The sky was clear of clouds, but it was a bit hazy this morning, and I don’t know if it was moisture or Canada wildfire smoke. In any case, it didn’t seem to bother the critters, and here are the pair of deer, a young buck and doe, crossing the soccer fields with the Benjamin Church House in the background.

I usually hear the wood pewees, instead of seeing them, so it was a treat to see one again soaking up some morning sun at the north end by the river.

On my way back south, this young-looking rabbit was parked on a picturesque part of the trail below the falls.

Meanwhile this green heron found itself a nice high perch across the river from the rabbit, and you can just see a bit of its right foot poking out through its belly feathers.

This belted kingfisher was checking the sky for threats just south of the heron.

Finally, here’s a chipmunk enjoying its breakfast.

It feels like it still hasn’t gotten completely light out this morning, but I eventually gave up waiting for some sunshine and went out anyway.

There are a lot of fledglings around begging for food, and I suspect that well describes this male flicker who oddly refused to budge and just kept squawking as I tried to get a picture against the gray sky.

At the pond it appears that the wood duck hen is down to two ducklings. Perhaps the snapping turtle took the third. Oh well. That’s just nature’s way.

A green heron was also at the pond and intently fishing for its breakfast and/or a gullet full to bring back to a nest.

Back on the river, I suspect this mallard hen with her three almost-grown ducklings are the ones we first saw back on May 7. My, how they have grown, and don’t they all look just like their mom?

A bit farther up river I spotted the mallard hen with eleven.

And at the north end, here’s a mallard with seven fresh-looking little ones who might be the family that had eight yesterday.

Finally, the Canada goose goslings keep getting bigger, but check out the character in the middle wearing its food. There’s always one, isn’t there?

It was quite dark and foggy this morning, so I took my sweet time with breakfast and the paper and strolled out the door around 7:30, and I was greeted by this tender scene when I arrived at the pond. As far as I can tell, that is one wood duck drake, pretty far into eclipse but still sporting his multi-hued bill, preening the feathers on the head of another wood duck drake. I’ve certainly seen wood duck hens exhibit this behavior before, but this might be the first time I’ve seen it among drakes.

As I turned around to head toward the river, look whom I found had been keeping an eye on me.

All the rain yesterday has raised the river a bit, and there was no heron in the usual spot below the falls, but there was one over on the far shore instead.

At the north end, I found yet another fresh-looking hatch of mallard ducklings, and this one is another batch of eight.

Meanwhile, the batch of eleven was steaming in close formation just a little farther from shore.

I couldn’t believe my luck when the hen with eleven headed over to the hen with eight.

I did not expect, however, that the mission was to enforce some sort of pecking order.

Things got a little splish-splashy for a moment.

But once the task was done, everything seemed to return to normal, and here you can see all twenty-one ducks.

Finally, as if all that action was not enough, it all occurred under the watchful eyes of the osprey who has been hanging around for a while. It’s been almost three weeks now. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and it will decide to stick around for the summer. A guy can dream, right?

Lastly, here is an indigo bunting that wasn’t perched high above me for a change.

I didn’t have much time to visit Estabrook this morning, so this has gotta be a quick one.

House sparrows are “the most widely distributed wild bird,” and there are probably some right outside your window now, but this handsome devil was picking grass seeds out of the loose soil around the new park bench where the snapping turtle laid her eggs, so I figured, “why not take a picture?”

Just past the sparrow, this bullfrog was probably wondering where the nice warm sun had gone.

Finally, the wood ducks on the pond were settling down for their morning nap.

Tomorrow I expect to resume my regularly-scheduled program.

Well, we finally got some much-needed rain, and Estabrook Park looked and felt a bit renewed this morning, but I wasn’t expecting the sub-50°F start. Good thing I hadn’t thrown my coat away yet.

Perhaps the change in the weather prompted this great blue heron to say to itself, “I haven’t tried the pond in a while. I wonder how the fish are up there? I believe this is the first time I’ve seen one there this season, and by the looks of things, the fish are nice and big up there.

Once I parked myself on the bench, the wood duck hen decided I was harmless and steamed right over with her three rugrats in tow to sample the algae by the west lawn.

I was listening for birds along the river, and there was one that sounded odd, until I turned around to find that it was this little rascal right behind me instead.

There were dozens of swifts, rough-winged swallows, barn swallows, and even some bank swallows furiously hunting over the river at the north end, but I struggle to get a picture even in good light, so I left them be and headed back south.

Just above the falls, I spotted this mallard hen with one almost-grown-looking duckling. They paused for a second to give me a look…

and then went right back to business as usual.

Finally, our master angler was in its usual spot below the falls, and I didn’t even have to wait a minute before it showed me how it is done.

It never seems to rain very hard today, but the sky is dark, and the wind is blowing, so it is just suboptimal for photography. Plus, the critters in Estabrook haven’t had a break in seventeen straight days, so let’s let them sleep in this morning, and we’ll use some old pictures I found on the editing room floor.

Here are the wood duck ducklings on the pond yesterday before their mom floated into the shot.

Here’s the other side of that killdeer from Friday.

Here’s the darling catbird from yesterday again.

Here’s a look at that huge creche of goslings on the river from June 3.

Here’s another family of mallards from yesterday.

Here’s a video I took of the snapping turtle just as it finished covering its eggs and started its laborious-looking walk back to the pond on June 6.

Here’s a shot of the deer, just before the one I showed you yesterday, when it was deeper in the tall grass and both red-winged blackbirds were really getting after it.

Here’s a shot of just one of the four herons in the tree over the northern island from June 5.

Here’s the rose-breasted grosbeak between verses yesterday.

Finally, here’s a wild rose blossom on the bush at the end of the boardwalk by the falls on June 7.

I know we need rain, but I sure don’t mind taking pictures of the critters in Estabrook Park while the sun is shining. Here’s our favorite indigo bunting belting out his tune.

I’m starting to lose track of all the ducklings on the river, but here’s a mallard hen at the north end with her brood of eleven in tight formation.

As I was counting the birds on the river, look who pissed off a pair of red-winged blackbirds on the far shore. They were hounding it with some vigor. Oddly enough, white-tailed deer are known to eat eggs and chicks when they get the chance, so its presence there might not be as innocent as it may seem.

The osprey made a nice slow pass over the river so even I could get a picture.

More dragonflies are appearing, and here’s a female common whitetail. I read that “they do not migrate [,but] overwinter under water while in the nymph stage of their lifecycle” instead.”

More butterflies are showing up, too, and I spotted a monarch, but it wouldn’t park itself, so here’s a silver-spotted skipper instead.

Here’s a rose-breasted grosbeak trying to rustle up a date.

You may be relieved to hear that I managed to find the wood duck hen with her three ducklings on the pond this morning. I just must have not looked hard enough yesterday.

On my way back south, I came across this American toad.

And finally, at the far south end, this grey catbird was far more posy than usual these days.

I was surprised to find no wood ducks on the pond this morning. I believe that’s the first time since they hatched last week. Perhaps they were on shore somewhere napping, or Mom decided it was time for a road trip, by which I mean a hike down to the river. Maybe we’ll find out tomorrow. Meanwhile, lots of birds are starting to fledge, and hear are a pair of red-winged blackbirds by the pond that were begging Dad for breakfast.

At the river, the osprey was back, or this is another one passing through, but either way I flubbed both chances it gave me to get a nice action shot, and I was left with this blurry image instead.

The red-tailed hawk was back, probably the same bird as yesterday, and it was a bit more accommodating: on the far shore, for sure, but at least parked and in nice sunlight.

The killdeer were making as much noise as ever, but this one paused for a moment so we could have a nice portrait.

The trio of mallard ducklings, their mom, and Karl were all drying out on the far shore after breakfast.

On my way back south, I did find this family of wood ducks still working on breakfast.

Just above the falls was a family of Canada geese with at least sixteen goslings foraging in the river close to the near shore, and here are six of them that must have found a jackpot.

Our favorite fishing great blue heron was below the falls again, and I wasn’t going to even bother with a picture, but it held the fish out for me so tantalizingly that I couldn’t resist.

And then, in the blink of an eye, down the gullet it went.

At the base of stairway eight, I bet there was a brood of chipmunks freshly out of the nest because there were at least four and maybe six of them all scampering around and chasing each other. Here’s the one that stood still just long enough for me to get a picture.

Finally, at the south end, I spotted my first crayfish of the season, but this ring-billed gull had seen it first and called dibs.

Lastly, just as I was about to walk out of the park, this male northern cardinal was frantically trying to find something to stuff into the beak of the little squeaker I could hear in the bushes nearby.

Look who I spotted hauling its groceries home across the pond early this morning. That’s right, it’s our resident muskrat, whom we haven’t seen since the middle of May.

Meanwhile, the kingfishers, of which there were two today, were over at the fish aisle, and goldfish must be on sale this week.

A green heron was there as well, but in a tough place to shoot, so here are the wood ducks, who were much more accommodating, instead.

Down at the river, I spotted this mass of goslings on the far shore just below the falls. I counted a total of seventeen, but this group of fourteen plus one adult made the better picture. I wonder if this is the same seventeen we saw several weeks ago.

Closer to our shore, a great blue heron was fishing again, and this time I got my shutter speed cranked up in time to get some action shots.

As I approached the north end, where we have seen the eagle many times before, look who was there today instead. It’s a red-tailed hawk, and the first one I’ve gotten a picture of in the park proper all spring. This one has no bands, so it is a different bird than the one we saw over Wilson Dr back on Easter.

Finally, the water and sandbars around the northern island were full of more geese, mallards, killdeer, and sandpipers, but the surprise guest was this beaver who was farther north than I’ve ever spotted one before. It eventually swam all the way to the far shore and north of the northern island before I lost track of it.

So there I was, standing on the path along the river and frantically, but without making any sudden movements, trying to get my lens to focus on a “rare, for this time of year” and crazy-elusive Canada warbler, which I could clearly hear with my ears and glimpse with my binoculars, when all of a sudden a couple of hummingbirds zoomed in to sip nectar from tiny blossoms on a nearby bush.

I immediately tried to get a shot of them, but my camera was set up for the closer warbler, and so was way too slow. Before it could catch up, one hummingbird continued on, but one parked itself not 10 feet from me. I could not believe my luck! I’ve been trying to get this picture for three years! Here, at long last, is my first ruby-throated hummingbird portrait. Ta da!

After that, I hiked up to the pond as I tried to wipe that grin off my face before my cheeks started to hurt. The snapping turtle eggs appeared unmolested, and I could hear a belted kingfisher again, but the best picture from the pond today is of the wood duck hen keeping her ducklings warm on a cool morning.

The cooler air and maybe little bit of rain seemed to have revitalized everyone this morning, and I counted 18 house wrens in total singing their brains out throughout the park, and here’s one along the river on my way to the north end.

There were no eagles nor great blue herons around the islands this morning, and this family of river-wood ducks was taking the opportunity to bask in the morning sun a bit.

And here’s the mallard hen with her eleven ducklings scarfing up that fine, fine river algae.

The big surprise at the north end today is the appearance of a pair of green-winged teals. We’ve seen them many times in South Holland, but this is the first time I’ve seen one in the western hemisphere, let alone Estabrook Park. Ha! I do see that the American ones have a white stripe at the shoulder that their European cousins lack. Anyway, they were far off, didn’t stick real close together, and the hen looks like most dabbling duck hens, so here’s just the drake.

On my way back south, I found another family of mallards whose ducklings are starting to get pretty big.

Finally, at the south end, I spotted the white-tailed doe again nibbling on the shrubbery amongst the dame’s rockets, which are blossoming throughout the park and look quite pretty but are unfortunately invasive. I didn’t see the fawn, presumed that it was sleeping nearby, and gave them a wide berth.

Lastly, as amazing as the snapping turtle laying eggs beside the pond was, that was only one of three snapping turtles I saw yesterday morning. The third was a little one, maybe just a foot long, beside the bike path on my ride to UWM. The second was this monster, well over two feet long, near the old boat launch, where the dam used to be, at the north end.

Thanks to Mark for tipping me off!