A fine welcome home…

We had a nearly-flawless day of travel yesterday, arrived home around 9:30 last evening, and I was able to get back into Estabrook Park early this morning after a pretty good night’s sleep. So, yay! The weather today, on the other hand, was cloudy, cool, and breezy, which isn’t my favorite, and perhaps partially due to Canadian wildfire smoke, but at least it wasn’t raining. So, yay again!

It appears that spring migration has pretty much wrapped up while I was away, and I don’t believe I saw a single bird that still has some more traveling left to do. Luckily, we’re well within the breeding range of yellow warblers, so a few may stick around all summer, and here’s one I found singing by the pond.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I found our female ruby-throated hummingbird still on her nest.

The mallard ducklings have gotten bigger, and here are five, out of eight total, out for breakfast on the river with their mom.

I thought I might have missed snapping-turtle-egg-laying-season, but perhaps the cool spring has held things back a bit, because here’s one trying its best to dig into the gravel beside the river at the north end.

As I’ve learned in the past, it’s just best not to mess with the determination on that face.

The ducklings aren’t the only youngsters growing up, and here are a gaggle of goslings already starting to get their adult plumage in.

I thought I spotted some cliff swallows hunting over the river, along with the northern rough-winged swallows and some tree swallows, so I hiked across the Port Washington Road bridge to check their nests on the south-west side of the Holliday Inn, and sure enough, here’s a swallow appearing to add a dab of mud to one of the nests.

And here’s a second one, at a different nest, appearing to inspect the progress.

Back on our side of the river and on my way south, I found this red squirrel who appeared to be in no hurry to go anywhere.

Finally, when I checked the weeds that grow along the west side of the soccer fields at the south end, I found our first skipper of the year, a Peck’s, as it perched on what appears to be lesser stitchwort (Stellaria graminea) and perhaps tried to soak up what sun it could.

The forecast for tomorrow calls for about more of the same, with maybe a little less breeze, but still no rain, so here’s hoping that I can find as much to show you as I found today.