It was indeed a glorious morning in Estabrook Park, and seventeen folks took advantage of the weather and the holiday to join me on our weekly wildlife walk. We headed to the river first, and there we found this darling hooded merganser among the mallards, wood ducks, and Canada geese on the water around the islands.
From there we climbed back up on the bluff and found several warblers in the top of a tamarack tree beside the paved path. The easiest ID was a Nashville warbler, even though my best picture isn’t very good. Another was light and grey with slight streaking, and we believe that one to be an immature female Cape May Warbler. The third one let me have a good look, and the black streaks on its bright yellow breast led me to think Magnolia warbler, but I was mistaken because it’s missing the black neck band. Instead, I should have realized that it’s a mature male Cape May Warbler. Oh well. It’s still a pretty bird posing against that pretty blue sky either way.
Finally, after we wrapped things up and I discovered that at least one person in the group had spotted a hummingbird, which I missed because we were so spread out, I headed back home with hopes of at least finding some good butterflies today.
Well, as I was searching the remaining weeds beside the southern soccer fields for insects, look who I found instead. At first, I couldn’t quite tell what was going on. It just perched there with that big thistle pappus in its beak, which a nearby goldfinch had probably just release after eating the seed. I wonder if the hummingbird is a recent fledgling still getting its bearings in the world, and it simply didn’t know what to make of that big white fluffy thing.
Anyway, it eventually dropped the pappus, regained its senses, and flew off to go about its business, which better include heading south pretty soon. “Safe travels, Kiddo! See you next spring!”
Finally, there were also some monarchs filling their bellies before their own migration, and here’s one.
Lastly, someone reported seeing an interesting bird in Estabrook this afternoon, so when I saw that, I stopped working on this, strapped my camera back on, and raced over to the river. I had no luck with that particular bird, but the sky was full of dozens of swifts. It was a spectacular sight, and when the sun set, I remembered that I’ve always wanted to check the chimney at the Shorewood Public Works Department facility for swifts.
Since I already had my camera and my bike, and I was already on the Oak Leaf Trail, I just rode over the Capital Drive bridge to check it out, and it was simply amazing. They swirled around like bees at a hive, and every now and then a few would swoop right down into it. The show will soon be over for the fall when they join the hummingbirds and monarchs on their way south, so don’t miss the opportunity to see them now if you have it.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 