Some nice scenes, despite the gloomy skies…

Temps were not especially cold this morning in Estabrook, but the air was damp, the breeze was noticeable, and the cloud cover was thick, so it really evoked for me Simon and Garfunkel’s “deep and dark December.”

Nevertheless, birds gotta eat, and here’s a female belted kingfisher searching for its breakfast from one of the guy wires that span the river and support the towers on the far shore.

The big surprise of the day came by the upstream island when crows alerted me to a bald eagle enjoying its fish over the far riverbank. Here it is reaching to take a bite.

Here it is with a nice big hunk in its beak.

And here it is all finished and letting its belly get to work.

Four of the six common mergansers I spotted yesterday were still on the river today, and here’s the one that let me sneak the nicest photo, given the light and distance.

I didn’t find any new visitors at the pond, but this white-throated sparrow sat for a pretty nice portrait.

Finally, as I was walking home along the Oak Leaf Trail, this American goldfinch did the same behind the Benjamin Church House.

Lastly, I see that the forecast calls for clear skies tomorrow morning, so that will be a nice change of pace.