Hot diggity dog! Have we got a great show for you this morning, boys and girls! At 10°F, it was pretty darn cold for the middle of February, but the sky was perfectly clear, and the winds out of the north never seemed as bad as forecast, especially down in the river valley, so it was pretty much a perfect morning in Estabrook.

It’s hard even to decide what the top story should be, but let’s start with someone warm and fuzzy.

That’s right, somehow one of the masked bandits found itself up a tree as the sun came up, and I was finally able to get some pictures of more than just footprints in the snow. The last time we saw a raccoon was last summer at the pond.

I found this cutie because I heard it cry a couple of times, and I wondered what the heck that sound was. When I finally spotted it up between two tree trunks, I thought it might be in some kind of distress, but it poked its head out one side and then the other, so it was certainly mobile enough. After I got what pictures I could, I backed off, and it scrambled back down the tree and ambled up the path, so the distress appears to have been temporary. Perhaps someone even scarier than me had come through before I arrived, and that’s what it was crying about and why it was up in a tree at all.

Phew! Now for some birds, and first up are the pair of buffleheads, who I was happy to find back on the open water far below the falls. Soon enough, they’ll be winging their way back to Canada to make more buffleheads, so we’d better enjoy them while they’re here.

I didn’t see anyone at the falls today, but as I continued north along the river, this handsome pair of cardinals were foraging right on the path.

The pair of red-tailed hawks at the north end must have been sleeping in this morning, and I didn’t see much else there besides this busy chickadee, but now you can see that the sun had come up and the sky was bright blue.

On my way back south, I stopped by the pond and was thrilled to finally get to see one of those common redpolls that everyone’s been talking about lately. Ta da! I hear that’s a “lifer” for me, in birder lingo.

While I was trying to get at least one redpoll picture to look presentable, another bird continued to make a loud call from a nearby tree. It was so loud, in fact, that I had heard it while still only halfway from the beer garden to the pond. The call was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it, so I sure am glad that I was finally able to spot the caller.

Sorry about the image, but it wouldn’t let me take a better one. Nevertheless, that’s the first northern flicker I’ve seen this season. The last one we saw was also beside the pond but all the way back in October.

As I tried to follow the path around the north end of the pond to get a better shot of the flicker, and almost immediately after I realized it had taken off already, I could barely believe my luck when this stunner landed on a branch right over my head.

It’s a young Cooper’s hawk, who was probably just as surprised by our sudden proximity as I was. It let me get just a couple of shots, and then it took right back off again. Perhaps it was also just as interested in the redpolls as I was, however, because it didn’t take long before it flew right back and perched right over where I had seen the redpoll above.

But those redpolls are flighty, and it was probably long gone by then, so the hawk gave up for now and left with empty talons.

Finally, as I made my way back south along the river, I found a pair of common goldeneyes, and the hen gave us a special treat when she hopped up onto the ice for a moment. I don’t believe we’ve seen that before.

But it didn’t take her long before she was right back in the water and beside her drake.

Lastly, before I forget, I’ve been invited to present about “Signs of Life in Estabrook Park” at the First Unitarian Society-Milwaukee Sunday Forum on February 13, 2022 at 11 am (CST). That’s tomorrow morning!

If you want to see it live, it looks like you need to request admission to their Sunday Forum ahead of time with the link on this page:
https://uumilwaukee.org/event/signs-of-life-in-estabrook-park/

If you can’t or don’t want to see it live, they record the presentations and post the recordings on their First Unitarian Society-Milwaukee YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/FirstUnitarianSocietyofMilwaukee
It’ll be in the third row called “Forums”.

Maybe I’ll see you there.

You’ll be happy to know that I did make it to the park yesterday around noon and again this morning, so I finally have some new pictures to show you.

Yesterday afternoon got off to an exciting start when I notice a gull squawking about something up ahead and found this scene when I was finally able to take a look. At first, I thought the gull was harassing a red-tailed hawk, but once I got a chance to zoom in on the picture I took, the mottled brown and white underside told me it was a juvenile bald eagle instead. Sweet! We haven’t seen one of those in a while.

Better still, it soon parked itself over the far shore and allowed me to get close enough for this picture. Get a load of those talons. I bet those’ll leave a mark, right?

As if that wasn’t enough raptor for the day, look who was also out and looking for some lunch at the far north end. One of our two red-tailed hawks was perched on a lamp post behind the chocolate factory.

Here’s another look from a different angle with the red brick of the chocolate factory in the background. Despite my best efforts, I could not position myself to get that darn window out of the background. Sorry.

The third exciting find of yesterday was a pair of goldeneye drakes on the open water just north of the hawk. It appears that they haven’t all flown north yet. In fact, I spotted three of them this morning, and here’s one with a little morning sun shining on him to bring out the iridescent green of his dark head feathers.

There were also plenty of mallards on the lower river this morning exploring all the spots recently exposed by the receding ice, and here’s a drake who was maybe just tired of dabbling and wondered if there wasn’t an easier way.

At the north end this morning, I arrived in time to find both of the red-tailed hawks soaring directly overhead, and I managed to capture this image of one of them. You can really see the difference between them and the juvy bald eagle from yesterday above.

The downy and hairy woodpeckers are as busy as ever these days, and here’s a male downy at eye level from yesterday at the north end with his diminutive beak and a hint of black on white checks along the side of his tail.

And by happy coincidence, here’s a male hairy at eye level from this morning with a beak almost as big as his head and a pure white edge along his tail.

By the pond this morning, I was treated to the rare treat (Doh!) of a dark-eye junco willing to endure my gaze for a moment.

Even as I was taking the junco portrait above, I could hear the distinctive call of a white-throated sparrow nearby, so I set out to see if I could spot him. Well, this was my lucky morning, because he was nearly right in front of my face and also uncharacteristically unphased by my presence.

Finally, here’s another shot of one of the goldeneye drakes hanging close to some mallards for comfort.

Lastly, there were a lot of tracks in the trace of wet snow we got overnight, and it looks like at least one beaver took a long walk on the river trail. I believe you can see the impressions from its long. rodent toes in this image.

I would have thought for sure that I’d have caught one still up and on the ice in the daylight by now, but not yet, so keep your fingers crossed.

If you are just joining us, the recent deal is that I have to go to school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and the sun doesn’t come up early enough yet for me to visit the park before school. Two days ago, I tried to get by with a late afternoon visit, but the results were meager. I will try again this afternoon, just for the practice, but in the meantime, here are some pictures from the not-too-distant past that I haven’t shown you yet.

Back on December 22 “the sun rose on crystal-clear skies, bracingly-cold air, and a stiff breeze out of the west-northwest,” but it turned out to be a good morning for little birds, and here’s another look at a black-capped chickadee that was sticking close to the ground.

Later that morning, when the sun was high enough to light everything up, this white-breasted nuthatch gave us a look.

The next day, December 23, wasn’t quite so sunny, and here’s another look at one of the house finches foraging just above the riverbank at the far north end.

Fast forward nearly a month to January 18 when “the temperature was pretty mild for the season, and the winds were nice and light”, and several of the megafauna made surprise appearances. First there was the trio of deer crossing the river on the ice by the abandoned bridge abutment. The far shore is clear enough there that I was able to capture this image of one of the deer strolling up the so-called “Westabrook Trail“.

On that same day, if you can believe it, a few crows and mallards alerted be to a rare appearance of the great horned owl above the southern island.

Finally, still on that same day and perhaps the most surprising of all, a great blue heron was back to fishing on the river at the top of the mild rapids where the open water resumes. In this image, you can see it taking a quick glance skyward. Yes, that’s ice in the background.

Well, that’s our “blast-from-the-past” for now, and if I see anything interesting or pretty this afternoon, I’ll be sure to show you the pictures tomorrow.

This morning arrived, just as advertised, and I set out to see how much difference 14 hours makes. The cloud cover was pretty thick, so when I arrived at the river it was still pretty dark, and it occurred to me, now that temps are above freezing, that I might get to see beaver up on the ice again.

Soon enough, I did spot something up on the ice, but it was way too small to be a beaver, and it was near where I’ve seen goldeneyes several times before, so I figured that’s what it was. I don’t see them up on the ice very often, however, so I took a closer look through my binoculars. Holy smokes! It was a little mink, like the one we saw on the pond last summer, staring right back at me. It hadn’t moved yet, so I slowly put my binoculars down, reached for my camera, and that’s when the little stinker slipped into the water and dove out of sight. Dang! But at least now I know where to look, so here’s hoping I get another chance.

Anyway, I didn’t see any beaver this morning, and the buffleheads, goldeneyes, and mergansers were also still absent, but the mallards were back in a big way. I counted several dozen birds on the ice just above the open water at the top of the rapids, and another couple dozen beside the open water just downstream from the Port Washington Road bridge.

Above the falls, I found this cardinal foraging amongst the sticks and leaves on the ground.

And just past the cardinal, a pair of red squirrels looked and sounded like they were arguing over a nut. This one had the nut.

And this one seemed to want the nut.

And this gray squirrel wondered what’s my fascination with red squirrels, anyway?

I only saw the mallards at the north end and swung by the pond on my way south but didn’t see anybody new or especially photogenic. On my way back south along the river, I spotted some house finches and goldfinches bathing in one of the seeps coming out of the bluff, and the best picture I got was of this goldfinch working on its tail as it dried off.

Speaking of goldfinches, now that several experts have weighed in, I’m afraid that I must finally concede that our mystery birds from Sunday are simply “non-breeding American goldfinches in funky lighting.” Oh well. They’re still pretty birds.

Finally, as I approached the south end, look who paid us a return visit at last.

Yup, our little huntress, the American kestrel, was back and hard at work. Best of luck to her.

Lastly, I counted 19 species of bird this morning, plus the mink and squirrels, compared to just 10 species yesterday afternoon, so 14 hours made quite a difference! Perhaps I just don’t know yet where to look in the afternoon. This might require more investigation.

Sorry this is arriving so late, but I had to go to school this morning, then stuff came up, and I didn’t get to Estabrook until late this afternoon.

I guess the big news is that there were a slew of mallards, I counted at least 45, back on the river, but none of our other regulars were around. No buffleheads, no goldeneyes, and no mergansers. Oh well. Maybe it’s getting to be that time of year already.

On the other hand, I counted more downy woodpeckers that I think I’ve ever seen in a single visit, and some were quite bold. Here are two males that kept swapping trees between them right in front of me.

And that’s it for today. This afternoon was a lot quieter than I’m used to mornings being.

Luckily, I’ve got one more coyote picture left over from the recent treks across the ice. This one is from Saturday when it was in too much of a hurry to pose for a moment.

Conditions are forecast to be nearly the same tomorrow morning, so it will be fascinating to see what difference 14 hours makes. See you then.

I see the sun trying to poke through the clouds now, from the comfort of my kitchen table, but there was no sign of the sun earlier this morning. That, plus a stiff breeze, made 21°F feel like 7°F, and I failed to check on that second number when I dressed to go out this morning. Oof. No wonder everyone is starting to look like they are done with winter.

I hardly saw a sight worth photographing, but there were a bunch of goldfinches busily working some alder cones at the north end of the pond, and here’s one of them.

Luckily, I’ve a enough good pictures left over from recent visits that I still have something to show you today. Here’s a pretty mourning dove foraging yesterday beside the little stream that flows into the pond.

Here’s one more look at the goldeneye hen yesterday preening on the water just above the falls.

And here’s another look at the bufflehead drake yesterday in the same spot.

Finally, here are a couple more looks at the coyote who posed so nicely in the morning sun for us on Friday.

Lastly, here’s a mystery from yesterday when I was trying to get a good picture of the bluebirds. These two looked like they had blue wings, and they got excited about something just as I aimed my camera their way, but they sure don’t look like bluebirds. I’ve asked around and heard everything from prothonotary warblers to scarlet tanagers to goldfinches, but nothing looks like a perfect match yet. Do you have any suggestions?

It was easily 20°F warmer this morning than yesterday, and plenty of critters were taking advantage of the relative warmth in Estabrook.

The river is still mostly empty of birds, but the ones still there were in surprisingly posy moods this morning. Here’s the bufflehead hen all by herself near the southern edge of the open water far below the falls and up for a breath from foraging on the bottom.

Here’s the drake foraging above the falls and looking fancier than we may have ever seen him.

Also above the falls was this single goldeneye hen busily sprucing herself up.

At the far north end, I heard one of the red-tailed hawks and could just make it out in the trees on the far shore. I risked the ice, perhaps for the last time, and hiked out to the northern island, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a trio of bluebirds, perhaps the ones from January and December.

The big surprise, however, came as I crossed the softball field between the beer garden and the pond. On my way, I checked the few pine trees along the north edge of the path, and look who I found foraging on the ground below them: about a half dozen white-winged crossbills (Loxia leucoptera)! This is the first time I’ve ever knowingly seen such birds. Ha!

The folks at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology describe them as “a gem of the northern woods,” and explain that they “spend most of their time prying into spruce cones with their twisted bills.” In fact, “individual white-winged crossbills can eat up to 3,000 conifer seeds each day.” What a treat to find them right here in Estabrook.

I didn’t see anybody new at the pond, so I returned to the river and found our mallard hen, who appeared to be done with winter, up on the path again and heading for a seep in the side of the bluff to have a soak.

Further south, the river is still completely frozen, so I was on the upper path, halfway up the side of the bluff, and that’s where I found this white-breasted nuthatch behaving as I’ve never seen them behave before. They are usually in constant motion, similar to chickadees, but this one stayed put, only about 10 feet above me, and struck several heroic poses for us.

There were even a pair of nuthatches nearby noisily chasing each other from tree to tree, but this one ignored them and stayed put. I wonder what its game is.

Finally, just as I neared the south end, this red squirrel didn’t quite know what to make of me and stretched out to get a better look.

It was colder than forecast, just 5°F, but the air was still, and the sun did come out for a bit, so nice enough. The critters in Estabrook, however, were a lot quieter than I would have expected. They were certainly quieter than yesterday. Perhaps there’s a tipping point between the 10°F of yesterday morning and the 5°F of today.

We did get another dusting of snow last evening, and the ground was covered with tracks this morning: canids, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, mice, and even beaver. The most surprising, however, were of a couple of people hugging the riverbank where I usually find none. I followed for a while and finally caught up to them at the north edge of the open water. They turned out to be long-time readers Bridget and Jimmy, and it was great to finally meet them in person. Jimmy posted some amazing pictures on instagram of a bald eagle right in Shorewood back in December.

Anyway, I was also glad to see the hooded merganser hen back on the water with the buffleheads, mallards, and goldeneyes.

I wonder where the mergansers had gone yesterday and thought how great it is that wherever they went, the hoody decided it would rather come back to Estabrook.

Bridget, Jimmy, and I hiked north to the falls, which they hadn’t seen in the winter before, and then we parted ways. They headed to the pond, and I continued north.

As I approached the northern island, I simply could not believe my luck to catch the coyote trotting out across the ice again. It looks like the same one as yesterday, if slightly more disheveled, and it was in a little bit more of a hurry today with no time to pose for my camera. I threw my gloves on the ground as quickly as I could and held my breath as I tried to squeeze off a couple of shots before it disappeared into the woods on the west bank.

There were no raptors at the north end today, nor hardly any little birds, so I turned back south and veered towards the pond.

The house finches were there, as usual, and I gave them all a second look in hopes of finding a redpoll among them, but no luck. They were all house finches with a couple of house sparrows in the mix.

Plus, a cardinal or two.

Finally, I swung back by the open water on the river to see if anyone new had arrived, but only found this poor mallard hen resting back up on shore again, without her drake this time, and looking like she is so ready to be done with winter.

I didn’t have the heart to disturb her, so I backed up the trail, took the other way around, and hiked on home.

It was quite a pleasant morning in Estabrook. Sure, it was only 10°F, but the air was still, and the sun came out for a while, so the sky was nice and blue.

The biggest surprise for me was finding not a single mallard on the river. That might be a first. Perhaps an eagle came through earlier and spooked them all off. The only water fowl I spotted were diving birds: the pair of buffleheads, three goldeneye hens, and one or two goldeneye drakes. Very curious.

The first bird willing to sit still for a second was this blue jay, oddly enough.

There was no sign of our kestrel, but at the north end of the grassy area, the sun was starting to shine down into the river valley, and these goldfinches were doing their best to take full advantage of it.

North of the falls, a couple of red squirrels were excited about something, maybe each other, but paused for a picture when they noticed me walking by. Gotta love that warm sunlight and bright blue sky, right?

At the far north end, I could hear some crows squawking again, and I had a hope of finding a raptor or two, but I couldn’t see anyone but the crows by the time I arrived. Then this beauty trotted out across the ice heading west from the northern island.

The lighting is a lot different, but it doesn’t look as dark as the first coyote we saw last week, nor as gray as the second one, so maybe it’s a third. How exciting!

After that thrill, everything appeared more vibrant, and it seemed that there were birds everywhere. Here’s a red-bellied woodpecker, …

Here’s a hairy woodpecker, …

And here’s an ever-acrobatic, black-capped chickadee.

I swung by the pond, just to see if anyone new was around, and found the usual contingent of shy house finches, house sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, and this one intrepid American tree sparrow.

Finally, from the pond, I dipped back down to the open water on the river to see if anyone had returned, and I was stunned to find a single pair of mallards so far up onto shore that they were parked right on the lowest segment of the river trail. I snapped this picture of the drake, while the hen hid behind some tall grass just to his left, and then I turned around to let them hide out in peace from whomever they were hiding out from.

“Good luck, kids, and we hope to see you again next time.”

I haven’t made it to the park yet today because I had to come to campus this morning, but on my way, I checked on the screech owl we first saw last week, and it is my absolute pleasure to report that there are in fact two screech owls sharing that same hole in a tree! I don’t yet have a picture of the two of them together, but the second one is obviously different from the first. Go ahead and see if you can spot that difference.

Here’s a close-up, in case that helps.

Nope, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, nor have I doctored the film. That is indeed a “red morph (northern)” screech owl, and it sure is a beauty, eh? I was so excited, I hurried home to get my camera even before class started, instead of taking the risk of waiting until after class, as I did last week. I will keep monitoring the situation and bring you updates as the story develops.

Meanwhile, speaking of “red”, Paul Smith has a nice article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today about the irruption of redpolls he and others are seeing here in southern Wisconsin. I haven’t seen any of these little cuties yet in Estabrook, but I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled, and I’ll go for another look this afternoon. Wish me luck!