It looks pretty nice out now, if a lot cooler than yesterday, but it was raining lightly when I woke up this morning, so it appears that our recent run of sunny, summer weather in Estabrook Park has finally come to an end. Given the cloud cover, I was thrilled that I was able to catch a glimpse of the Harvest Supermoon before it set behind the old American Lace Paper Company Factory Building on Port Washington Road. Ah yup, that’s a biggun.
My next treat was spotting our first red-tailed hawk of the month. Too bad it couldn’t stick around until the blue sky arrived, but those squirrels ain’t gonna catch themselves.
It was great to see the wood ducks and pied-billed grebe still on the pond, and since we don’t often get grebes there, here’s one more picture while they’re available.
The treats just kept coming this morning, and this one was standing on the downstream island staring at me as I tried to get a presentable heron picture.
I had hardly walked 20 feet farther upstream when I noticed the buck with asymmetrical antlers keeping tabs on me, too. I suspect he’s the same one we saw at the south end back in August when his antlers were still fuzzy.
The biggest treat of all, however, came beside the upstream island as I counted the mallards. As happens once in a blue moon, despite the fact that last night’s moon definitely wasn’t blue, there was an “odd” duck dabbling amongst the mallards, and this one is our first gadwall since last December! Woo Hoo!
Finally, it was too cool for pretty bugs this morning, and I didn’t see a single dragonfly or butterfly. Luckily, the monarchs have been going crazy on the Mexican sunflowers lately, so here’s one of the pictures I kept in my back pocket so I could show you some other pretty critter that day instead.
Lastly, I’m soon off to give my “class” at North Shore School for Seniors this afternoon, so maybe I’ll see you there.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 