It was a dark and dreary morning, and the best chance I had for a decent picture were big birds out in the open, so here they are.

At the pond, the wood duck hen with two ducklings was feeling confident enough in their evasive abilities to bring them up onto the west lawn, probably in hopes that I was one of the guys that feeds them. “Sorry, sweetie. That ain’t me.”

In the image above, the duckling on the left is starting to show his male cheek pattern, and the one on the right is not, so my guess is that she’s a female, and her white eyering will come in with her breeding plumage next spring. In any case, here’s a close up of her stretching her wing, which looks like it is starting to grow flight feathers.

There was also a pair of mallards on the pond, of which this is the hen, and when they came up on the lawn, I was surprised to watch the wood duck hen shoe them away from her ducklings, and they yielded. I guess what they say is true: it is not the size of the duck in the fight, but the size of the fight in the duck.

At the north end, we had a Cooper’s hawk fly in and perch for a few moments over the northern island before taking right back off again. That’s nearly the same spot the falcon chose on Wednesday, a clear favorite with raptors.

Coop was too small, perhaps, to spook the ducks on the water, and here’s a mallard hen with two of her three fresh-looking ducklings going about their business as usual.

Meanwhile, another mallard hen with her seven nearly-grown ducklings where busy preening on the shore of the island, …

until something made them all snap to attention, but I never discovered what that was.

Finally, the killdeer must have been celebrating the fourth a bit early because there were ten (10!) of them on the sand bars just northeast of the northern island. Even though most appeared to be just standing around, I couldn’t get them all to stand around together, and this trio, with a fourth in the foreground, is as close as I could get. Oh well. Still a sight to see.

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve got a meeting this morning, so I won’t be able to visit Estabrook, but my mid-day visit yesterday was so fruitful, I have some pictures for you today anyway.

I had initially thought that being later in the day might afford me some butterfly pictures, and I did see a nice red admiral and probably an eastern comma, but they evaded my camera. Instead, our first ebony jewelwing was far more accommodating.

This contented-looking family of mallards was taking advantage of the sun that did burn through the haze on the lower river. Mom gave me a stern look at first, but soon resumed her own preening.

Meanwhile, the second batch of wood duck ducklings on the pond was down for their nap on the mat of last year’s reeds along the west shore. When I first walked up from the west, I could see a few drakes, in various stages of eclipse, and the hen with two ducklings, all on the fall shore, and I only noticed these cuties, nearly at my feet, as I began to head north in search of them.

The recent usual crowds of Canada geese and mallards, plus a few killdeer and a couple sandpipers, were all on the river at the north end, but I didn’t see any pictures worth taking until I began to head back south and I spotted this infrequent visitor nibbling on the seeds in the tall grass across the gravel road. “Welcome back, Honey!”

It’s always a treat to see a great blue heron, and when they are fishing at the falls its just icing on the cake.

I was very pleasantly surprised to spot this little darling hiding in a crevice in the steep side of the bluff behind the abandoned bridge abutment. “Way to keep cool, my little dude or dudette!”

Finally, as I circled a little stand of milkweed at the far south end, in one final and fruitless push for a butterfly picture, I noticed something big and moving fast out of the corner of my eye. By the time I was able to turn my full attention that way, mom was already deep in the woods, but I was in time to watch her fawn dash after her, and I figured they were gone for good. It must have really been my lucky day, however, because as I crossed the bridge over the ravine on my way back to the soccer fields and home, look who I could just make out through the foliage down below. “Peek-a-boo, little Sweetie!”

It was not as dark and smokey as yesterday morning, but still pretty dark, and I had a meeting at 9am anyway, so I opted to wait until after the meeting to visit Estabrook Park. I didn’t expect to see much, but I thought maybe I’d find some butterflies. Instead, I was reminded that you just never know what you might find.

As I was coming south along the river from the north end, I stopped to check out the large group of mallards gathered on the sandbar that protrudes downstream from the southern island. I spotted this hen with her seven ducklings and thought they might make a nice picture.

Then I couldn’t believe my eyes at who trotted down off the island toward the water, barely a dozen feet in front of the ducklings. Yup, that’s one of the mink I’ve been after for ages, and I cannot identify what it is carrying.

It trotted right into the water, and the mallard hen got quite excited about that.

But the mink never flinched and swam directly to the eastern riverbank, where it disappeared with its cargo. A couple of mallards followed, from a safe-enough distance, for sure, and just to make sure it kept going, I suppose. I had witnessed the same behavior on the pond.

Meanwhile, the hen took a moment to collect herself, …

and then life went back to normal, and you would never know anything had happened if you had just arrived at the scene.

There are plenty more pictures, too, but I’ve got another 9am meeting tomorrow that will probably take all morning, so I’d better hold on to them.

The Canadian wildfire smoke is still here, so I’m staying in this morning, and here are some pictures that I couldn’t squeeze into previous reports.

Here’s the painted lady butterfly from Saturday again, but this time giving us a little glimpse of the dorsal side (top side, seen when wings are open) of its left forewing.

Here’s a picture, also from Saturday, of the wood duck hen on the pond who started with ten ducklings, but had only five remaining by yesterday. I only got four in this picture, but there were others around at the time.

Here’s a little white-spotted sable moth (Anania funebris) hiding under a leaf, which is making its white spots look green, near the little wood satyr on the Solstice.

Here’s another look at the dickcissel from Sunday as it surveys its realm from atop a nesting box from which a tree swallow is peeking out.

Here’s an orange meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum spp.), also from Sunday, and possibly a young white-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum).

Here’s another look at the meadowlark from Sunday, after it was in the tall grass and before it was perched in the tree.

Here’s a tiny summer azure butterfly (Celastrina neglecta) from just before I saw the great spangled fritillary on Sunday.

Finally, here’s a Savannah sparrow from Sunday that looked away just before it flew away. I’ve only seen their distinctive yellow eyebrows twice before, in Estabrook Park, once in April and once in May.

I hope that tides you over, and let’s all hope the smoke disapates, at least a bit, by tomorrow.

Well, the Canadian wildfire smoke is back and thicker than ever, so it was not a great day for taking pictures outdoors. It was a little fun, however, to take a picture directly at the sun a full hour after sunrise, although it did take a couple of tries to convince my autofocus that I really did mean to focus on that glowing orb 94.5 million miles away.

Nevertheless, I did squeeze off a couple of shots, and here’s the wood duck hen on the pond with her five remaining ducklings. It has been a tough spring on the pond for the wood ducks.

Here’s another wood pewee just chillin’ on a branch over the river.

And here’s a mallard hen with her eight, nearly-grown ducklings on the lower river and not waiting around to find out if I’m friend or foe. Can you tell which one is the hen?

And that’s it for today, I’m afraid. Let’s hope this smoke dissipates a bit by tomorrow.

The heavy, wet clouds made it a great morning for sleeping in, but I went to bed nice and early last evening, so there wasn’t much hope for that, and so back to Estabrook Park I went.

Just before I spotted this great blue heron on the river, a mink came hopping up the riverbank towards me, and I thought for a moment it would go right over my toes. I didn’t dare move, but it eventually noticed me anyway and scampered into the water. It was a thrilling couple of seconds, but all I have to show for it is this great blue heron picture. Maybe next time!

On the pond, a commotion in the water attracted this wood duck drake in eclipse plumage, but he ended up not catching anything.

Back at the river, this green heron was more successful and did catch some little morsel.

The big surprise, however, was spotting this peregrine falcon perched in the same tree were we often see osprey, eagles, herons, or even a merlin. I think I’ve only ever seen a falcon perched in the park twice before.

Then the rain resumed, and I didn’t see much to photograph anyway. Instead, here’s a nice family portrait of a wood duck hen and her ducklings on the river from Saturday.

Here’s our first mourning cloak butterfly of the season, also from Saturday. In past years, they’ve often been the first butterfly I see in the spring because they hibernate instead of migrate, but Mother Nature or Lady Luck changed things up this year.

Here’s a young rabbit from Saturday.

Here’s a young robin from Sunday.

Finally, here’s another look at the muskrat from Sunday, but with its tail down this time.

It looked wet and windy outside this morning, so I took my time with breakfast and the newspaper. Then I remembered that Donna, who had shown us the great horned owlet a few weeks ago, had invited me to tag along with her Sunday morning birding group anytime, and today they were going to the Mequon Nature Preserve, which is just a few miles northwest of Estabrook, so I decided to give it a try. Well, what a treat it was.

I arrived a little early and was greeted by this spectacle: a muskrat in a little pond and holding its tail in the air. I figured I’d be able to find an explanation of this behavior online, but all I’ve found so far is other bloggers wondering the same thing, such as Mike and Sue.

Then I heard an odd little chirp, and soon found it was coming from this fancy-looking bird, who happens to be the very first eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) that I have ever seen. What a way to start the morning!

Then Donna and her birding group arrived, we set out across the prairie, and it didn’t take the group long to find another striking bird perched in a young oak tree, the very first dickcissel (Spiza americana) I have ever seen. Talk about being on a roll!

As we approached one of the “hardwood mesic forests” in the preserve, this amazing creature fluttered into view and landed nearly in front of me. It is a Virginia ctenucha moth (Ctenucha virginica), and it is the first one I have ever seen! I read that it is pronounced “ten-OOCH-ah”, and the name was coined by William Kirby from the Greek meaning “having a comb”, a reference to the showy antennae of some species. Will wonders never cease?

A few paces from the moth, we found a small frog, and I read that the little ridge of skin that runs from the back of the eye all the way to its rump indicates that it is a northern green frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota). I can’t say for sure that I’ve never seen one before, but I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever seen bullfrogs in Estabrook Park. Sweet!

Then, before I could even take a step, someone in the group had already spotted this cutie, the very first clay-colored sparrow (Spizella pallida) I have ever seen. I’ve had dreams that go like this!

There were a lot of familiar voices in the forest, but nothing I could get a picture of, and we were soon through it and back out into a big field being slowly converted from farm to prairie. We hadn’t gotten very far before this stunner flitted into view and stopped to soak up a little sun or moisture from the soil. It didn’t stay long, but I did manage to get this picture which is enough to identify it as a great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele). I’ve seen a silver-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene) in Craters of the Moon National Monument and a variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) in Yellowstone, but this is my very first great spangled.

I did finally get some pictures of familiar faces. Here’s an eastern bluebird, …

and here’s a yellow warbler.

We eventually had to hike back to the parking lot, and Donna asked about where I had seen the meadowlark, so I pointed out the spot, but the bird was nowhere to be found, of course. Then, as we were all chatting about upcoming events, look who showed up to make an honest man out of me. In fact, there were two of them, and one ducked right down into the grass while this one waited nearby in a little tree with a beak full of bugs. After it let me get this picture, it joined its mate in the tall grass and probably stuffed all those bugs into hungry little beaks.

Finally, as we all began preparing to leave, the young killdeer I had seen earlier also reappeared, and you can see that it is half-sized, at best, compared to its blurry parent keeping an eye on things in the background.

Now that’s what I would call a successful outing, wouldn’t you?

I did go to the park yesterday and even took a few pictures, but the rest of the day got away from me, and I never had time to send you a post. Then I went back again this morning, so now I have a lot of pictures to choose from, and there should be something for everyone.

We saw a ring-billed gull with a crayfish a couple of weeks ago, but here’s a herring gull with a real fish just above the falls.

We’ve seen plenty of great blue herons with fish, but here’s one without a fish and all puffed up, also just above the falls. Maybe the herring gull swiped its fish before I got there, and this is its annoyed look.

Here’s the osprey perched over the island right at the moment when it spotted me, and that probably is its annoyed look.

Here’s a red squirrel pausing from eating a maple tree seed, and doesn’t that look like contentment?

Here’s a cedar waxwing giving me grief with the lighting and looking a bit smug about it.

Here’s a song sparrow perched nicely at eye-level, right below the waxwing, but in much better light. “Thanks, Sweetie!”

The pair of nearly-grownup wood duck ducklings and their mom on the pond are really starting to act like they’re comfortable there, and if you behave and sit still….

they might let you take a closeup.

Back at the river, this is the tiniest toad I may have ever seen, and it could have sat neatly on my pinky nail. Watch where you step!

Finally, I’m starting to have some luck with the butterflies, and here’s a painted lady, close cousin of the American lady we saw back in April, sipping nectar from a bird’s-foot trefoil blossom beside the river.

We had an overnight guest and a train set that needed assembling, so I gave the park a rest this morning. Luckily, yesterday was so chock full that I’ve still got some pictures to show you.

I didn’t see the young buck, and maybe I was just looking the other way when he snuck across the road, but this looks like the doe that we’ve seen with him.

There are a lot of recent fledglings among the morning foragers, and many continue to beg their parents for treats, but here’s a young robin, still sporting its baby spots, who managed to catch itself something for breakfast. “Good job, Kiddo!”

A great blue heron was on break above the falls, and here it is scratching an itch.

Ah, that feels better.

Here’s another result from my quest for butterflies, and this one appears to be a least (but not last!) skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor).

The water lilies are beginning to open on the river,…

and I asked this bullfrog if it didn’t want to get off that nasty ol’ rock and swim out to a nice, cushy lily pad by that pretty blossom to make a better picture, and it just said, “croak.” Kinda rude, if you ask me.

So back to the butterflies, and here’s everyone’s favorite, the cabbage white.

Finally, I haven’t found a park beer in a while, but someone did leave me a park soda below the falls, and it made a nice bootleg brandy old fashioned, so thanks for that!

As if such fine weather on the longest day of the year wasn’t good news enough, I am happy to report that I have even better news, great news, outstanding news, and stupendous news, all from Estabrook Park!

First, the better news, at least for photography, is that the haze was almost gone this morning, and the skies were a nice blue for a change, which might have inspired the kingbird who sat for a portrait yesterday, to try again today. I know I would, and wouldn’t you?

Then it started to get a little greedy and wanted me to get both sides, but we’ll allow it!

The great news is that the batch of seven wood duck ducklings on the river is still looking hale and hearty. All that white stuff floating on the water around them is just a splendid blend of cottonwood seeds and foam from the falls upstream.

The outstanding news is that the two wood duck ducklings that went missing on the pond have reappeared! I don’t know where those little stinkers were hiding, but hip, hip, hurray for their return!

Finally, the stupendous news is that there is now a second and brand-spanking-new batch of ten (10!) wood duck ducklings on the pond. I can only count nine in this image, which was the best looking one, but there are clearly ten in a couple of the less-pretty images. That’s a total nineteen wood duck ducklings in the park. Noice!

In other duckling news, the two mallard hens that we saw squabbling on the river a week ago appear to have reached a detente, and I spotted them both napping with their ducklings on the same sandbar between the two islands. Here are the older ones, …

and here are the younger ones. Yay!

In non-duckling, but related, news, a fresh-looking batch of red squirrels was wrastling up and down a tree trunk, and this one paused for a moment to see what I was up to.

I continued my quest for butterflies this morning, and while this is not strictly a butterfly, I did manage to spot a monarch caterpillar on a milkweed leaf. That’s at least a step in the right direction.

And lastly, one butterfly I did spot is this shy little wood satyr (Megisto cymela) hiding under some leaves. We’ve seen them before but in better light.

There are even more pictures from this morning, but I’d better stop here and save them for a rainy day.