Yet another bird joins the first timers club…

The sky is starting to haze up a bit now, but it was a beautiful morning in Estabrook Park, with mild temps again, still air, and clear skies for a while.

The first pretty sight I found taking full advantage of the golden sunlight was this common merganser hen up on the ice above the falls to preen with the mallards.

I’ve been seeing two or three crows near the upstream island lately, and this pair appeared to be having a tender moment today.

A mature bald eagle was perched high over the far riverbank again, but it was alone this time.

I didn’t see any other odd ducks on the river, and I did see a Cooper’s hawk at the pond, but it gave me the slip this time. Plus, there was nobody else new or especially photogenic there, despite the beautiful day, so I started heading home.

On my way, I stopped by the southern soccer fields, where I had seen the winter wren yesterday, in hopes that it might let me have a nicer picture today, and I did get a glimpse, but before I could bring my camera to bear, look who showed up instead to chase it away. . I’ve been hearing this character near the same location for much of the fall, and birds of the same species every once in a while for years, but this is the first time one let me sneak a picture here.

Please give a warm Estabrook welcome to the very first Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) I’ve ever managed to capture on film in all of Wisconsin, let alone Milwaukee County. I see now that their natural range doesn’t quite extend into the state, which could explain my difficulty.

It only gave me one try, and it’s not quite the portrait I was granted in Connecticut, but it sure is good enough for a positive ID, and it makes the 5th wren species we’ve seen in Estabrook. Hallelujah!