It was a classic first full morning of astronomical spring in Estabrook Park with no sign of the warmth and sunshine that are forecast to blow in by this afternoon.
The first pleasant surprise of the morning was spotting this little cutie, our first pied-billed grebe of the year, on the river below the pair of radio towers over the far riverbank. “Welcome back, Sweetie!”
By happy coincidence, the horned grebe was still on the river around the islands above the falls, so today is the first time I’ve ever seen two different species of grebe in the park on the same day. Golly gee willikers!
Meanwhile, several of the winter waterfowl are still here, and we had one goldeneye drake, …
a couple of red-breasted merganser drakes, …
and a common merganser hen with a couple of drakes. We’d better enjoy them before they’ve all flown north for the summer.
I didn’t see the wood ducks at the pond today, but I’m sure we will see them again soon. Instead, the big news there was this gander chasing all other geese away while keeping a watch full eye on …
his goose, who has started tending her nest on the island. Hip hip hooray!
Despite the recent rollercoaster of Wisconsin spring weather, she’s right on schedule, and this morning is within a day of her average start date, based on the extensive data I’ve collected so far. We might expect to see goslings in 35 – 40 days, depending on exactly how many eggs she lays (4 to 9), the rate at which she lays them (1 every 1 or 2 days), and how warm she can keep them once she has laid them all (25 – 30 days).
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 