The rain that was forecast for this morning in Estabrook Park held off until after lunch, so I had a far nicer visit today than I had anticipated.
Better yet, the pied-billed grebe, who hasn’t let me take its picture since last Thursday, allowed me to take this portrait.
Not only did the rain hold off, but the sky even cleared up long enough to let the sun light up this grackle by the river.
The blue skies didn’t last long, however, and by the time I got to the islands above the falls, this poor great blue heron had nothing but grey clouds for a background.
I can’t quite tell if the merganser on the left at the pond is the same one we saw on the river yesterday, but it does have the same yellow eye, black beak, and not-quite-yet male breeding plumage, so it might be. Either way, its companion appears to be also a male but one that is even further behind in its metamorphosis. “Time to get with the program, guys!”
Meanwhile, this wood duck drake completely understood the assignment and is now being paraded around by a hen who looks quite pleased with his efforts.
Finally, I did see a couple of yellow-bellied sapsuckers again today, but none put on a show anywhere close to this one yesterday. You can even see some of his namesake “yellow belly”.
Tomorrow is forecast to be cold and windy, but at least it should be dry again, so if there is a new arrival, I’ll have a hope of getting its picture. Keep your fingers crossed.
It was a gorgeous morning in Estabrook Park, and on my way upstream along the river to the beer garden parking lot, I finally saw my first great blue heron of the year that was not merely flying over. “Welcome back, Beautiful!”
I’m not sure which was the bigger draw, the weather or the promise of warblers, but we had a great turnout for our wildlife walk. Once we had the team assembled, we went first to check the water around the islands in the river, and it was teaming with waterfowl today. Here are five of the six blue-winged teals, and that’s the wing of a Canada goose over their heads in the background.
Back up on the bluff, a pair of yellow-bellied sap suckers, my firsts for the year, put on quite a show for us.
I’m sorry to say, however, that we could not find a single warbler. As a small consolation, let me give you a another look at the palm warbler from yesterday.
Finally, it turns out that wildlife walkers are not the only ones brought out by the warm weather today, and here’s the first butterfly I’ve seen in the park this year, a mourning cloak.
I hear that we’re in for some rain, but it looks like I might be able to sneak into Estabrook for a bit before it arrives, so wish me luck!
It was a bit warmer, a bit breezier, and a lot cloudier in Estabrook Park this morning. The big news, however, is that the geese in the tree are multiplying, and today it held three (3)! You can see the head and part of the back of the third one under the one on the left. Even odder, they were mostly just holding still, as though they were as surprised to find themselves there as I was to see them. What on earth they are doing up there is anybody’s guess.
The next big news is our monthly hermit thrush sighting, and hardly a day too soon, if we’re going to keep that record going.
I was happy to get another crack at a winter wren, but I didn’t do much better than last time, I’m afraid. One of these days…
Not to be outdone, the common merganser hen was there, too.
Things were quiet at the pond, with just the pair of geese and a mallard drake. I saw wood ducks flying over the river earlier, but there were none on the pond this morning. Instead, the fun sight was this white-throated sparrow, of whom we haven’t seen much in a while, except for that one who tricked us into thinking we had seen a savannah sparrow last Monday.
I saw my first warbler of the year today, a couple of yellow-rumped warblers by the river, and try as I might, neither one would let me get them on film. After the pond, I even hiked all the way back south along the river in hopes of having a third chance, and I did see quite a few golden-crowned kinglets, but I had no luck with the butter-butts.
When I finally emerged from the woods beside the southern soccer fields, I could feel that the morning had warmed up a bit, and I saw my first small cloud of lake flies, which is perfect timing for the freshly-arrived warblers. Yay!
That encouraged me to give it one more try and patrol the line of bushes, mostly buckthorn, unfortunately, along the crest of the bluff, in case one had come up there in search of bugs. As I approached the little patch of lawn between the path and the bluff at the north end of those soccer fields, I saw a bird or two hopping around on the grass, and I figured they were song sparrows, which are plentiful lately, but I gave them a look with my binoculars anyway, just in case there was a white-crowned sparrow foraging with them.
Well, I didn’t see a white-crowned sparrow, but lo and behold who I did see instead: our first palm warbler of the season! Hallelujah! Not only are they the best posers of all the warblers, in my opinion, but they are still considered rare in Milwaukee County at this early date, and this is the first one anyone has reported seeing this year. “Hello, Gorgeous!”
What is unusual, and a sight I rarely see, is a Canada goose up in a tree. Maybe it was just taking a break from the fray below as nesting sites are still being sorted out on the upstream island. I didn’t see any of the fancy winter waterfowl we’ve been enjoying on the river lately, but I see that a red-breasted merganser was spotted there today after I had moved on.
At the pond, there were three pairs of wood ducks, and they were making excursions up onto land for the first time I’ve seen this year. Here’s a drake, …
and here’s one of two hens that were nearby.
Another bird on the lawn for the first time I’ve seen this year was this male northern flicker. He was furiously digging into the frozen ground for ants, but I don’t know if he found any, nor if frozen ants taste as good as fresh.
Meanwhile, the red-winged blackbird males are still jockeying for nesting sites, in hopes that the ladies will be impressed when they arrive. The date they arrived last year is just one week away, so it’s time for the guys to start their full court presses.
Back on the lawn, the American robins have been busy, and I see as many as two dozen at one time on the big fields these days. This one appeared to be on break and might have been just enjoying the warmth of the sun for a moment.
Another bird that appeared to be soaking up some of that same sun was this European starling. Sure, they are an aggressive invasive species, but I’ll give you one guess as to who is to blame for them being here, and it’s not them.
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to find that some violets are already in bloom.
It was a surprisingly nice morning in Estabrook Park, considering that the weather forecast just last evening had pretty confidently called for rain. Sure, it was cool, with the air temperature just below freezing, and the cloud cover was pretty thick, but the wind was light, and not a raindrop fell, so I call that a win!
My second big surprise was seeing the beaver again so soon, and this time it was heading upstream along the near shore, but I sure could have used a little more light.
Anyway, at the islands above the falls, we still have a couple of stragglers who have not yet flown north, and here’s a common merganser hen. I’d like to think she’s taking a good look around and thinking to herself, “I’m gonna miss this place when I go.”
One of the two horned grebes is also still with us, but it was keeping an eye on me and did not appear to be enjoying a similar contemplative moment. “Sorry, Sweetie!”
The surprise of the morning, at least at the islands, was this belted kingfisher putting in another, but still infrequent, visit. I sure hope he can find a she soon and settle down for the summer.
And, in case you are unimpressed with my attempt above to blend nature and urban art, here’s another phoebe posing in front of a perfectly natural background of last year’s dried grasses and forbs.
Finally, the wood ducks on the pond have also been an on-again-off-again sighting recently, and here’s a pair flipping that switch back on again this morning. I have not yet seen any indication that they have even noticed the newly reinstalled nesting boxes on the island, let alone have an opinion about their desirability, sorry Gene, but there’s still plenty of time for that.
Lastly, thanks for all the congratulatory messages in response to yesterday’s 6th anniversary announcement. There’s a distinct possibility that I’d be spending as much time in the park even without your positive feedback, simply because I enjoy it so much, but your “atta boys” sure do sweeten the deal!
This morning got off to a great start in Estabrook Park, with nearly clear skies, nearly still air, and nearly 50°F temps. It was almost balmy, and I skipped a poofy jacket for the first morning this year. The birds seemed to be digging it, too, because I could hear them singing their little heads off even before I crossed Wilson Drive.
Anyway, the first sight I thought worth a picture was our darling pied-billed grebe on the river in its usual spot, where the water gets wide and slow below the twin radio towers on the far shore.
Just upstream of the grebe, this red squirrel not only posed, but grabbed a tree branch with buds, bit off a piece, and proceeded to nibble all the buds off it. Remember to eat your vegetables!
The water around the islands above the falls was full of birds when I arrived. Besides all the geese jockeying for nesting spots on the upstream island and a few mallards, I was pleased to spot a pair of hooded mergansers, a common merganser hen, and a red-breasted merganser drake. Best of all, we got our first glimpse at wood ducks on the river and only our third sighting of them this year.
The horned grebe was still there, and it even had a buddy for the first time. Here’s a look at one of them while the sun was still shining.
Then the sky became overcast, the wind picked up and started blowing cold air off the lake, and it was time for me to head home. As I emerged from the river path beside the southern soccer fields, I found this brown creeper making its way up the side of a river birch that grows there.
Finally, the golden-crowned kinglets seemed to be everywhere this morning, and I counted over a dozen of them, but they’re about as fast as they are tiny, so pictures are not easy to come by. This little devil, on the other hand, was nearly daring me to take its picture as it continued performing its acrobatics on this ninebark bush as I stood there watching. How could I not oblige such an adorable face, right?
My guess is that this one was compelled by hunger, because here it is, right after the pose above, furiously digging for something that must have smelled good enough to put up with my gaze.
Meanwhile, the juncos are getting really noisy, probably in hopes of getting a date to the prom before they head north, but the good news is that their call sounds like tiny dinner bells.
Similarly, the fox sparrows, whose numbers have multiplied in the past few weeks, are up to the same thing.
Finally, one bird that remained quiet this morning was this great blue heron that glided south over the pond. I was thrilled to finally get eyes on one, another first for the year, and I hope that they’ll soon start landing in Estabrook to fish in the river or the pond.
The weather is forecast to continue its slow improvement through tomorrow morning, so maybe a heron will fulfill my wish or someone new will appear. I can’t wait to find out which.
The cold and wind in Estabrook Park this morning were about the same as yesterday, but the clouds were back with a vengeance, and the pretty blue sky we had was long gone. Nevertheless, this ain’t a portrait studio, and we’ve gotta take pictures with the light and backgrounds we’ve got, so here we go.
The mud on the river path is starting to dry out, so I followed it upstream from the far south end, but the river is high and fast right now, and most of the waterfowl that we’ve seen there over the winter are on their way back north.
Thus, I didn’t see anything of note until I reached the wide and slow part under the twin radio towers. There, I was pretty sure I caught a glimpse of the pied-billed grebe just as it dove, and as I scanned the water with my camera waiting for it to resurface, look who I spotted steaming upstream along the far riverbank: our old friend, the beaver.
Even better, it steamed right past another sight we haven’t seen in a while, the muskrat, who I had not noticed up on the far shore.
But wait, there’s more! Just about when it got even with me, it clambered out of the water to search for something to nibble on.
Sadly, it didn’t find anything it liked and headed back toward the water, but before it dove in, it had one more surprise. Now, I don’t know if it is sticking its tongue out at me or just yawning, but either way, that’s a face I have not seen before.
Anyway, with the beaver now out of sight, I could finally turn my attention back to the muskrat, who was still up on shore, where it sniffed around a bit, and then joined the beaver back in the water.
I eventually did find the grebe later in the morning, on my way back downstream, but the picture didn’t come out as nice as the one yesterday, so here’s a look at the non-breeding horned grebe between the upstream islands instead.
Finally, here’s my first decent picture of a male brown-headed cowbird for the year. I’ve been seeing one since Saturday, but it has managed to keep itself obscured by branches until today.
There was a little more wind this morning than I had been led to expect, but the sky was indeed clear, and the cold firmed up the muddy river trail nicely, so it was a fine morning for a wildlife walk in Estabrook Park. Eight hearty enthusiasts found their winter coats and came out to join me.
The clear skies coaxed me out the door before the sun rose, and on my way to the parking lot, I found the pied-billed grebe again before the sun had reached down to light up the river.
The bigger surprise was finding these northern shoveler drakes, two of a quartet, and the first ones we’ve seen this year, in the water just off the upstream island. As you can see, the sun was there in time to turn on the iridescent green in their head feathers. Nice!
Along with the shovelers, I found one red-breasted merganser drake, and I love when the water reflects both the clear blue sky above and the early morning sun behind me like this.
Then it was time to meet everyone in the beer garden parking lot, and we all hustled down to the river in time to see the shovelers before they disappeared. Phew! Then, on our way to the pond, we all thought this was our first savannah sparrow of the year, but the bad light was fooling us, and when I got home and cleaned up my best image, we can see it’s just an innocent white-throated sparrow, instead. Oh well, it’s still a pretty bird, and they’ll all be off to the north for the summer soon enough.
After the pond, we headed back to the river in hopes of seeing the pied-billed grebe again and one of the winter wrens that had been reported yesterday, but both eluded us. Then Jeff caught back up to the group and said he had just seen a winter wren at the pond. Ha! So, we hustled back up there and sure enough, it was right where Jeff had seen it, but it was in no mood for pictures today, and so here’s the best “first of the year” portrait the little stinker would let me have.
Finally, one bird who seemed not to mind the camera this morning was this female northern flicker on the sumac by the pond. She was probably just more focused on warming up in the sun.
The forecast for tomorrow morning looks similar to today’s but maybe a bit warmer and cloudier. Either way, I can’t wait to see who we see next.
In addition to a 35°F drop in temperature from the high of 70°F yesterday afternoon, the other big surprise in Estabrook Park this morning was our first eastern phoebe of the year at the pond. I watched it fly off that perch and return a couple of times, as if it was catching bugs, and I sure hope it was, but I’m a little skeptical that there were any out in this weather. If it can hold out till Tuesday, when temps return to the 50s, there should be plenty in the air then, so “Good luck, little cutie!”
A pair of wood ducks was back on the pond again this morning, but let me show you a nicer picture from Friday, when the sun was peeking through the clouds for a moment to light up the drake just right.
Now that I’ve broken the seal for today on using old pictures, here’s another look at the pair of blue-winged teals on Friday. That’s a significantly larger common merganser hen behind the diminutive teal hen on the left.
I never showed you the coot that I saw that same day, so here it is.
Finally, the weather was so nice yesterday afternoon that I rode down to the lakefront to see who might be around, and I found this gorgeous horned grebe in full breeding plumage right behind the art museum. What a stunner, eh?
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 