Author Archives: Andrew Dressel

The first batch of robins are coming out of the oven, and here’s a fledgling looking as puffed up as it knows how and waiting for the sun to warm it up after a night out on its own. Luckily for it, this Memorial Day weekend is shaping up to be a beauty. Great blueContinue reading “Serveral more “firsts of the year””

Here are some pictures from my visit to Estabrook Park this morning. Green heron in tree over the pond. Mallard hen with ducklings on the river. Female belted kingfisher fishing over the river. Osprey fishing above the far riverbank. Great blue heron on a sandbar in the river. Killdeer foraging over exposed river bottom. MaleContinue reading “Some pictures from Estabrook Park”

It appears that all the wildfire smoke from Alberta has drifted east of here because the skies over Estabrook Park were a beautiful blue this morning. The air was pretty nice, too, at least until the winds shifted to bring us a cold Lake Michigan breeze. Anyway, I got a bit closer to making anContinue reading “Still plenty of warblers around…”

It was another gorgeous morning here in The Nutmeg State, so I couldn’t help but take one last look around. As has been the norm out here, I heard this bird long before I saw it. The pictures are nothing to write home about, to be sure, because it had found itself a nice highContinue reading “More distinctive songs”

I’m still out east, and I returned to the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail this morning, where I had hiked last Friday. My sister came with me again, and the weather was just about perfect, so I was glad to have a second set of eyes along. Plus, she’s the one who rescued a Carolina wrenContinue reading “More faces, big, small, and bald.”

This’ll be a short report. My sister and I walked the Quinnipiac River Gorge Trail to Hannover Pond and back this morning, and there was plenty to see (8 deer and 45 bird species!), but the skies were very dark, so I don’t have a lot of pictures for you today. I was quite surprisedContinue reading “Some water birds…”

This morning was quite nice, about 10°C warmer than yesterday, with still air and blue sky again, at least for a while. I borrowed a bicycle and rode along the old Farmington Canal to see who I could see. My first customer was this northern mockingbird in almost the same spot as I saw oneContinue reading “Familiar faces, and some new ones, too.”

I got out nice and early this morning for a bit to check out the Connecticut wildlife. As you can see, the sky was bright blue, and the air was nice and calm, but the temperature, at 34°F, really surprised me. There was frost on the grass, and I had to borrow a warm coat. Continue reading “A little sampling of Connecticut.”

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m traveling today and didn’t get a chance to visit Estabrook before I left. I’ve arrived in Connecticut safely and hope to look for some pretty pictures tomorrow, but in the meantime, here are some recent leftovers, mostly from yesterday, but not all. Here’s another chestnut-sided warbler singing his little heartContinue reading “Travel Day”

It was another wonderful morning in Estabrook Park today. The sky had a little white in it, but it wasn’t cloudy, the winds were light, and the air was 10°F warmer than yesterday morning. The birds responded in kind and were singing while they foraged in droves throughout the park. As I was listening forContinue reading “A day to enjoy it while it lasts…”