Author Archives: Andrew Dressel

It was a mild, if dark and overcast, morning in the park, and the goose incubating on the northern tip of the island in the pond opted to take a little break. First she carefully covered all her eggs with down… Then she and her steadfast mate took a moment to get reacquainted…. And finally,Continue reading “Moms take a break”

It was nice to start the morning with temps in the 40s instead of the 30s for a change, and the critters seemed to like it, too. Here’s robin taking a quick morning bath in the river. That’s gotta be bracing, to say the least, right? Well, I guess you get used to it. Here’sContinue reading “Spring resumes…”

It was a beautiful morning with bright blue skies for a change, so I brought my camera along on my walk to campus, and it paid off handsomely on my way back home. There’s a pair of Cooper’s hawks with a nest high up in an oak tree a bit off the Oak Leaf TrailContinue reading “A visit with the Cooper’s”

I know the rhyme’s not perfect, if you pronounce graupel correctly, but you’re probably here for the pictures anyway, and boy, do we have some pictures. On the island in the pond, the goose on the southern tip got up briefly to gave her eggs a turn this morning, and I can count at leastContinue reading “If it’s April, you know there’ll be graupel!”

Wow! No snow, yet, but is sure as chilly this morning. Luckily, the goose eggs have moms to keep them warm, and the robin eggs might have the same, but one seemed not so sure this morning. She eventually climbed in, but it took her a while. I wonder what’s up with that. As IContinue reading “April puts a pause on spring…”

It was a cool and damp morning in Estabrook after the brief early shower, and all four moms-to-be were keeping their eggs warm: the two geese on the island and the two robins along the river. I hardly saw another creature, mammalian or avian, but I did finally manage to capture an image sufficient forContinue reading “Why do they let me publish without a title?”

It was another beautiful April morning in the park, and I am thrilled to report that the incubating appears to continue undisturbed on the island in the pond. Here’s a quick shot of the two geese on their nests as the ganders keep watch nearby. Along the river, both our robins appear now to beContinue reading “A whole lotta incubatin’ goin’ on.”

Yesterday afternoon was so nice, I went out again and ran into our newest little buddy, the friendly American coot, at the south end again, almost within sight of the Capitol Ave bridge. Then, this morning, I finally confirmed that there are indeed at least too coots on the river. Maybe our friendly coot fromContinue reading “Hoo-h’HOO-hoo-hoo!”

It did turn into a pretty morning, but it started out pretty grey. There is nothing new to report at the pond, which is good news as this point. Both geese were incubating at their respective ends of the island, and a third couple appear to have given up for the season. Well, two outContinue reading “A warbler at last…”

The sky was turning blue and the sun was warm as I came home from campus for lunch, so I had my hopes up, but by the time I ate and took care of some work chores, the clouds were back and the wind was cold. Oh well. I went out anyway, and I don’tContinue reading “An afternoon for the birds”