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It’s another beautiful day in Estabrook with still air, blue skies, and temps in the teens heading to the twenties. I heard our kingfisher right away at the south end, and caught a glimpse of her, but I couldn’t manage to get her picture. Instead, a bit farther north, I was treated to this newContinue reading “A golden morning in Estabrook”

It was cold this morning, in the low 20s, but the forecast wind didn’t materialize, so not too bad at all. Plus, lake-effect snow was lazily sifting down to make it feel like being in a snow globe. Best of all, long-time readers Donna and Kate came along to help me see what there wasContinue reading “Breakfast served hot and fresh!”

The beautiful blue skies are gone, along with the mild temperatures, and it feels like winter is back. On the lower river, I saw most of our old friends: the kingfisher, the common mergansers, the hooded merganser hen, the pair of goldeneyes, and the gadwall drake. It was pretty dark still, however, so I justContinue reading “The return of the buffleheads…”

Wow! What a gorgeous morning in Estabrook it turned out to be. To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations when I stepped outside because the clouds were back, and it was pretty dark out. The temperature was just around freezing, however, so mild for this time of year, the wind was calm, the trailContinue reading “Just a stupendous morning in the park”

The warmup came as forecast, and the critters in Estabrook came out to enjoy the reprieve. Our belted kingfisher, who I’ve heard all along but couldn’t spot recently, was fishing over some newly open water across from the boardwalk below the beer garden. Just north of the southern-most stairway, down the bluff from the playgroundContinue reading “Everyone enjoys a respite from the cold”

Despite a scarier forecast, the weather in Estabrook was just like yesterday morning, cold as heck but not too breezy and with plenty of sunshine, so not too bad. All the mammals were absent again, and many of the little birds were absent, too. Perhaps they are also fed up with the cold and takingContinue reading “Still plenty of new sights to see…”

It was a bit chilly this morning, and the only mammal I saw on my entire walk through Estabrook, to the north end and back, was this hapless little rodent that our new huntress had caught for her breakfast. I’m sure glad to see that she seems to be making herself at home. “Help yourselfContinue reading “Mammals on the menu…”

The weather this morning was a real mixed bag. Not too cold, but a wind chill near zero. Blue skies and sun, but dropping temps and a gale warning. I did not expect to see much. This little cutie, however, had other plans. Yes, indeedy, our American kestrel was back and farther south into theContinue reading “A quick visit before the gale blows in…”

I can hear the wind whipping outside as I type this, and the weather channel leads off its hourly forecast with “Gale Warning”, so maybe it’s just as well that I don’t have time to visit Estabrook today. Luckily, there’s been so much to see lately that I often haven’t been able to fit allContinue reading “A raft of rejects…”

It was another blue-sky morning in Estabrook with temps above 0°F. What more could I ask for? The thin layer of snow on the path along the river had a wonderfully crisp crunch underfoot this morning, so I wasn’t gonna be sneaking up on anybody today. I saw the common mergansers again first thing, butContinue reading “The high-pressure system sticks around…”