught this glimpse of our first northern waterthrush of the year. In the past, they haven’t been too shy, so I have a hope of getting a nicer picture for you soon.

The biggest surprise of the day, however, was spotting this stunner as I tried to keep tabs on the waterthrush. This is our first ever prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea), and it was also darting from branch to branch, right over the water and behind all this sticks, so I’m thrilled to have gotten a picture even this good. What an absolute beauty, eh?

I read that “it is named for its plumage, which resembles the yellow robes once worn by papal clerks (named prothonotaries) in the Roman Catholic Church,” and it is “the only eastern warbler that nests in natural or artificial cavities.” How about that?

Finally, as soon as I lost sight of the warbler, it started to sprinkle, so I turned towards home. I stopped by the pond one more time on my way, and there I found this pair of wood ducks working hard to make more.

Lastly, I see that the Milwaukee Birders are visiting Lion’s Den Gorge on Sunday, and I’d love to go with them, but my sister is dragging me to Arizona instead 😉, so I’ll have to miss it. If you go in my place, see me something good, would ya?