Look who the hot and humid air brought with it this time…

The cloud cover has grown pretty thick, and there was a good breeze for a while, so the heat wasn’t really as bad as the forecast had suggested for this morning in Estabrook Park, although it was already in the 80s by 8 a.m., and the humidity percentage was in the 70.

I did see the hooded merganser, a wood duck, and a great blue heron all at the pond, but my favorite this morning was this green heron fishing just off the far shore.

At the river, I was surprised to find a mallard hen and her two ducklings grazing on a landing about halfway up the falls, but I guess the penalty for slipping would be simply having to scamper back up again.

At the north end, I did see kingfishers and a spotted sandpiper, but the star of that show today was this solitary sandpiper just off the near shore and catching a bit of morning sun.

At the weeds beside the soccer fields, I found our first wandering glider of the year. Yay! And welcome back!

Finally, at the crest of the bluff just south of the beer garden, I spotted this butterfly dancing around, and I held my breath while hoping for it to land where I could see it. Well, it finally did land, and when I got a good look at it, I figured it was another variegated fritillary, which we have seen in Estabrook for the first time only a month ago.

I am thrilled to report, however, that it turns out to be a great spangled fritillary, instead. I have seen one before, in the Mequon Nature Preserve, but I had only dreamed about finding one in Estabrook someday. Woo Hoo! And what a beauty, eh?