Yeah. I was tempted to use that famous line, but then I thought better of it. Anyway, it was cool, cloudy, and windy this morning in Estabrook Park, and I was surprised to see much at all, which makes the surprises I did see all that more surprising.
As soon as I entered the park at the far south end, I headed straight for the river to get out of the wind, and that meant that I got to see this little visitor, a young red-headed woodpecker. I keep hoping that one of these years a pair will pay us a visit and stick around for the summer, and maybe 2027 will be our year.
The next surprising surprise came at the pond when this bright blue belted kingfisher caught a bright orange goldfish. If I hadn’t stopped to get a blurry picture of the redhead, I might have missed the goldfish.
The surprises became even more surprising back at the river when I found these two deer, who appear to be mother and son enjoying quite a licking fest. He’s got his winter coat on already, so his spots are long gone, but he’s still significantly smaller than she is. If you’re wondering how I know that he’s a he, take a close look at the top of his head, and you can see his first pedicles starting to show.
If you thought that must have been the biggest surprise, you might be right, but it was still a fun surprise to spot a quartet of crows over the far shore rousting both a red-tailed hawk, who they harassed pretty good, and a Cooper’s hawk, who they mostly left alone. Thus, the only picture I could get with two birds is this one of a crow and the red-tail.
Finally, the most prevalent warbler this fall, by far, has been the yellow-rumped, and I did show you one from River Falls, but I was surprised to discover that I have abjectly failed to produce one from Estabrook. Until now, that is. So, here it is, ladies and gentlemen, your yellow-rumped warbler from Estabrook Park on a clump of sumac seeds right beside the beer garden.
Depending on how you count things, I am as much as triple booked for tomorrow morning. I need to find you some fresh content, of course, and both Friends of Estabrook and Milwaukee River Keepers are hosting events in the park tomorrow. We will soon see how much I will be able to cram into my Saturday morning.
