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Things seemed to have changed here, and the main symptom is that I’m finding it a lot harder to get nice pictures of the wild creatures. I went out both days last weekend and came home with only one picture that wasn’t even worth showing. This morning was a little better, but not by much.Continue reading “Hints of winter in South Holland”

It was another beautiful morning in South Holland, and you know the drill. The first bird I was able to capture on film was this ginormous swan flying by, and I thought it was just another mute swan, the type we’ve been seeing all summer. Upon closer inspection, however, its beak is all black, whichContinue reading “The birds just keep coming…”

I had a wonderful time being back home for a bit, and it was great to see family, friends, and all the critters in Estabrook Park again, but now I’m back in South Holland, and it sure was a beautiful morning to visit the countryside. Even though we’re back to standard time, the sun stillContinue reading “Day of the Raptors, European style”

It was a mighty fine morning in Estabrook Park. The air was a cool 39°F, but the breeze was pretty light, especially down along the river, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, so the sun was warming things up quickly. I stopped by the pond and found our newest visitor, the hooded merganserContinue reading “Calm returns and life resumes…”

Now that most of the storm system seems to have blown by us, and the sun even peeked through the clouds a bit this morning, life in Estabrook Park is returning to normal. There were about a half dozen mallards and a trio of wood ducks on the pond. Best of all our first winterContinue reading “Changing of the guard, fall edition.”

After the storms that rolled through last night, it was a dark and soggy morning in Estabrook Park, though not actually raining, much. The river was up nearly a foot and running brown and fast. Nevertheless, this intrepid kingfisher was out hunting for its breakfast from the far shore. Good luck, little buddy! As IContinue reading “A Soggy Saturday.”

Well, maybe this is what I get for whining about how Thursday’s weather wasn’t as perfect as Wednesday’s and Tuesday’s. With all that cloud cover, it sure took its sweet time getting light this morning, so I waited until after my 9am zoom meeting before venturing into Estabrook Park. I headed straight to the northContinue reading “A break in the weather…”

It was a nice enough morning in Estabrook Park, but a little breezy, so more like a copy of a copy rather than another cast from the same mold. I didn’t see any deer today, and the mammals were represented by this shy little cutie instead. Belted kingfishers continue to make rackets along the river,Continue reading “Double the pleasure…”

They must have kept the mold from yesterday because the weather this morning was just as nice. The critters, on the other hand, were done with their little “welcome home” display, and they were back to their usual shy and skittish selves. That’s fine with me, though, because finding them is at least half theContinue reading “Things that go around…”

What an absolutely gorgeous November morning for a walk in Estabrook Park, with crystal blue skies, frost on the fallen leaves, and crisp, still air quickly warming in the bright sun. Even better, the critters came out to enjoy it with me. As I approached the underpass that connects the Oak Leaf Trail to theContinue reading “A fine homecoming…”