Author Archives: Andrew Dressel

The mourning warbler was in the same tree this morning, by the soccer fields, sending out his call in hopes of finding someone to share Estabrook Park with, and I sure hope he succeeds, don’t you? Under the bright overcast, I think you can see his colors a little better than yesterday. He is aContinue reading “A report with so much variety, I couldn’t think of a title before I pressed “publish”.”

Aaaah. We had an amazing trip, and I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to experience such wonderful places, but it also feels really good to be back in Estabrook. I like what you’ve done with the place while I was gone. Frogs are signing on the pond and on the river. The ebony jewelwingsContinue reading “It’s good to be back…”

It was a great day for mammals in Yellowstone. There were plenty of bison, of course, blocking traffic in several cases, and a few elk about, but the big find, at least for me, was this wily coyote looking for something good to eat along the banks for a stream. Here you can see himContinue reading “Field Trip Report, Day 7.”

We had another great day in Yellowstone, but the plan is to get up early for tomorrow, and I’m beat tonight, so here are a few more pictures from Craters of the Moon to tide you over. First is that non-descript looking little Brewer’s sparrow (Spizella breweri) at Craters of the Moon who regaled usContinue reading “Field Trip Report, Day 6.”

We checked out of Arco early this morning, the first community in the world ever to be lit by electricity generated solely by nuclear power and where we had stayed as we visited the Craters of the Moon, and headed east. The first stop was Grand Teton National Park, where I only managed one presentable pictureContinue reading “Field Trip Report, Day 5.”

Gotta be quick because it’s late and we’re getting up early, but here are just a couple of the amazing sights we saw today at the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in south central Idaho. Besides the cinder cones, splatter cones, and huge lava fields, there were plenty of birds, blossoms, andContinue reading “Field Trip Report, Day 4.”

We hit a different trail today for another stellar day in Glacier National Park. This time, we ascended Snyder Lake Trail and found many fewer fellow hikers. We didn’t reach Snyder Lake, so didn’t see any water birds, but there were open areas from the Sprague Fire in 2017, which attracts different critters than theContinue reading “Field Trip Report, Day 2.”

Gotta make this quick ’cause the wifi is sketchy here, but after a 29-hour Amtrak® train ride, we arrived at Glacier National Park yesterday and hiked to Avalanche Lake today. It was a pretty short hike, just 5 easy miles roundtrip, but boy-oh-boy, what a hike it was. Right off the bat, a barred owlContinue reading “Field Trip Report, Day 1.”

Thanks for coming along for the ride, and check out all the old friends who stopped by in Estabrook this morning to say hi. The parkway is still closed off between the middle and southern parking lot, and that tranquility is still glorious, so enjoy it while it lasts! Our first guest in a veryContinue reading “Episode 300!”

The big news in Estabrook today is that the Parks Department has closed the parkway to through traffic for the summer again as part of the Milwaukee County Active Streets Program, and it is glorious! I walked the length and just enjoyed listening to the birds. As I approached the north end of the closure,Continue reading “All kinds of critters about today…”