Category Archives: Uncategorized

Holy smokes, was it ever a great morning in the park, and we’ve got several new arrivals to report! First up is the “uncommon and elusive” black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus), just in from northwestern South America and looking for your tent caterpillars. Charles tipped me off yesterday, yes that Charles, that Ken had spotted one byContinue reading “We’re gonna need a bigger banner…”

Just like last year, almost to the day, all the geese and goslings were suddenly gone from the pond this morning. I felt just like Chuckie in the final scene of Good Will Hunting, a mix of hope and bittersweet. There were some likely looking candidates down on the river, so just like last year,Continue reading “And then there were none…”

Yikes! I thought yesterday morning was good for birds, but I hadn’t seen nothing yet! Let’s start with the new ones, shall we? These two, a pair of bay-breasted warblers (Setophaga castanea), really made me work for it. An olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) is new to me and very similar to the eastern wood-pewee, whoContinue reading “A banner day in the park!”

The air was cool, damp, and still, so filled with bugs, which appears to be just the way birds like it because they were everywhere this morning. The only problem is that the trees are pretty leafed out now, so there are a lot more places for the little devils to hide, but I managedContinue reading “A perfect morning for the birds”

Man! You go away for just five days, and everything changes. The main story, I suppose, is that the third set of goslings on the pond, the ones incubated on the southern tip of the island, have finally hatched, and there appears to be only one for all that effort. When I arrived, Mom andContinue reading “Even more goslings!”

I had been wondering when we’d see a rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) in the park, and I just figured that they were all still over at Bonnie and Gary’s feeder. Well, they couldn’t have picked a more-beautiful morning to finally come visit Estabrook. I first spotted a pair at the top of the bluff byContinue reading “Everyone comes out for a perfect morning…”

The cold continued this morning, but the sun sure takes a bite out of it these days. The goslings at the pond appear to be doing fine, and were taking an after-breakfast nap when I arrived. In the trees along the east side of the pond, I found a nice and friendly female blue-gray gnatcatcherContinue reading “Still cold, but the bright sun really helps…”

Today started just as yesterday did, cool and dark, but it just stayed that way, and the birds were laying low. I didn’t see a single warbler, and the geese and goslings, mallards and wood ducks, blackbirds and grackles all seemed to be doing fine at the pond without them. By the river, the robinContinue reading “A slow and sleepy Monday in Estabrook”