Some brown birds on a gray day…

The clouds did roll in overnight, just as forecast, but the air was still, and the rain held off this morning, so it was not a bad time to look for wildlife in Estabrook Park.

My first surprise was spotting this young bald eagle, who’s starting to show a hint of adult-like coloration, feasting on a chunk of salmon it had carried up into a cottonwood tree high over the far riverbank.

Perhaps it was the eagle over the far shore, or they’re just getting used to the place, but the gadwalls were pressed up against our side, for a change, and here’s the hen, looking very much like a mallard hen.

And here’s the drake, with the hen looking over her shoulder in the background.

Meanwhile, the wigeon hen held back a little, but it’s only her second day here, so perhaps she’ll warm to the place in a while, as the gadwalls seem to have.

While I was crawling around to sneak some duck pictures, I could hear an unusual call over my shoulder, and it took me a while, but I eventually found the source, our first purple finch of the month and only second of the year.

Finally, it was cool and cloudy today, as I already established above, so there were no bugs out and about. Instead, here’s a tiny pure green sweat bee, from yesterday, when it was sunny and warm, on some very late asters, possibly smooth blue, blooming in the pollinator garden.

Lastly, I was very sad to see that “a bald eagle found [in Milwaukee] suffering from severe lead poisoning has died, the Wisconsin Humane Society Wildlife Rehabilitation Center announced Tuesday.” “X-rays showed that the eagle had swallowed fragments of a manufactured object, the humane society said. Staff members could not identify the fragments, but said they may have come from fishing tackle or ammunition.” “‘It’s a good reminder that leaving spent ammunition or tackle in the environment can have unintended and devastating consequences for wild animals,’ the humane society said.”

So, please take extra care to clean up after yourself if you use ammunition or tackle, and if you’d like to help clean up such trash that others have left behind, see the first event listed below.

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Upcoming Events:

• Estabrook Park Fall Park Cleanup, Saturday, November 14, from 10 am to Noon, starting in the Beer Garden Parking Lot. If you’ve been itching for a chance to get your hands dirty in Estabrook Park, but removing buckthorn just isn’t your thing, then this could be your next best opportunity.
• Signs of Life in Estabrook Park, hosted by Sierra Club Great Waters Group, and presented by yours truly, on Thursday, November 19, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in St. Rita Square. I hear that this will be open to the public, and registration is encouraged, but won’t be strictly required.