Our current deep freeze remains quite persistent, and the weather this morning in Estabrook Park was nearly the same as yesterday. Things were pretty quiet along the river, and on my way upstream I saw a couple of goldeneyes, a few common mergansers, and a few mallards, but no pictures I felt compelled to take.
The excitement started, however, on my way to the pond, when a pair of coyotes crossed the paved path on their way to the river. I wasn’t walking with camera in hand, so I missed the first one, but I was ready when the second one trotted by. I don’t think it even glanced my way.
At the pond, things were also quiet at first, and I had a hope of spotting a Cooper’s hawk, but that didn’t pan out. Instead, the little birds slowly started chirping as I walked around, and the first one to pose was this male red-bellied woodpecker.
As I checked the sparrows to see if any were not house sparrows, I did see a couple of white-throated, but this American tree sparrow gazing into the distance, and perhaps dreaming of warmer days, made the nicer picture.
There were also a couple of downy woodpeckers, and here’s a male, pausing briefly from his work on that little hole to check for predators.
Back at the river, I noticed for the first time that the two goldeneyes do not have the same orange tip on their bills. The best information I can find is that that they are both females and the orange tip is simply optional.
The big surprise, on the other hand, is that there was a third goldeneye today, and this one is clearly showing the beginnings of breeding male plumage. His flanks are turning white, and the white patch on his cheek is beginning to appear. I suspect that the odd kink in the top of his bill, similar to that of scoters, is simply some ice accumulation, and I suppose he could be a hybrid, but goldeneye-scoter hybrids are said to be “exceedingly rare.” Maybe if the slight warming trend we’re experiencing continues, this ice will melt, and we’ll get a better look. Meanwhile, if you have a better idea, please don’t hesitate to share it with me!
Finally, I’ll be taking a little field trip tomorrow morning, if things go right, but I’ll definitely be back in time to show some pictures at the Friends of Estabrook Annual Meeting. The weather is supposed to be just about the same again, so I hope you can join us.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 