It wasn’t the coldest day of the month, so far, but it was nice and chilly, nevertheless, this morning in Estabrook Park. Fortunately, the winds were pretty light, and the sun came out every once in a while, so it was a nice enough time for a visit, if you were dressed for it. The critters that live there, on the other hand, have only the feathers and fur on their backs, of course, so this is how they look when they “bundle up.”
We’ve been seeing this red-tailed hawk fairly regularly, lately, and here it is across from the islands in the river, all poofed up, and trying to soak up some of that sun while it can.
It’s tough to stay warm without calories to burn, and here’s a muskrat up on the river ice again to pack in some more.
This eagle, on the other hand, did not look particularly different today, and perhaps that is due simply to its large size.
On the other extreme, this tiny winter wren, which has been evading me since October, had better have other tricks up its sleeve.
Finally, the house sparrows and house finches were really making a racket at the pond, but I was happy to find at least one white-throated sparrow in the mix.
The forecast suggests that it is only going to get colder, and we should expect temps in the single digits tomorrow with wind chills in the negative teens. Brrrrr! Perhaps we’ll get to see if that will be cold enough to make an eagle fluff up.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 