The weather in Estabrook Park this morning was a lot like yesterday. For the critters, on the other hand, it seemed as though today was opposite day.
Instead of a green heron at the river, I saw this beaver swimming upstream.
Instead of a red-tailed hawk by the beer garden, I saw this white-tailed deer checking out the left field foul ball marker.
I don’t have a bird that this is instead of, but this is the first raccoon we’ve seen this year.
The big surprise, however, was spotting this sedge wren beside the river above the falls. I haven’t seen one since May of 2023. “Don’t be such a stranger!”
For comparison, here’s another look at the house wren I just saw yesterday striking a similar pose but lacking “the sedge wren’s heavy black streaking.” They’re actually about the same size, which is “tiny”, but the house wren popped up a lot closer right in front of me.
Finally, it seems that “opposite day” resulted in a slight “picture deficit”, so here’s another look at the white breasted nuthatch from last Thursday as it investigates a possible nesting cavity. There were two of them, and one even hopped into the hole, but it wouldn’t come out while I waited. C’est la vie.
Tomorrow’s gonna be a little tricky. I’ll get to visit Estabrook early, but then I’ve got a thing at Concordia, and right after that I’m driving up to Plover in hopes of a good night’s sleep before a 4:15am appointment Friday morning with a blind to watch the Greater Prairie Chicken lek in the Buena Vista Marsh. It sure was a thrill when I got to see them back in January, but I do hope the blind lets me get a better look. I’ll post something for you sometime tomorrow, but I don’t know what or when.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 