Author Archives: Andrew Dressel

Ah, summer is back, it’s good to hear the cicadas again, and we’ve got a raft of new characters to check out today! Let’s start with the first new bird I’ve spotted on the pond in quite a while. This appears to be a juvenile black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), since is does not have theContinue reading “Avies, insecta, et mammalia…”

Man, I thought it was cool yesterday morning, but this morning I had to go back inside and get a windbreaker. It sure is a welcome break from the recent heat, but I’m also glad it’s not going to last. I’m not ready for summer to be over yet. So, I was just walking upContinue reading “Deers, ducks, birds, and bugs…”

Wow! That was a cool, dim, and damp morning for early August, eh? The park was very quiet, especially now that it seems only buntings and wrens are singing to mark their territory. The closest to a newcomer I found this morning is this immature wood duck on the river. In the left/top image, youContinue reading “A snake in the grass…”

Man, we’ve got a special treat today with not one, not two, but three, count them, three reader photos of the week! The first one is the most amazing picture, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime shot, of an albino sparrow taken by long-time supporter Carolyn in her yard right here in Shorewood, WI. She calls him AlContinue reading “A bird named Al”

The move went so well yesterday that we finished early, I was able to get back into Estabrook by midafternoon, and I am sure glad I did because we’ve got new birds, caterpillars, and flowers to look at this morning, if you can believe it. Let’s start with the birds. The sky was bright white,Continue reading “Happy August!”

What a nice cool morning, for a change, eh? It sure keeps the bugs down for a bit. Happily, I was out yesterday afternoon when the bugs were livin’ large, and it turns out that right here in Estabrook Park we’ve got many more kinds of skipper butterflies, besides the two we’ve already seen, thenContinue reading “Skippers Galore!”

What a beautiful morning it was: not too hot, not too cool, and very still. Many of the birds are starting to quiet down, especially the grackles and red-winged blackbirds, so the few that are still singing, wrens and buntings, really stand out. Happily, there are still plenty of creatures, old and new, willing toContinue reading “Lots of wings and legs today.”

Ha! As soon as I say we haven’t seen ducklings in days, look who shows up on the river. And just to keep things interesting, a female or juvenile common merganser (Mergus merganser), which I don’t believe we’ve seen in the park before, was heading down river this morning. After I caught just enough ofContinue reading “Not done yet!”

As we approach the dog days of summer, with the heliacal rising of the dog star, Sirius, scheduled for August 15, things seem to be slowing down in the park. I haven’t seen a duckling in days, and I hope, as I know you do too, that they merely moved on to fresher water, butContinue reading “Slowing down”

I did see the doe and fawn again today, but they were in the brush, and neither were in the mood for hanging out, so no pictures. Instead, all I’ve got for you is bugs. The first bug is this red admiral (Vanessa atalanta), which we first saw back in June, on a eastern purpleContinue reading “Just bugs”