It was a spectacular morning in Estabrook Park, with clear skies again, mostly still air, and seasonal temps. The first big surprise of the day was spotting this American coot. It was hiding in the weeds that have grown up on the river bottom around the islands that is now often exposed because of the falls reshaping. We’ve had coots several times before, most recently in March, but this might be the shyest one I’ve seen yet.
Then it was time already to swing by the parking lot to collect our wildlife walkers, we had two again today, and they opted to go look for the coot on the river. We took our sweet time getting there, however, and along the way we came across the first hermit thrush I’ve been able to show you this fall.
When we finally did reach the river, there was no sign of the coot, I’m sorry to say, but the trees around the meadow were full of birds, and one of them was this little beauty, our first purple finch, not just of the fall, but of the whole year.
The star of the show for today, however, has got to be this gorgeous black-billed cuckoo, another bird we hadn’t seen yet this year in Estabrook. It flitted back and forth across the meadow a couple of times, giving us tantalizing glimpses, before it finally settled down in the sun and let us have a good look.
Finally, we did see one Monarch fly by and continue on its way toward the southwest, but I never saw another butterfly, until I got back to my own front yard. There, this cabbage white was feasting on some form of mint.
That’s it for today, and if you have a hankerin’ for more, you can simply wait for my post tomorrow, or you can join us at the North Shore School for Seniors for my 1pm presentation tomorrow.
Great shot of the Cuckoo!! 🎉 It was a stellar morning!!
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