It was a gorgeous morning in Estabrook Park. It was below freezing at sunrise, but just barely, and just enough to freeze up the river path mud nice and firm. Plus, the winds were nearly calm, and the sky was nearly clear, so I had high hopes. Best of all, the critters also seemed to be enjoying the change in the weather.
My first fun sight was this row of common merganser hens up on some ice between the islands and all working on their morning preens.
In the open water between us, I found my one and only goldeneye of the day, this drake. As you can see, there is still ice on the river, but it is disappearing quickly, and these birds will soon be heading to Canada to make more, so we’d better enjoy them while they’re still here.
As I scanned the rest of the river for a new bird, I heard a nuthatch behind me, which isn’t too surprising, given the number of white-breasted nuthatches we have in Estabrook, but this one sounded slightly different. Well, that’s because it was a red-breasted nuthatch, which we do get to see, but not very often, so I hustled up the bluff to see if I could find it. I had to chase it for a few minutes, as it foraged in one treetop and then the next, but I finally spotted it, and it let me sneak just one picture before it was gone. It ain’t my best, and it ain’t even my worst, but it is enough to positively ID our first red-breasted nuthatch butt of the year in Estabrook Park. Woo Hoo!
Then I headed to the pond, where this red-bellied woodpecker was drumming away on that metal plate before it that holds the streetlamp to the lamppost. That’s gotta be rough on his beak, but I guess he really likes the way it sounds, or he really hopes the ladies will like the way it sounds.
On the other side of the pond, another bird that won’t be with us too much longer this season, this female dark-eyed junco, gave us a real nice look.
Then I hiked back down to the river and found another new arrival, our first common grackle of the year. Yee haw!
Finally, I was all the way back at the south end, and back up on the bluff again, when I took one last look through the trees down to the river. I saw a bunch of mallards up on a little patch of grass on the far riverbank, and thought to myself, “there’s the dozen I saw a couple hours ago.” But then I noticed one bird didn’t look like the others, and that’s because it’s our first American coot of the year. Yippee Ki‐Yay! They’re not too rare on the lake, but we only get about one a year on the river, so this was a special treat.
Lastly, I’m heading over to Havenwoods tomorrow to help out at the Winter Break Milwaukee. I’ll probably visit Estabrook before then, but I might not be able to show you what I found until later in the day. Meanwhile, you could come out to Havenwoods yourself to check-out all the winter activities they‘ll be offering. It is even forecast to snow, which would be perfect timing, given the theme of the event.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 