March goes out…

The rain that was forecast for this morning in Estabrook Park held off until after lunch, so I had a far nicer visit today than I had anticipated.

Better yet, the pied-billed grebe, who hasn’t let me take its picture since last Thursday, allowed me to take this portrait.

Not only did the rain hold off, but the sky even cleared up long enough to let the sun light up this grackle by the river.

The blue skies didn’t last long, however, and by the time I got to the islands above the falls, this poor great blue heron had nothing but grey clouds for a background.

I can’t quite tell if the merganser on the left at the pond is the same one we saw on the river yesterday, but it does have the same yellow eye, black beak, and not-quite-yet male breeding plumage, so it might be. Either way, its companion appears to be also a male but one that is even further behind in its metamorphosis. “Time to get with the program, guys!”

Meanwhile, this wood duck drake completely understood the assignment and is now being paraded around by a hen who looks quite pleased with his efforts.

Finally, I did see a couple of yellow-bellied sapsuckers again today, but none put on a show anywhere close to this one yesterday. You can even see some of his namesake “yellow belly”.

Tomorrow is forecast to be cold and windy, but at least it should be dry again, so if there is a new arrival, I’ll have a hope of getting its picture. Keep your fingers crossed.