Author Archives: Andrew Dressel

It wasn’t as cold as yesterday so my eyelashes didn’t freeze this morning, but sustained temps near 0°F and about a foot of snow on the ground is about as good as we get it here in southeastern Wisconsin, and the hardy critters seem to be coping just fine. The five female common mergansers wereContinue reading “The deep of winter settles in…”

The weather app on my phone reported -8°F this morning, so I was curious to see what activity I could find in the park. The only mammals I saw were two guys and a dog, but the birds were mostly going about their business not much differently than yesterday. On the lower river, a trioContinue reading “Life goes on…”

It was one of those magical mornings when every footstep squeaks in the clean white snow packed firmly onto the path. If your trying to sneak up on something, you’d better step off into the deep soft stuff. The lower river had most of the regulars, a few mallard pairs, a few female common mergansers,Continue reading “The deep freeze settles in…”

The park was crowded yesterday morning, I suppose with folks trying to get their visit in before the forecast precipitation came, so I wasn’t able to find much to show you. My best shots are of this raft of female common mergansers and one male common goldeneye on the lower river. I was bummed notContinue reading “Winter ain’t done with us yet…”

I had the deep pleasure of walking home from campus late yesterday afternoon, along the river from Hubbard Park to Estabrook Park, after the clouds cleared out, the breeze calmed down, and the sun lit everything with a gorgeous setting glow. It was an absolute pleasure, but I wish I had brought my camera, asContinue reading “Love survives and a new kid arrives…”

First the loss. The raft of common mergansers were on the lower river again this morning, and it is tricky to count them all because of their movement and the convoluted topography of the river bank, but I’m sure there are at least a dozen or more, with roughly three to four females per male.Continue reading “Lunch lost and love found…”

Man, oh man, I sure hope you got a chance to get outside today, and not just to shovel your car out of a snowbank, because it was a stunner. I had to go to campus early, so didn’t hit the park till this afternoon when the sun came out and the sky turned thatContinue reading “The sun comes out…”

I was all caught up on my schoolwork, so I ventured into the park while the snow was still coming down today, and I figured that the worst that could happen would be for me to get a little extra workout. Instead, what an absolutely marvelous audiovisual treat it was. The thick blanked of fluffyContinue reading “A winter wonderland”

The thermometer said 36°F, but my skin said 23°F, and the sky was covered by a thick blanket of clouds. It sure wasn’t like the previous two beautiful days, but I was glad to be back in the park after taking a quick break to help kick off the spring semester at UWM. Luckily, allContinue reading “Grey skies are back…”

If you asked me what could have made it a better morning in the park, I don’t know what I could say. It was just perfect, and right off the bat, I was surprised to see this flotilla of common mergansers on the lower river. And, as seems to be the case with mergansers, theyContinue reading “A lot going on after the snow day…”