The air felt surprisingly cold for 36°F, and the trail mud was surprisingly firm for 36°F, so they sort-of cancelled each other out, and it was not a bad morning to visit Estabrook Park.

There were a few mallards and goldeneyes on the lower river, but way fewer than just a week ago, and nothing especially photogenic, so I continued on to the upper river. Our buffleheads have been hanging out on the west side of the southern island recently, so not very easy to see, and I was happy to catch them just off the tip and in some pretty morning light today.

Above the southern island, the water and ice were full of Canada geese and mallards again, but I also counted 10 goldeneyes and 7 common mergansers, and here’s a shot of one pair of mergansers with a goldeneye hen between them.

As I continued north to see if anyone else was on the open water south of the bridges, the gulls, geese, ducks, and even crows all started shouting at once, and it didn’t take long for this beauty to glide into sight.

I thought maybe this eagle had a fish again, but when I got home and could zoom in, I now see that it’s hauling a short stick instead. I wonder what the heck that’s about. It sure would be amazing if it were trying to build a nest here, but that stick looks way too small for that, right?

Anyway, it perched in a tree over the far shore and looked around for a bit before moving on.

The dramatic change at the pond persists, and I could hear a red-winged blackbird, but I could barely find a single pair of house sparrows and no house finches. There were now two pair of geese, and they were grazing on the lawn beside the middle parking lot while they waited for the ice to melt.

Finally, when I got to the path leading up the bluff at the south end that I usually take, I thought I’d take just a glimpse down river, now that the water is open, just to see if anyone was there, and look who was.

Our first red-breasted merganser since last spring. This is the drake, and there was a hen with him, but they were pretty shy, and this is the best picture I managed to capture so far.

I see we’re forecast to reach the mid-50s overnight and wake up to howling winds, so who knows what I’ll be able to find tomorrow. Tune in again to find out.

Things are getting pretty noisy in Estabrook. The singing cardinals, chickadees, and red-bellied woodpeckers have been joined by several red-winged blackbirds along the river and now a huge gaggle of geese. There were as many as 100 birds on the river at the north end, and they all appeared to be  jockeying for about a dozen or two viable nesting sites on the two islands. Thus, there was a whole lot of honking going on this morning.

Here’s a closeup of one pair.

The geese were joined by nearly as many mallards, about a dozen goldeneyes, a half dozen common mergansers, and one pair of buffleheads.

Meanwhile, things are quieter at the pond, for now. One pair of geese has arrived, and they seemed quite used to folks walking by, so perhaps they are one of the pairs who nested on the island last year. “Welcome back, you two!”

There was one red-winged blackbird calling from the treetops again, and several cardinals flitting about, but the usual crowds of house finches and house sparrows were still absent.

Back at the river, three or four robins were taking turns getting sips of river water from the edge of the rapidly receding ice.

Finally, back up on the bluff at the south end, this male downy woodpecker paused for a second in the morning sun before resuming his hunt for calories. “Keep up the good work, little buddy!”

It was a pretty nice early-March morning, but I had to go to school today, so Estabrook had to wait. The good news, however, is that our two favorite sleepy-heads in Cambridge Woods were both sawing wood again this morning. Plus, they were way more visible than last time, and there was even a bit of sun to light up the scene for us.

I did eventually make it to the park after lunch, and this guy at the pond looked like he might be sleeping, too, because he sure was quiet for a cardinal at this time of year, but now I can see he has at least one eye open. Maybe he’s just giving his pipes a rest.

Finally, I was thrilled to see a pair of bald eagles soaring over the park, because who knows when we’ll see them for the last time until next winter. One appears to be not quite mature yet, and maybe it’s the one we saw a few weeks ago.

The second one looks fully mature, and best of all, it has a fish in its talons! That sure is a first for me. They were drifting east, so maybe they’re going to the lakefront for a picnic.

Those are the interesting or pretty pictures for today, and the forecast looks good for tomorrow morning, so wish me luck!

The overcast was heavy, but the trail mud was frozen nice and firm, and the forecast precipitation didn’t materialize, so it was a fine morning to visit Estabrook.

Besides several dozen mallards, I was happy to see a pair of common mergansers still on the lower river, and here’s the hen airing out her wings.

All along the river, there are cardinals, chickadees, robins, and even blue jays all singing their songs. As I approached the north end, I could also hear Canada geese sorting out who got there first, and who gets which nesting spot on which island. I got out my binoculars to try to count them all, and look who I spotted hiding amongst them!

Sure enough, that’s a couple of wood duck drakes in all their splendor, and here’s a little bit of a closer look at those handsome devils. I didn’t see them last spring until March 19.

Oh, spring can’t be far off now. There was also another couple of common mergansers and three goldeneye drakes on the water, but they were on the far west side so not worth the silver oxide.

Next, I stopped by the pond and was treated to a tune I haven’t heard in months: the familiar, and soon to be ubiquitous, call of a male red-winged blackbird. At first, I could hear him but couldn’t find him, and then he helped me out by perching in the most conspicuous spot at the pond: right atop the dead birch tree in the middle of the island. “Thanks, Buddy!” I didn’t see my first one of them until March 5 last spring.

Oddly, as if someone had flipped a switch, the crowds of house finches and house sparrows, who have been making a ruckus there all winter, seemed to have vanished, and I had to search to find just one or two specimens of each species. I wonder if that’s a coincidence.

Anyway, I headed back to the river and found the first pair of common mergansers up on the ice together.

Here’s a closer look at the “teeth” she’s got. I wonder if she’s baring them at him or at me. I sure am gonna miss these beauties when they eventually fly north for the summer.

Lastly, as I continued south, a came upon one of the incredibly rare, super elusive, and nearly mythical, two-headed herring gulls.

Talk about luck!

What a fabulous start to March! By the time I got to Estabrook, temps were in the 40s, the sun was out, and the breeze was light. The only downside was that the path along the river was mostly a sea of mud, so I had to stay off most of it.

Luckily for us, however, I remembered to bring my camera to campus this morning, and look who was already napping in the morning sun in Cambridge Woods. Yup, the red-morph screech owl was back again. Besides the better light this morning, it was snoozing a bit higher up in the cavity so we can get a better view.

The owl wasn’t the only redhead enjoying the nice weather, either. This cardinal was belting out a tune to stake his claim to a prime spot along the river.

Finally, if the nice weather wasn’t enough to remind you of spring, check out who I found foraging on the lawn.

It is certainly not the first robin of spring, as we now know well, but it is the first one I’ve seen working the grass as we’ll see them do throughout the spring and summer. It won’t be long until we’ll be seeing robins’ eggs again.

The forecast is for a dip below freezing tonight, but then snow showers after dawn, so tune in tomorrow to see what kind of footing I find along the river.

It was a little breezy and not very sunny, but the temps were right around freezing, and the trail was nice and firm, so a pretty nice morning for a stroll in Estabrook.

A common merganser drake was back on the river at the south end, perhaps even the one I failed to capture Saturday morning, and he had a hen with him this time. Perhaps she settled his nerves because I was able to get a picture at last.

Our hooded merganser hen was also back, and here she is drying out her wings.

At the north end, this goldeneye drake gave us a rare glimpse of his fine self up on the ice.

I bumped into Brian, and he helped me ID this handsome fox sparrow by the pond. The only other time I’ve ever seen one was back in January, and soon enough it will be off to the shores of Hudson Bay to help make more fox sparrows.

Back by the river, the mallards were thick this morning, and appear to be recreating some kind of crowded beach scene with snow and ice instead of sand.

Amongst the mallards, I spotted the hoodie hen again, and check out how much control she has of her bouffant. Now it’s up.

Now it’s down.

And now she’s caught me looking at her.

The mallard drake merely turning his head to change it from green to blue isn’t a bad trick, either.

It was a nice enough morning in Estabrook, with mild temps and mostly clear skies, but I had a hard time finding any pretty pictures for you.

The cardinals are getting even thicker, if you can believe it, and there were probably a dozen just at the pond. They must have had a banner year last year, and here’s one of them on the sumac by the river below the beer garden, chirping and chewing, just as the sun started creeping down into the river valley.

Here’s a downy woodpecker by the pond making sure I don’t make any sudden moves.

And that’s it from this morning. Sure I counted nearly 20 different species, including the biggest murder of crows I may have ever seen, with 12 individuals, but they all seemed to have their minds on other things and had no time for pictures today.

Happily, our buddy, Brian, alerted me yesterday afternoon about the screech owls down in Cambridge Woods. At long last, both of them were visible at the same time. By the time I arrived, there was even a guy who had driven down from Minneapolis to see the sight.

Phew! I think I need a nap, too.

It was a spectacular morning in Estabrook with clear blue skies, light winds, 11 degrees of Fahrenheit, and the snow from yesterday still looking fresh on the ground.

I was excited to see a common merganser drake back on the lower river, but he was less thrilled to see me, and he didn’t let me get a picture today. We haven’t seen the likes of him since January 26, exactly one month ago, and the last time we saw a hen was February 1. Welcome back, Buddy!

There were also a few mallards and goldeneyes, but our bufflehead pair and hooded merganser hen were taking the morning off.

The big surprise came at the north end, where I spotted just one bird on the open water. At first I thought it was the common merganser drake from earlier, but then I thought it was a goldeneye hen, and finally I realized that it was a greater scaup drake. Ha! They’re even rarer in Estabrook than the common merganser, and we haven’t seen one since last March.

Also at the north end, most of the branches are cleared of snow and ice now so the mourning doves are having an easier time finding perches. Phew!

By the pond, I finally managed to spot one of the woodpeckers that has been drumming lately. If you’ve been to Estabrook in the last couple of weeks, or probably any suitable woods, you know what I mean. Well, here’s one of the culprits, a male red-bellied calling and then drumming on a chunk of oak tree bark.

I read that “both male and female woodpeckers drum, most often in late winter or early spring when they are more actively seeking mates and establishing territories. Drumming is common in the morning, but woodpeckers may drum at any time of day.” Further, it appears that all four woodpecker species we’ve seen so far in Estabrook drum: downy, hairy, red-bellied, and northern flicker.

Anyway, the cardinals were thick at the pond, so here’s another one while we still have pretty snow for a background.

And here’s a black-capped chickadee just because.

Finally, on my way back to the river, I spotted the first mammal I’ve seen since the snow came: a little red squirrel getting a whiff of the snow, or more likely, what might be hiding beneath it.

It did finally snow last night, and we ended up with about four, light-and-fluffy inches of the stuff, which is our biggest accumulation this winter. Then there was a mix of lake-effect snow showers and bright sun against a blue sky this morning, so quite the pretty scene. Plus, folks seemed to expect that the combination of Tuesday’s ice and Thursday’s snow made for slippery trails, which it pretty much did, but that meant that I got to lay the first human tracks along most of the river. Best of all, the birds were especially accommodating this morning, and it was like school picture day.

Let’s lead off with a perennial favorite, a male northern cardinal snacking on some snow-covered sumac seeds over the pond.

Here’s a female I found nearby after a little snow shower kicked in.

There were plenty of juncos also checking out the sumac.

Plus, dozens of house finches, and here’s a female and male much less hidden in the bushes than usual.

At the north end, a nuthatch had just found a fat-looking little snack.

Here’s a red-bellied woodpecker still on the hunt for the same.

And here’s a mourning dove just trying to stay warm and apparently not interested in shoveling another parking space on some other branch, thank you very much.

Finally, our pair of red-tailed hawks were over on the east side again to soak up some sun. Here’s the first one I saw, up high and on the east side of the meadow. I think it spotted me.

Here’s the second one, which I almost missed, a lot closer to the ground and between the meadow and the river. What a handsome pair!

Finally, on the open river water beside the southern half of the park, I saw nearly a dozen goldeneyes, four mallards, our regular pair of buffleheads, and our solo little hooded merganser hen, who was nestled down into the snow for a comfy little nap.

I hear that snow is on its way, and it sure appeared that way in Estabrook when I arrived around noon today, but it’s not supposed to start in earnest until sunset.

The yellow-bellied sapsuckers must have heard that the red-bellied woodpeckers were getting into their sap, because I spotted my first one today, this striking juvenile in a maple tree just west of the volleyball court. I’ve never seen a juvy before, so I wasn’t sure who it was at first, but its behavior gave it away. Plus, it really does have a pretty yellow belly, doesn’t it?

We’re about 200 miles north of the north edge of their winter range, and “they arrive back north in May,” so this one has really jumped the gun! “Welcome to Estabrook, Kiddo, and we hope you can find enough sap to sip to get you through the next couple of months.”

Down on the river, I was happy to see our little hoody, the hooded merganser hen, was back and taking a break on the ice.

There were also about a half dozen goldeneyes around, and here’s one drake.

The bufflehead pair and a few mallards were there too, but I showed you pictures of them just yesterday.

Finally, by the pond, I spotted another dark-eyed junco variation, an “Oregon” form this time, to go with the “gray-headed” one we saw on Tuesday.

You can find a fun article about identifying all the junco types here.

Well, the snow is supposed to peter out by sunrise, and we might even get a little sunshine, so here’s hoping for some pretty scenes tomorrow.