It wasn’t snowing this morning, and the winds were pretty light. Some sun would have been nice, but two out of three ain’t bad, or so the song goes, right?

Anyway, I was glad to finally capture an image of one of the rabbits I’ve been seeing lately.

There were plenty of brown creepers still foraging up tree trunks, and in my never-ending quest to bring you the perfect brown creeper picture, here’s one from this morning.

Winter wrens are also still around, but none wanted to be in today’s post, so here’s one more of the little poser from last week.

Wood ducks are becoming pretty common, I saw five on the pond along with three photographers, but I’m still trying for a better high perch, so here’s today’s.

As I surveyed the open waters around the northern island, to see who might still be visiting, I was thrilled to find a pair of buffleheads cruising with a pair of red-breasted mergansers.

Here’s a closer look at the merganser drake.

Finally, I stopped behind the Shorewood Police Station, along the Oak Leaf Trail at the far south end, to check on the European starlings, and I finally discovered why they’ve been hanging out there lately.

I don’t know what these holes in the siding were originally for, perhaps climate control pipes running to the roof, but they make perfect starling nesting cavities now.

It was a dark and dreary morning, and then it began to snow like crazy. Luckily, it wasn’t too cold, I got out and back before the snow came, and the birds in Estabrook were as busy as usual.

This little eastern phoebe, one of two I saw, was busily flitting from perch to perch over the water in search of breakfast.

At the southern island, I looked for the great horned owl in its recent favorite hiding spot, and didn’t see it, but then it suddenly flew up from closer to the ground to perch almost in the open, as if to say “I’m here, I’m here!”

A bit farther upstream, beside the northern island, I spotted a pied-billed grebe again, and even got a better picture than last time.

The grebe submerged again, as they do, and while I searched in vain for where it might resurface, I spotted this herring gull trying to real in a fish farther out across the river.

The little brown creepers are plentiful now, and I counted three this morning, but they are still as hard to capture as ever. This one came out okay.

The winter wrens are also still plentiful and singing, but I failed to capture an image today. Instead, here are a couple nice portraits from Wednesday that I haven’t shown you yet.

Up on the soccer fields at the south end, I found brown-headed cowbirds among the robins again, but a male and female this time. Here’s a picture of the male trying his best to impress, but it doesn’t appear to be working yet.

Finally, there are plenty of geese, mallards, and even three wood ducks around, but nothing photogenic today. To tide you over, here are another pair of mallards from Thursday.

The forecast sun never materialized, so it was a pretty gray morning, but not too cold, and the critters are stuck here anyway. It’s not like the birds are gonna say, “To heck with these gray skies, I’m flying back to the Gulf of Mexico.”

Here’s one such bird on the quiet water below the falls and above the mild rapids. He’s a hooded merganser, and by the looks of his dark bill and yellowish eye, an immature male whose breeding plumage has not yet come in.

I stopped by the pond to see if anyone was around before things got busy, and there were a pair of wood ducks, a pair of mallards, and the pair of geese, but the light wasn’t great for pictures on the water, so here’s a white-throated sparrow instead.

Back at the river, I spotted another three wood ducks at the north end, but this eastern phoebe posing with maple tree blossoms made a nicer picture.

There was also still a pair of buffleheads, and they happened to be napping in the warm reflection of the red brick chocolate factory across the river.

On my way back south, three crows alerted me to this red-tailed hawk over the disc golf course.

Back at the pond, the trio from the river had flown up to join the pair already there, so now there were five wood ducks, and this quartet arranged themselves nicely for me.

The fifth wheel was a male, so it should come as no surprise that there had to be some jockeying for position, and here’s two of the males going at it as a hen looks on.

I was surprised not to see a flicker today, but I have a nice left-over picture of a male on some sumac by the pond from yesterday to fill in.

Lastly, the red squirrel from yesterday grabbed the biggest nut I’ve ever seen a red squirrel grab and posed like this for a while, as if to make sure I captured a good image.

If the bait and switch of clouds for sun is the worst April Fools prank I suffer today, I’ll take that as a win.

I’m sure it went out like a lion for some of you, especially if you had to commute through the snow this morning. I, however, enjoyed riding my bike to campus through the snow, mostly on the bike path, and then Estabrook Park this afternoon was simply amazing, so March went out more like a big wet pussy cat for me.

Let me start you off with an extremely rare landscape shot of snow on the trees beside the river, to set the mood.

And here’s a pair of sleepy mallards at the edge of the water.

But then things started to wake up. I was thrilled to see a quartet of buffleheads back again and even more surprised to see at least a quartet of hooded mergansers, of which here is one pair.

While I was surveying the water fowl on the river, look who came soaring south in lazy circles overhead: our first turkey vulture of the season. The colors are pretty washed out from the low light and bright white sky, but you can still make out its red face. Good thing my buddy, Mike, had tipped me off to recognize a vulture by the dihedral of its wings, compared to hawks and eagles.

Meanwhile, at my feet, the golden-crowned kinglets were thick as fleas, nearly as jumpy, and hardly much bigger.

On my way back south, I climbed the bluff early to head for the pond, and boy, that was a lucky choice. I was greeted by dozens of birds on the grass: robins, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, and a couple dozen starlings, of which here is an even dozen.

Anne commented that the starling in the picture I showed you yesterday “is a cool looking bird”, so I wanted to show her how that’s only the third of it. Have you seen their murmurations? If not, do yourself a favor and watch this video of that astounding behavior. Equally as amazing is their vocalization ability. Here’s one fun video, and here’s another.

Anyway, as I was trying to get a count of the robins, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted one killdeer, then two, and eventually six, just hiding in plain sight among them.

Then, as I was trying to line up a nice killdeer shot, I spotted another northern flicker fly by out of the corner of my eye: a female again.

And then, as I was trying to capture the flicker, a kestrel flew over. It’s a male again, and I almost had to sit down!

That’s seven amazing and colorful species while almost standing in one place. Incredible!

After all that excitement, I had to go home to take a nap, but on my way, this little cutie, a red squirrel, called out to me so I could take its picture too.

When it rains, it pours, eh? I can hardly wait to see what April brings!

As I was studying all the green blotches on the current and future radar to see if there might be a dry patch this morning, Anne looked out the window and said, “It looks pretty dry right now,” so out the door I went, and I never felt a drop. Ha!

The wood ducks were down from their high perches and foraging on the lawn beside the pond when I arrived.

The big surprise, however, was the arrival of northern flickers. You may recall I spotted a solo outlier a few weeks ago, but this time there was a pair of them, they were also foraging on the lawn, and here’s one of them. I see no trace of the tell-tale black mustache, so she’s a female.

Down by the river, the recent ice is almost completely gone already, and the winter wrens were busy singing their amazing little song to each other.

As were the song sparrows.

At the north end, all the winter visitors appear to be gone, and I saw no buffleheads, goldeneyes, nor mergansers today.

Back at the far south end, I spotted yet another female flicker who was doing a better job of showing off her “yellow shafts”,

This sharp-looking European starling,

And a goldfinch who almost has his full summer plumage already.

The current forecast for tomorrow morning calls for snow, so who the heck knows what we’re gonna get. Tune in tomorrow to find out, or just look out your window.

It was a cool, windy, and grey morning, and I had to go to school anyway, but I was afraid of missing something amazing, because there’s been so much going on lately, so I ran into the park for a quick visit to just the pond and the river at the north end.

The queen still rests on her throne, with her gander dutifully standing guard nearby, but the pond was otherwise empty.

The excitement began as I headed to the river and heard a little mewing sound from above. Look who I found in the branches overhead: a pair of wood ducks, perhaps looking for a nesting cavity.

Finding these little cuties high up in a tree hasn’t gotten old yet.

When I did finally reach the north end, I was surprised to find a pair of goldeneyes and a red-breasted merganser drake, but they were too far out on the water for presentable pictures.

Instead, the ice formations along the river have gotten even longer and more elaborate, and I suspect the receding river water helps with that. Donna wrote in to report that they are called “ice bells”, and WQAD-TV in Moline, IL confirms that.

As forecast, it was a perfect morning in Estabrook, and I stopped by the pond on my way to the north end to see who the nice weather might have brought out. The main attraction, however, was that the Canada goose was back on her nest this morning for the first time that I’ve seen this season.

I read that “Canada geese lay between four and nine eggs per year. The average is five. The female lays one egg every one to two days, usually early in the morning. She does not leave the nest, eat, drink, or bathe while the eggs are incubating. The gestation period is 28 to 30 days.” Thus, we have only 32 to 48 days to go until gosling time!

Last year, you may recall that she lost her first clutch, and had to lay a second, so the whole process took even longer, but let’s all hope that doesn’t happen this year. Last year, there were also a lot more geese on the pond, including a couple with a nest at the north end of the island, and maybe that’s what jinxed it.

Anyway, a belted kingfisher was also visiting the pond this morning and looking for some breakfast, but I didn’t see her catch any this time.

Back at the river, a beaver swam by right in front of me, as if to say, “what’s with all the muskrats and deer lately?”

Winter wrens are still plentiful, and here’s one of them.

At the north end, the mergansers have moved on, but the pair of buffleheads were still there.

And here’s an eastern phoebe soaking up some of that nice and warm late-march morning sun.

On my way back south, I got all excited when I thought I spotted a female red-winged blackbird at last, but it turns out to be just a “non-breeding male” with a “scaly” look and “incomplete red shoulder patches.” Oh well. Maybe next time.

I finally caught one of the chipmunks I’ve been seeing, and one day sooner than I did last year. How’s that for clockwork?

Lastly, the overnight freeze made even more fancy ice sculptures, and here are a couple.

The weather this morning in Estabrook was way better than forecast. The temperature was 21°F instead of 20°F, winds were 13 mph instead of 14 mph, and so the “RealFeel®” temperature was a full 8°F instead of the measly 6°F predicted. Ha! Plus, the sun was out and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. What a way to start the day!

It was so nice out, the critters couldn’t even wait for me to arrive, and Anne noticed deer walking past our window as I was putting my gear on, so I grabbed my camera and ran out the door in flip-flops to capture this trio of tulip tasters in our neighbors’ back yard. I wonder if they are the same trio I spotted crossing the river back in January. If so, they sure get around!

Well, I eventually did get all my gear on, swapped my flip-flops for boots, and headed down to the river to see who else was up, and this little guy greeted me right away at the south end again, but this time it was across the river so I could watch it enjoy its breakfast.

Farther north, winter wrens are still around, and I finally caught one catching its breath so I could take a picture.

At the north end, I was surprised to find this odd-couple of mergansers. On the left is a female or immature male red-bellied merganser, and on the right, with the distinct neck line, is a female or immature male common merganser.

A pair of buffleheads were still there, as well, along with a pair of wood ducks, who preferred not to be photographed today.

Best of all, I finally captured an image of a crazy-elusive pied-billed grebe. Every time I noticed the little stinker with my binoculars and tried to take a picture to confirm what I thought I saw, it would dive and not come back up no matter how long I waited. Obviously, it has no SCUBA gear, so it simply surfaced some place I wasn’t looking, but I couldn’t believe how good it was at that. Nevertheless, it wasn’t quite good enough to evade me forever, and so here we are:

On my way back south, I spotted the great horned owl again in its new favorite hiding place, but not every picture can be a portrait, right?

Up on the soccer fields at the south end, I finally spotted a brown-headed cowbird foraging amongst two dozen robins, and yes, I really did count 24 robins out on the lawn, but it’s a big lawn.

Lastly, just as I was about to exit the park and cross Wilson Drive, I spotted another brown creeper in the nice morning sun so I could take a sharper picture than yesterday.

Oh, I almost forgot. The overnight cold snap created some interesting ice formations on the river, and here are a couple of them for all you art-shot lovers.

Okay. That’s really it for today. I see the forecast for tomorrow morning is almost the same as today, but with less wind, so just perfect. See you then.

It was two years ago, to the day, that I wrote those first four words and kicked off this whole adventure with an email message to some friends and my family. Two years later, it was cold, cloudy, and windy, with snow showers forecast, so I went into Estabrook with pretty low expectations, despite the momentous occasion. Well, I shouldn’t have worried, and perhaps the critters knew what day it was, because they really put on a show for us.

I didn’t see any deer today, but I was greeted pretty quickly at the south end by another muskrat.

I followed it for quite a ways up the edge of the river, but could never quite get in front of it, so this is the best portrait I could manage.

I saw two different eastern phoebes, this time, and here’s one of them.

At the north end, things really started to get going with surprise appearances by a red-breasted merganser drake.

And a pair of buffleheads.

By the pond, this hairy woodpecker appeared to add a little roughage to its diet.

And I finally spotted a brown creeper that I hear others have seen for the past week or two.

The main event, however, was the arrival at last of a pair of wood ducks on the pond, to join the pair of mallards and the pair of Canada geese that have been there for a couple of weeks already.

What sweet symmetry, eh? But that’s not even all, yet. I headed back down to the river, and I’m 99% sure I flushed an American wood cock. It looked comically short and squat with that color scheme and elaborate pattern on its back. Now that I know where and for what to look, I hope I can see one before I spook it away next time.

But wait! There’s even more! And I’ve got the images to prove it this time. We have an American kestrel back again, and this one’s a male. Here he is, across the river with his fresh breakfast.

Things were going so well, I wanted to stay all day, but I’ve got a tour of my bike lab to give this afternoon, so I headed back up the bluff to hurry home only to be stopped in my tracks by this little cutie.

He was so bold, I had to switch my lens into “close” mode, and I’m glad I did because here he is triumphantly showing me his catch.

Lastly, as the nuthatch hopped farther up the tree, and since my lens was already in “close” mode, I couldn’t help but take this picture, too.

That’s about as nice an anniversary celebration as I could have hoped for, right? Thanks, guys!

The rain finally took a break, the sun came out, and it was a gorgeous morning in Estabrook Park. Plus, my visit started off with a bang when I spotted this deer sneaking into the woods at the far south end.

Even better, she turned around and and struck a pose for us. We haven’t seen hide nor hair from them since I caught three of them crossing the frozen river back on January 18, and it sure is a treat to see them again.

The sun finally came out as I was making my way north along the river, and I thought two red-bellied woodpeckers on the same branch against a bright blue sky would make a nice picture.

They took their sweet time getting into position, however.

But once they did, the action happened fast!

On my way to the pond, I ran into Lisa, and she said there wasn’t much to see there today, so we headed to the islands at the north end, where I hoped she would spot a great horned owl for me, and she hoped I would make an eagle materialize. Well, neither came to pass today, but we did spot a pair of buffleheads, which might be the last pair we get to see this season.

On our way south, we spotted a winter wren and a trio of golden-crowned kinglets, but I got no pictures this time. We did swing back by the pond, but Lisa was right about there being nothing to see there, and then she had to go to work, so I headed back to the river. On my way, I came across a couple of fox sparrows singing to each other, and here’s the handsome one.

When I finally got back to the edge of the water, which I haven’t seen this high since early last spring, I found this dark-eyed junco checking out our mushrooms, which my old buddy, Mike, claims to have “on good authority are oysters.“

I barely turned around from that scene to find this acrobatic, white-breasted nuthatch showing us its stuff.

Finally, after I wrote yesterday’s post about the eagles’ nests, I did find a gap in the rain, and headed out to find my first live Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), the Wisconsin State marsupial, after nearly two full years of searching. Woo Hoo!

As I look out my window now, I see that it is already raining again. Oh well. I hear we need the water, and the critters don’t seem to mind, but it sure was a beautiful morning while it held off, eh?