It was a beautiful morning in Estabrook Park, with temps in the mid-sixties, a light breeze, and clear skies, and the Badgerland Striders could not have chosen a better time for their half marathon. With sunrise at 6:06 am and a start time of 7:00 am, perhaps you can imagine how the park was already humming with anxious runners when I arrived. I wasn’t worried, though, ’cause I figured I’d have plenty of peace and quiet to commune with the wildlife along the river. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to find more to photograph at the pond than the river for a change.
First, there was this sextet of wood ducks jostling for preening spots on a log against the far shore.
Then, there were a pair of belted kingfishers chasing each other around for a moment, and this young male paused almost where I wanted him. I took this picture when I could, but before I could take a couple of steps to my right to get that stick out from in front of his face, he decided that was enough posing for today. Oh well.
There was also a green heron, but before I got the picture I wanted, I noticed this Cooper’s hawk high in a tree to the east. As with the kingfisher, it let me have one shot, but did not want to wait around for me to get that stick out of the way. Darn.
The green heron, on the other hand, seemed to be in a trance. It hadn’t moved while I went after the Cooper’s hawk, and when I got back, it let me kneel down on the little wooden bridge at the north end of the pond and take all the shots I wanted through the railing. “Thanks, Sweetie!”
I didn’t see any odd ducks, new shorebirds, egrets, or warblers at the river, but I did watch this young spotted sandpiper take a bath, and this is the same looked I’d have on my face if I was contemplating a dip in the river water at 7 am.
Back at the south end, I finally spotted the full trio of hooded mergansers that Anne and the grandson had reported back on Wednesday.
Lastly, there were a few butterflies on the remaining weeds beside the soccer fields, including a couple of monarchs and a painted lady, but I haven’t shown you many silver-spotted skippers so far this summer, so here’s one on a hyssop blossom in the pollinator garden.
I see, now that I’m home, that another birder reported spotting two Tennessee warblers and a yellow warbler in Estabrook this morning, which I somehow missed. Plus, the forecast for tomorrow morning looks even better than today’s, so here’s hoping that I’ll be able to get my act together and spot one or two new birds for you.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 