Our recent dry patch got even nicer this morning with temps in the 40s instead of the 30s. Plus the wind was pretty light, and the sky was pretty clear, so it was a fine time for seeing wildlife in Estabrook Park.
The first treat came when our on-again-off-again green heron by the river was back on again.
Farther upstream, a red-tailed hawk put in a rare appearance, for this spring at least, and I managed a rare fairly-crisp capture of a bird in flight, for me at least.
There were no interesting sights by the islands in the river, nor at the pond, so I started to make my way back home, and that’s when this house wren decided to allow the first picture of the year. There are still winter wrens around, as well, but they were not allowing pictures today.
The towhees are not quite as thick as when they first arrived, and I did get one on film today, but this picture from Sunday is nicer.
The white-throated sparrows, on the other hand, are still quite plentiful, and here’s a nice look at one also from Sunday.
I do hear belted kingfishers at the river almost every day now, but I haven’t gotten eyes on one since Saturday, so here’s another look at her.
Finally, I had a hope that the warmup would bring the swallows along the river back out, so I could try for pictures while the sun was shining, but that was not to be. Instead. Here’s one last look at the tree swallows on/in a nesting box at Lakeshore State Park last Thursday. I took this image within the same minute as the one showing the bird outside the box coming in for a landing, so it appears that the bird inside the box has an opinion to share. Maybe he’s just at the wrong box.
The forecast for tomorrow morning looks like more of the same, so maybe the swallows along the river will have warmed up by then and will give me a second chance.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 