Category Archives: Uncategorized

Yes, we have goslings! I counted eight. Here’s proud Papa right after chasing away some poor little dog whose owner obliviously walked it waaaay too close. In other news, check out this hefty kitty… Here’s an uncommon sight for Estabrook, a rusty blackbird just passing through. This majestic beauty, a turkey vulture, must have smelledContinue reading “Maiden Voyage!”

For a change of pace today, I joined the Pike Lake/ Hartford Area Field Trip organized by the Noel J. Cutright Bird Club and lead by Carl Schwartz. It was a picture-perfect day, and we stopped at several watering holes along the way. The one on Oil Spring Rd. was a jackpot of ducks andContinue reading “Pike Lake and surroundings.”

I didn’t have high hopes for my visit to Estabrook Park this morning. It was cloudy and breezy at sunrise, and neither condition usually makes for great pictures. The critters in the park, however, had other plans. It all started with this white-tailed deer that I only spotted because I was tiptoeing off trail toContinue reading “About as good as it gets…”

The warm sun and blue skies were gone, but the temps were still mild, the clouds had no leaks, and the air was nearly still, so it was a fine morning for visiting Estabrook Park. My first treat for the day was getting this yellow-rumped warbler, our first warbler of the season, to hold stillContinue reading “Every dog does have its day, it seems…”

While Anne and I were off to Illinois to see the total eclipse of the sun, spring really kept springing along in Estabrook Park, and there were a few new faces to see this morning. First, the ruby-crowned kinglets have returned, and there are also yellow-rumped warblers, but they were less bold this morning. ButterfliesContinue reading “A nice step forward…”

Anne and I made it to the Rotary Park in Sparta, Illinois without any trouble, and we got to enjoy a full three minutes of totality. It was amazing, but I didn’t bother with pictures, and we just enjoyed it. Before the big show, however, we also got to watch this Osprey fishing over theContinue reading “A great opening act to the big show”

Anne and I drove down into Illinois yesterday afternoon in hopes of finding a good location for viewing the eclipse later this afternoon. This morning, I got to go look for birds with my uncle, and we found a few, but I don’t have a lot of time this morning, so here are just aContinue reading “Greetings from sunny Illinois!”

This morning started out very nice in Estabrook Park, but then the clouds soon rolled in, and we’re now enjoying yet another grey day in April. Oh well. The mergansers and now all the grebes have moved on, but as happy coincidence would have it, I captured my first great blue heron image of theContinue reading “One more happy return.”

What a gorgeous morning we had in Estabrook Park today. With nothing to block the sun, I was able to start my visit at 6:30, which let me beat some of the rush. Plenty of birds were singing, but the first critter to pose for a picture was this red squirrel, busily munching on aContinue reading “April finally gets its act together…”

The huge storm system, which brought us snow two mornings in a row, has finally moved on, and I can’t see a cloud in the sky right now, but it was still pretty cloudy when I visited Estabrook Park earlier this morning. Happily, there was still enough light to capture this image of our firstContinue reading “April finally relaxes…”