From the comfort of my breakfast table, it looks like an absolutely beautiful morning out. The trees are still, the sun is bright, and the sky over Estabrook Park is crystal blue. My phone said it was 48° out at 6am, however, so maybe I don’t mind waiting for things to warm up a bit before I hike over for the Friends of Estabrook Buckthorn Weedout that starts at 9am.

Plus, I have all these pictures left over from yesterday’s excursion, so check out this great blue heron on the river at the north end right by the great egret I showed you yesterday.

Speaking of the great egret on the river, here are a couple of more shots.

Best of all, I received an email message already this morning from long-time reader and well-known super-sleuth, Mark, who saw it there again this morning. If you’ve always wanted to see one in the wild right here in Shorewood, today could be your day.

Here’s a northern cardinal looking quite dashing in it’s shiny new plumage at last. That must be a huge relief.

Here are a couple more shots of that pretty little bird from yesterday with a bright yellow patch on its lower back. Maybe a yellow-rumped warbler?

Here are a couple more shots of that amazingly acrobatic golden-crowned kinglet.

Just a bit farther along the river, this black-capped chickadee, asked “acrobatics? You want to see acrobatics? Watch this! I’m doing on stalks that sway like blades of grass what that guy’s doing on stiff little wooden branches. Who’s the acrobat now?”

And here are a couple more shots of that bright yellow female scarlet tanager.

Finally, like the dragonflies, the butterflies aren’t all gone yet. I did see a monarch yesterday and even have a picture of it on the lawn warming up in the sun, but this cabbage white on a small white aster, maybe awl aster, makes for a much prettier picture.

Lastly, that mushroom I showed you emerging from the grass on Thursday, which I actually saw on Wednesday, was opening up nicely when I saw it again yesterday.

Well, wish me luck at the weedout, and maybe I’ll see you there. If not this Saturday, then perhaps next Saturday, October 2, at the Shorewood Fish & Feather Festival in Hubbard Park from 11 to 3. I’ll be manning the Friends of Estabrook Park booth, and let’s hope the weather then is a nice as it is today.

Holy macaroni, what a fabulous fall morning in Estabrook Park! The cold, wind, clouds, rain, and even mosquitoes seem to have all departed, if only for this morning, leaving just birds, birds, birds,! And some squirrels and chipmunks.

The big surprise at the pond this morning was this little yellow cutie with a very pink bill that some person must have left there for us. Dr Google suggests that a duckling with such coloration might be of the domesticated but uncommon Aylesbury breed from the UK, of all places. It seemed to be contentedly swimming around and filling up on flies from the water surface, so no need to panic yet, I suppose, but it will be fascinating to see or hear what becomes of it.

The big surprise on the river was this great egret busy catching fish. I’ve only seen one of these magnificent creatures in Estabrook once before, and that was in the pond on Mother’s Day last year. The fine folks at the Cornell lab of Ornithology explain that “if you live outside of the species’ breeding range, [which their map suggests we do] you may still see Great Egrets in late summer as they move about widely before heading to their wintering grounds” on the Gulf Coast or “as far as the West Indies or southern Central America.“

The egret was not the only fisher on the river this morning, and here’s a blue heron by the falls again.

I was afraid that all that wind yesterday would have blown all the warblers out of the park, and they’d all be sipping frozen piña coladas on the gulf coast by now, but perhaps the wind blew just as many in! Here’s one by the river that I’ve struggled to identify. It sure has a key marking of the yellow-rumped warbler, but none of the rest matches any pictures of them I can find, which all show yellow patches also on the neck and sides. Hmmm.

The rest of the bird looks like an immature pine warbler, but I can’t find a picture of a pine warbler with such a yellow patch on its lower back. Mysteries, mysteries…

This handsome devil, also by the river, appears to be a juvenile chirping sparrow an adult Lincoln’s sparrow. Thanks, Greg!

And here’s an old favorite from early in the spring, a golden-crowned kinglet being just as acrobatic as ever.

This one looks like a pine warbler wondering where the heck we keep the pine trees.

Finally, this one threw me for a loop at first because I didn’t factor in that she’s bigger than most warblers or vireos. Instead, as far as I can tell, she’s a female scarlet tanager, and she’s on her way “across the Gulf of Mexico” to South America.

Lastly, there are still dragonflies around, if you can believe it, and this striking one appears to be a white-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum)

Once again, I had too many pictures today for just one post, so I’ve saved some for tomorrow, which works out well because I need to be in the maintenance yard parking lot and ready to cut buck thorn with Friends of Estabrook Park by 9am tomorrow. Maybe I’ll see you there!

I’ve gotta go to school today, so no time to visit the park, but I was lucky enough to have too many pictures for yesterday’s post, so here are the rest now. You may recall that I had reached the north end of the parky, by the river where they planted flowers to restore the riverbank after taking out the Estabrook dam, and the birds were going crazy.

Usually, when I stumble upon a spot like that, where a few birds are chirping and flitting about, I have about 5 minutes, tops, before they have all magically drifted away, and I find myself alone with the empty trees. Yesterday, however, I must have enjoyed their company for a full 30 minutes, and they were still at it, hopping and flying from branch to branch and tree to tree, when I just couldn’t stay any longer and had to head back home. It was just incredible.

First up is this hungry red-eyed vireo, whom we’ve seen recently, and who is on its way perhaps from the southern shores of Hudson Bay all the way to the Amazon basin in South America. No wonder it was hungry!

Please, eat all the bugs you want and take some with you!

Next is a brand new bird for us, yay! It’s a blue-headed vireo (Vireo solitarius) with its blue-gray head, thick bill, “bold” white “spectacles”, olive-green back, yellow flanks, and white belly. That’s our fifth vireo, and it’s on its way from breeding grounds around Lake Superior to wintering along the Gulf Coast.

That’s it for the vireos. Now the warblers. First is this pretty little female or immature male magnolia warbler with gray head with white eye ring, yellow chin, faint gray band across its neck, dark streaks in a yellow breast, and two, narrow, white wing bars. It’s on its way from breeding grounds around Lake Superior to wintering in southern Central America or the Caribbean.

Say something funny here because you are boring them with all these details!

Here’s a non-breeding adult palm warbler looking relatively subdued and on its way from breeding grounds around Lake Superior to wintering along the Gulf Coast.

Here’s an immature male northern parula (Setophaga americana) with yellow chest, yellow-olive back patch, white eye crescents, and small, white wing bands. He’s on his way from breeding grounds around Lake Superior to wintering in Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean. That’s our 17th warbler!

Here’s an immature blackpole warbler. pine warbler (Setophaga pinus), probably an adult female with pale yellow, a broken yellow eye ring, and two white wing bars. She’s also on her way from her summer breeding grounds around Lake Superior but only to the southern states along the Gulf of Mexico. That’s our 18th warbler!

Here’s a non-breeding male indigo bunting showing hints of his bright blue future and on his way perhaps from right around here to wintering areas from southern Florida to northern South America.

Finally, here’s an immature American goldfinch, who are often at that spot and who might stay right here with us through the entire winter.

Lastly, there are a bunch of new mushrooms up, and this one is at least three inches tall already.

Here’s a dryad’s saddle, aka pheasant back, mushroom that’s big as a dinner plate!

Phew! That’s a lot.

Before I go, here’s an announcement from Harold Schmidt, president of Friends of Estabrook Park.

“FOE has a Buckthorn Weedout scheduled for this Saturday morning [, September 25] from 9 to 12.  We meet in the maintenance yard parking lot.  We need your help.  Attendees should wear long pants, long sleeves and sturdy footwear.  If you have favorite work gloves or a tool bring them.  Otherwise we can provide them.  Bring water.  Let me know if you will attend so that I can plan.“

You don’t need to be a member to volunteer for the weedout, you can let Harold know at schmidhd @ yahoo dot com, and if you don’t manage to send Harold a message, I am sure it would be fine if you just showed up. I hope to see you at the weedout or at the Shorewood Fish & Feather Fest the following Saturday.

I needed a coat and hat this morning because Autumn is not messing around. Yikes!

There was a wood duck drake in full plumage on the pond again, trying to fit in with the regulars and perhaps get to know a nice hen.

Meanwhile our resident male wood duck ducklings are still going through some things.

Our sleepy, young night-heron was still in residence and trying to keep its eyes open, per usual.

And a ruby-crowned kinglet was back to foraging in the bushes at the north end.

I looked for our young sora, now that several folks have confirmed my ID, but didn’t see a sign of it this morning, so I hoped it was doing fine, and I headed to the river.

I was sure surprised to spot some dame’s rocket there still in bloom. I thought they’d all been replaced by asters by now.

Meanwhile, a cormorant was back to chillin’ out among the mallards on one of the “sand” bars.

A killdeer was back to foraging on the rocks and mud.

A hooded merganser was back to snoozing on a log.

And the mallards on the water are starting to pair off.

Back on shore, where they planted flowers to restore the riverbank after taking out the Estabrook dam, the birds were going crazy. Usually, when I stumble upon a spot like this, where a few birds are chirping and flitting about, I have about 5 minutes, tops, before they have all drifted away, and I find myself enjoying the silence all alone. Today, however, I must have enjoyed their company for a full 30 minutes, and they were still at it when I had to head back home. Therefore, I simply have too many pictures to include today, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for the rest. Sorry! But here’s a sample, a white-throated sparrow in “tan striped” form posing perfectly on a birch tree branch, just to whet your appetite.

Before I go, though, don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Shorewood Fish & Feather Festival in Hubbard Park on Saturday, October 2 from 11 to 3. I’ll be manning the Friends of Estabrook Park booth, and I’d love to see you there.

It wasn’t raining when I got up this morning, but it stayed pretty dark, so I took my time getting to the park in hopes that the forecast “partly cloudy” would come true. Well, it sure didn’t, and it even rained a bit, but the pond was hopping anyway!

I counted at least 15 wood ducks, and here’s five of them trying to perch on a log big enough to hold three of them, maybe.

Here’s a young male on a sturdier perch and really starting to show his colors.

Plus, there was a blue heron…

The young night-heron sleeping…

And a fishing green heron for the trifecta!

Most amazing sight of all, however, is this poor little guy huddled right on the path that goes around the pond. It’s about the size of a robin, and I first thought it might be a young starling but look at the size of its foot! The small wading birds around here that it could be include Sora (Porzana carolina), but their beaks look yellower in all the pictures I can find, and Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola), but their beaks are markedly longer, so I’m a bit stumped at the moment. If you can help sort out who this is, please drop me a line.

Right after I took this picture, I put my camera way and tried to get close enough to help it off the path, at least, but it wasn’t having any of that, and it got up on its own long legs and ran into the thick brush under the big oak tree. As I looked into the brush to check on it, it got up again and scampered farther in. So, the good news is that it is strong enough to run, it is now in a good hiding place, and let’s all hope that a parent is nearby to find and take care of it.

Phew! After that, I check in on the river, of course, and there was the usual contingent of mallards, a few geese, and one blue heron. The only picture I got is of another white-throated sparrow.

It’s raining pretty good now as I sit here typing this, so that’s all the pictures for today.

The way the beautiful weather has been repeating itself, it almost feels like I should be waking to the sounds of “I’ve got you babe,” but in the last part of the movie when he’s happy to get up and face the day.

Anyway, I beat the other old guys with cameras to the pond today, so I had the green heron all to myself.

Plus, all the young wood ducks…

and this pair of mallards, the likes of whom we haven’t seen on the pond in months.

Luckily, Lisa came along soon enough to point out the young night-heron in a new spot at the north end for a change.

The little birds were quiet, though, so I headed to the river to see if it was still as active as yesterday. Well, it wasn’t quite as energetic, but there were still some faces we haven’t seen in a while and another sight I haven’t seen before.

One new face for the season is this handsome killdeer busily foraging among the stones in the river. It’s only gotta make it to southern Illinois to get through the winter, so it’s got plenty of time to hang out with us.

Another is this white-throated sparrow with just a bit of yellow between its eyes and beak and fresh in from upstate. We’re already in its winter range, so maybe it’ll stick around until it’s gotta head back north in spring.

And here’s the sight I’ve not seen before, a squirrel taking a sip from the river.

I could hear and catch some glimpses of Swainson’s thrushes, but no pictures today, and I don’t think I caught even a glimpse of a warbler or vireo. Maybe the winds were favorable last night, and they all took the train south while the going was good.

Happily for us, some of the coolest sights are stationary, and here’s one of them. These appear to be sulphur shelf or chicken of the woods mushrooms (Laetiporus sulphureus), but please don’t eat them based just on my opinion! They’re big, too. Each semicircle is about six inches across, or more.

Lastly, as you probably realize by now, I’m a sucker for New England aster, and the honeybee on this one made it darn near irresistible.

Well, the forecast is for showers tomorrow morning, so maybe my alarm clock will play a different tune. We’ll see soon enough.

Wow! Our luck with this beautiful weather just keeps holding. No matter what Billie Joe Armstrong says, I’m glad I’m not sleeping through this September.

I did sleep a little extra this morning, though, and by the time I got to the pond, there were already two guys taking pictures of the wood ducks on the west lawn, so I said good morning to the young night-heron on the east side and moved on to the river.

On my way, I spotted this little character who was wondering if I was really gonna take yet another squirrel picture, but who could resist that face, so yes, I did.

As I got to the water, I was greeted by another little cutie, this red-eyed vireo hopping around a willow tree hanging over the water.

Out on the water, one of the hooded mergansers was still here and taking a break from hunting crayfish at the moment.

But this wood duck hen was busy feasting on the latest fly hatch that was all over the water surface.

Back on shore yet another little cutie, this ruby-crowned kinglet was also hopping from branch to branch. After summering in the UP, or points north, it’s on its way to Tennessee, Kentucky, or points south, so it better eat up.

But wait. There’s more! The trees along the river were really alive this morning, and this female American redstart was contributing her splashes of color to the show.

Back out on the water, a pair of Canada geese were repeatedly dipping their heads into the water as they circled each other. If it were March or April, I’d have expected them to take it to the next level. I wonder if the pair with three good wings between them, who were also there this morning, looked on and reminisced about when they were young.

Meanwhile, more wood duck drakes in all their finery are showing up.

And a blue heron was watching it all from the island.

As I headed south, I spotted another little bird in a tree hanging out over the water, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a goldfinch, of which we’ve seen plenty lately. There were a few of them, however, and they all seemed to be heading to the ground, so I followed them to this surprising little scene.

I don’t know what they were after exactly, but I counted nine of them down on the mud, and they didn’t startle as I would have expected, so they must have been after something important. I hope nobody lost their keys.

One of them even had on a leg band! You can see it in the lower left of the image below. Wild, huh? That is a definite first for me.

Finally, I could hear plenty of woodpeckers working in the trees above, and here sharp-looking hairy one.

Lastly, the asters continue their pageant of colors, and here’s a bumble bee on a pretty, little, white one.

The beautiful weather continues in Estabrook today, and more asters continue to open throughout the park, so I hope you get a chance to visit.

When I arrived this morning, things were a little quieter than last time at the pond, with 7-8 wood ducks, one green heron, one young night heron, but no blue herons, mallards, or fancy wood duck drakes.

Here’s the green heron showing off what a strong grip it has.

Here’s the young night-heron with its eyes almost wide open for a change.

And here’s the green heron again sporting a completely different look.

I didn’t see anyone else around, so I headed to the river and found out why there were no blue herons on the pond. I counted at least four on the river this morning, and here’s a young one trying its luck at the falls.

Here’s a mature one taking a break on a sandbar at the north end.

While I was looking for a third one that I had seen from afar, this little wren caught my attention with its distinctive raspy call.

I never did get a better look at that third blue heron, but on my way south, I caught a glimpse of this pretty little warbler, and the white eye ring, light yellow belly, grayish back, and lack of wing bars make me think it’s a female or immature Nashville warbler.

By the time I got back to the falls, our young blue heron had come across to the east side, which gives us a chance to take a closer look at that big bill it has.

And finally use the falls as a nice background.

I spooked the fourth blue heron of the morning, who was also fishing on the east side, as I wandered down the river path and didn’t see it until it took off. Sorry.

Instead, I spotted this male belted kingfisher across the river just parked there for a while with its beak open and looking a little warm in the morning sun.

Oh, before I go, let me put an item on your calendar. The Shorewood Fish & Feather Festival will be in Hubbard Park from 11 to 3 on Saturday, October 2. I’ll be there at the Friends of Estabrook Park booth, and I’d love a chance to say hi in person, so I hope I’ll see you there.

The weather was perfect again, and with the nip in the morning air and some leaves beginning to change color, it’s really starting to feel like autumn in Estabrook. After finding no herons or just the sleepy night-heron at the pond recently, I was surprised to find three different herons there is morning.

The young night-heron was sleeping, as usual.

But there was also a blue heron taking a break.

And a green heron was hard at work.

But that wasn’t even the biggest surprise! Along with the four young male wood ducks, five female wood ducks, and one mallard hen, there was a new adult male in full breeding plumage. We haven’t seen one of these in months!

You could tell he was new in town because he held back when everyone else came up on the lawn to see if I was the old guy with a camera who would feed them. Sorry, kids, that’s not me.

Anyway, I eventually moved on to the river and found one of the hooded mergansers taking a break from feasting on crayfish.

I also finally took this bittersweet picture. A Canada goose with a broken wing has been staying in the vicinity of the islands for a couple of weeks now, and its partner is staying with it. This morning is the closest to shore that they’ve come and the closest I’ve seen them together.

Farther south, along the river, a chipmunk waited for me to hurry up and take this picture so it could get back to stuffing its cheeks.

And a young blue heron was fishing at the falls, which is another sight we haven’t seen in a while.

Finally, I stumbled upon two interesting new blossoms in the park. The first is blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), growing right beside the river.

And the second looks like an amaranth, growing out of a pile of dead leaves in the gutter of the closed parkway, but I can’t find a close match. Can you?

Here’s the leaf, in case that helps.

I wonder what surprises Estabrook has up its sleeves for me next time.

So I waited a bit before venturing out, and it seems that all the birds just passing through had already gotten their worms and were either laying low, had already moved on, or had not yet arrived. Luckily, there were several regulars about who may have also waited the morning out with me.

At the pond, the young night-heron was back and nodding off near its usual spot.

I counted nine wood ducks today, and here’s a hen wondering if I’m the guy who feeds them bread from the bench on the west lawn, and if so, where’s the darn bread already.

Down at the river, a cormorant was back again and looking as satisfied as ever.

And a blue heron was taking a break from fishing and looking less contented.

Some big fish is thrashing in the water again, but I didn’t get a close enough look to identify them. Anyone know what’s running or spawning now?

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Further south, by the falls, the asters continue to thicken and the black-eyed Susans continue to hold on, which can make for a pretty mix.

By the mudflats, which have been pretty quiet lately, a male kingfisher posed for us on the top of this stick on the far shore.

And this young blue heron focused intently on fishing in the grass on the near shore.

Lastly, this young-looking grey catbird appears about ready to enjoy a tasty treat.

The forecast looks a little dryer for tomorrow morning, so let’s hope that holds.