Gotta remember to add a title…

This morning in Estabrook Park the weather was similar to yesterday, but warmer, a tad breezier, and a tad sunnier, sometimes. The wildlife appeared to be loving it.

Before we get to that, however, take a look at these beauties, our first ever American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), taking a breather on the Lake Michigan shoreline at McKinley Beach early yesterday afternoon. They have been spotted in Milwaukee County before, from time to time, but we are way out of their natural range, so they are considered rare for here, and they drew a crowd. As soon as I heard they were there, I jumped on my bike and hustled on down, and that’s why my post was so late yesterday, but I think it was completely worth it.

I realize this picture isn’t the greatest. I and a bunch of other enthusiasts were all trying to leave the birds enough room to feel comfortable, and you should have seen the absolute cannon the guy next to me had, but if you click on the image, or this link, to look at a copy of the full image in flickr, you can zoom in to see that it does have some nice detail anyway, despite the heat distortion and my meager equipment.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program. We have yet another new arrival this morning, and it was this male Baltimore oriole, whom we last saw in Guatemala, of all places, and who was already busy announcing his arrival in song.

As I was trying to get a picture of the oriole, without scaring it off, there was quite a ruckus down the bluff, and when I was finally able to go check it out, there was just this one character left. Its adversary must have moved on by then.

As I was trying to get a shot at the racoon without scaring it off, I could already hear this eastern towhee calling me to come take its picture.

I stopped by the pond, and the geese and goslings are all doing fine, but how many gosling pictures do you need, right? Instead, check out this action over the islands in the river above the falls. That’s our first osprey of the year. Woo hoo!

Okay, okay. If it’s babies you really want, cast your eyes upon these two hot chicks, literally. It’s a bit hard to count, but there are at least two northern cardinal chicks in the nest we saw just Monday, and they are supposed to run at 106°F. That’s 2° hotter than the maximum safe hot tub temperature. Don’t worry, when I went back by, 5 minutes later, Mom was already back on the job. She must have just needed a little break.

Finally, your new blossoms of the day are these precious Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) opening right beside the river path at the far northwest end.

I actually saw quite a bit more this morning, but I’ve got a plane to catch at 7:35 tomorrow morning, so I’m saving the rest to tide you over until I can get some pictures in Arizona. Wish me luck!