It was one of those mornings that remind me that “10% chance of rain” often means “steady rain, but just at 10% intensity.” The good news is that the continuous spritzing didn’t slow down the critters in the park, and there were at least three herons ont the pond, one blue and two green.

Here’s the blue:

And here’s one of the greens hard at work:

And here they are together in a reflective moment:

Here’s a bullfrog just hoping to stay out of the action.

The wood duck hens and ducklings, the black duck hen, and a couple of mallard hens were also about, but not as photogenic as the herons this morning. The situation was similar at the river.

The one other bright spot, however, is that the bee balm was finally getting some traffic.

Meanwhile, in related news, Friends of Estabrook Park is planning its annual picnic at the Estabrook Park Biergarten on Wednesday, July 21 at 5pm, the Biergarten is also celebrating the 105th Anniversary of Estabrook Park on the same day, there is no Bucks playoff game scheduled for that day, so I’m planning to go, and I hope to see you there.

With the dark skies yesterday morning and then a trip to campus, I didn’t get to the park until late in the day, but it was a nice change of pace. I saw this little cutie crossing the trail up ahead and thought I’d missed my chance, but he or she waited patiently in the woods for me to get there and take this portrait. Thanks, honey, and I wonder if we saw you crossing the river with your mom just about a month ago.

In the weeds beside the soccer fields, yet another goldfinch was feasting on the gone-by bull thistle blossoms in the golden afternoon sun and against the nice blue sky that finally came out. Isn’t he a handsome devil?

In the big oak tree at the south end of the weeds, a nuthatch was foraging on the top side of a branch for a change.

Finally, as I was checking the bee balm, which seems to be in bloom throughout the park, for at least one critter to accept its sweet offer, I spotted this stunning eastern comma (Polygonia comma) who was not on the bee balm, but a lot less shy than the one I glimpsed last summer.

Although it wasn’t sampling the bee balm, it did land on my finger three times before it decided it had tasted enough bug repellent.

Before I could send you those pictures, it was morning again and time to go back to the park, and I was thrilled to find the crystal blue skies had stuck around, at least for a little while.

I spotted three blue herons in the river, and two of them were fishing in pretty surroundings.

At the pond, the status quo seems to have returned with the two wood duck hens and five ducklings, one black duck hen, and two mallard hen friends. The only notable development I saw was that the ducklings, who are just about five-and-a-half weeks old, are already starting to sport blue wing feathers, just like their mom. They grow up so fast.

Back at the soccer fields, the wren in the birch tree was doing a little house cleaning.

In between verses of his song.

Did I already mention the blue sky?

Anyway, if you haven’t been to the park in a few days, you wouldn’t believe how thick the monarchs have become. We appear to be having a bumper crop this year, and it sure is wonderful to see. Add the golden light from the morning sun and the bright pink of a bull thistle blossom, and that’s a combination I just can’t resist.

Finally, you may remember last summer when we spotted a turtle laying eggs on the island in the pond. Well, long-time reader, Carolyn, and her trusty side-kick, George, spotted her appearing to be trying again but right on the path through the woods to the pond this time. Oh, sweetie, I sure hope you know what you’re doing.

Now that we’re solidly in the Dog Days of Summer, things are starting to slow down in the park, and it’s gonna be a short report today. The weather was pleasant enough, I got to the pond nice and early, a mallard is back to keep the black duck company, but I didn’t see the muskrat. There was a blue heron, but no green herons. The five wood duck ducklings were keeping to their routine, but the mallard ducklings have definitely moved on.

At the river, I did spot a beaver briefly, and a blue heron was fishing by the abandoned bridge abutment, but the big surprise is that the geese seem to have cleared out. Instead of the several dozen that were there as recently as yesterday, I only spotted 3 individuals today.

I didn’t take a picture until I found this mallard hen and her two ducklings just off the boat launch at the north end.

Next is of the five wood duck ducklings lounging in their usual spot on the log in the pond.

And finally, the blue heron was still at the pond for my second visit, it was on the west side by the tall reads for a change, and the sun was making a valiant effort, so that made for a prettier picture than usual

Then the sun lost its battle with the clouds, and I couldn’t find another willing portrait subject. Better luck next time, eh?

If you have been wondering when and if the mosquitoes would follow the rain we’ve had lately, well, wonder no more because they sure as heck are here now. Zoinks! I had no idea how haphazard my insect repellent application had become during the drought until this morning when the little stinkers let me know of every patch of skin I missed.

Luckily for us, the bigger critters are better prepared or just don’t care and were out in their usual numbers anyway. First up is one we haven’t seen in over a month, the muskrat in the pond, and this morning it appeared to be contentedly munching on something I can’t quite see out in the water.

Yup. That’s its big ol’ black tail sticking out of the water behind it.

I didn’t see much else and thought maybe the sun might peek out later so I headed to the river, but I really couldn’t dawdle today, as I could in the past, so I found myself at the north end pretty soon, and the most interesting sight was this trio of mergansers. They were pretty far out on the water, and the light was still pretty low, so it’s not the best image, but I suspect they are female hooded mergansers just like the solo hen we saw earlier this week.

Back at the pond, a blue heron was fishing in the east bay as the wood duck hen and her ducklings lounged on their usual log.

There was a slight breeze to keep the skeeters down so I made myself comfortable on the bench and waited patiently to see if the heron would do anything interesting. After a bit, someone walked by and flushed out a green heron that I hadn’t spotted. Happily, I didn’t need to move so it ignored me and got right back to fishing. First it grabbed a frog.

Then it moved to a new spot and quickly followed up the frog with a nice little fish.

Meanwhile, the blue heron was having little success, and it appears that all the mallards checked out overnight, even the ducklings. All I could see was the solo black duck hen and the wood ducks. So it goes, eh?

The nice cool temps and calm winds remain, but there wasn’t much sun this morning. A single young deer was calmly grazing on the soccer fields, and I couldn’t even get it to look my way when I called to it, so this is what we’re left with.

At the pond, it was a blue heron this time trying to balance on a wiggly stick, and when it finally had to resort to flying to keep from getting soaked, it spooked a second heron that I hadn’t seen. One of them flew off, and I decided to leave the one who stayed to fish in peace.

At the river, a young-looking beaver is really getting the hang of making me work for a shot.

At the falls, there were 4 mallard hens preening, and this one had the best spot.

Up river, I spotted another young northern flicker, and this one might not be fledged yet. There was a commotion when Mom or Dad stopped by, which is how I noticed them, but then the youngster was left on his own, and he just kept tucking in and then peeking out to see if his next serving of breakfast had arrived yet.

There were a couple of blue herons at the north end, along with plenty of geese, a few mallards, and even a sandpiper or two, but I let them all be and headed back to the pond.

As I approached, just about where I spotted the flickers yesterday, a chipmunk, of whom we haven’t seen much lately, really seemed to want to make up for lost time.

The chipmunk eventually let me pass, and I saw the wood duck ducklings up on their log in the east bay, but as I made my way around to get a nice shot, look who stopped me in my tracks.

Yay! Our turkey is back, or still hanging around, and we slowly danced around each other as I took pictures, but by the time I reached the right spot for the ducklings, they had already moved on.

Instead, the mallard hen and her ducklings had positioned themselves nicely again in what little sun we did have and so, ta da!

The forecast was for clear skies, for a change, and so I hit the park nice and early even though it was a bit chilly. I could see a blue heron and both sets of ducklings on the pond, but there just wasn’t enough light yet for my equipment, so I let them enjoy their breakfast in peace and headed to the river, were there was at least one beaver about and playing very coy with me.

There were also three more blue herons on the river, down from the four from the previous two mornings, so perhaps there is an ideal temperature for them: not 55°, not 68°, but 63°. Now that’s science, right there! Anyway, I think we’ve seen enough herons lately, so I let them be and headed back to the pond for some nice morning sun action.

Before I could get there, however, I came across this freshly-fledged northern flicker, looking sharp in his almost-adult feathers and acting way less shy than his folks have been lately.

Here he is getting a morning morsel from Dad, who was much more elusive.

And here he is waiting pretty patiently for the next one, which wasn’t long in coming.

Once I did arrive at the pond, the sun did not disappoint. The wood duck ducklings were lounging in the shade on the east side, but the trees and bushes behind them were alit and reflecting beautifully off the water.

And our newest arrivals, the mallard ducklings, were basking in the full golden glow across the water.

Since the sun was out and things were warming up, I stopped by the weeds beside the soccer fields to see who was around, and the place was hoppin’!

Here’s a female twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella), whom we haven’t seen since last summer, and who closely resembles the female common whitetail we just saw on the 4th.

Here’s another Halloween pennant, whom we saw for the very first time on the 3rd.

And here are a couple of shots of a monarch, of which there were several I am thrilled to report, gettin’ juiced up on a bull thistle blossom.

Finally, as I headed home, I spotted a long string of Canada geese heading south, perhaps on a training flight. I read conflicting reports on when exactly they molt their flight feathers and so cannot fly, so I can’t tell if this might be the last flight before being grounded or the first flight after being grounded, but it was a nice sight to see either way.

Sheesh! It was even cooler and maybe darker this morning than yesterday, if you can believe it, but let’s get right to the main event. There is a new batch of ducklings on the pond, and it’s five mallards this time. They probably just hatched overnight or this morning, and would you look at those little cuties! We saw how the cooler temps brought out the birds yesterday, but this is above and beyond. They just happened to catch my eye from the little bay east of the island as I was standing on the west lawn and wrapping up my second visit. Talk about luck.

During my first visit, I also found that our black duck hen has now accumulated three mallard hens to keep her company.

And a young blue heron was scarfing down fish again.

I didn’t see the wood ducks, but I didn’t want to disturb the heron, so I moved on and look who I saw at the river while I was looking for beaver.

It was also chowing down on a fish, and I can’t say for sure if it is our pal from a few weeks ago, but the size and location are about right.

There were more fishermen than usual in the vicinity of the falls, so nothing to see there this morning, and I continued to the north end. Along the way, there was another heron on the far shore, so not very photogenic, and a group of pretty waxwings feasting on flies close enough for me to capture these images.

Between the islands, I spotted our third blue heron of the morning, an adult this time and taking a break from fishing.

And beside the northern island, here’s heron number 4 hard at work…

And then heron number 5 flew in! Jeepers!

I also saw the mallard hen with 3 ducklings we’ve seen often and a female hooded merganser who is probably the same one we saw on the pond yesterday, but they were all pretty far out, so I didn’t waste my film and headed back to the pond.

On my second visit, besides the new mallard ducklings already mentioned above, the wood ducks made a beeline toward the west lawn as soon as I sat on the bench.

Best of all, they all hopped right up on the grass.

That, of course, emboldened the black duck and mallards to join them, at which point it became a circus of pecking orders, cue Yakity Sax, and they all ended up chasing each other back into the water in short order.

Lastly, it was too cold for butterflies, but this warm-blooded little cutie called softly to me as I walked past the weeds beside the soccer fields, so here you go. Based on the “grayish face”, “reddish-brown markings”, and “thick, triangular mustache”, I’m leaning towards a song sparrow (Melospiza melodia). The mustache may also be called a “malar stripe”, which one clever blogger introduced as his bird-nerd-word of the day, and the read is as fun as the title.

The sudden cold snap brought the birds out like crazy this morning, and I believe I saw more blue herons in the park today than I have ever seen before.

There was a youngish-looking one having some success on the pond.

Another youngish-looking one seeming to take a break on the river below the falls.

Yet another youngish-looking one fishing intently above the falls.

A fourth, in full adult regalia, grabbing a little morsel between the islands.

Yet a fifth one, appearing to be a youngster again, just off the northern island and not having much luck, but it did give a nice demo of how to navigate water that gets too deep.

I hadn’t seen the ducklings on my first pass of the pond, so I stopped in again on my way back south, and Mrs. Wood Duck’s special friend is back and sharing a tender moment. These two are starting to make me feel like paparazzi.

While searching for the ducklings, I spotted a new kid in town, and I’m leaning towards a female hooded merganser, of whom we haven’t seen a bill nor feather since May on the river.

Meanwhile, the black duck and mallard hens are still hanging out.

Ah, and here comes Mrs. Wood Duck with four of her ducklings.

While the fifth stayed behind with who appears to be yet another mallard hen.

So that’s 10 ducks of 3 species and 1 merganser on the water at once. Holy Moly.

Then the excitement really began.

Yup, a Cooper’s hawk, whom we also haven’t seen for nearly a month, flew in looking for brunch.

The ducks quickly circled their wagons, as we saw before with the owl on the river.

And with my eye off it for a second, I lost track of the hawk, but I don’t believe it had any luck on the pond this morning, and I’m gonna call that enough excitement for one day.

This morning really got off to a slow start, and I’d be tempted to think that the heat had something to do with it, but who knows. I didn’t see anything on my way to the pond, and there I only saw the same regulars that we saw just yesterday, so I headed to the river, where I almost made it to the north end before I even turned my camera on. At last, the mallard hen with three ducklings led them through a pretty reflection of the trees on the island lit by the sun.

Then a youngish-looking blue heron was fishing off the southern tip of the northern island, so things were starting to look up.

Overhead, this little cutie flew in to pose for a second, and after consulting with the experts at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, I’m gonna go with Acadian flycatcher (Empidonax virescens). Now we’re cookin’! We’re just inside the northwest corner of its range, but Donna, if you know a better fit, I’m sure you won’t hesitate to drop me a line.

As you can see, things had really started to turn around, and they just kept getting better. I had barely finish with the flycatcher, when this slightly faded beauty stopped in, our first red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) for this season, and not a second too soon, either. Woo hoo! Last year it took me several tries to finally find one this obliging.

Well, since my luck had clearly turned around, I swung back by the pond, and look who was there.

Yup, one of the green herons that have really been giving me the slip lately. It was on quite the roly-poly little log and appeared to be having a heck of a time staying upright but not so much that it couldn’t snag a little fish anyway.

But still, it was roly.

Meanwhile, the American black duck hen and her best buddy the mallard hen were enjoying their morning preen together in the sun.

I didn’t see Mrs. Wood Duck’s new special friend, so she was giving the ducklings some attention, for a change. First, there was a winding cruise through the algal mats.

And then a short visit to the west lawn.

When she decided that it was time to go, one duckling had an opinion to share.

Finally, for the cherry on top, just as I was about to call it a morning, I heard the cry of this youngster perched on the WITI TV tower and probably demanding to be fed. My guess is that it’s a fledgling from the pair of peregrine falcons in the nesting box on the UWM EMS building, and that brings our bird-of-prey count to 7!

So Estabrook Park pulled through again for us, and you’d think that after all this time, I’d have learned to have a little more faith.

Oh, and before I forget, I heard a cicada singing already before 8am, so you know it’s gonna be a hot one. Stay cool out there!

It was a slow morning in Estabrook, after all the noise last evening, and the mammals seemed to be taking the day off. The greatest concentration of firework detritus was by the pond, so I was quite surprised to find all the usual avian denizens going about their morning routine as though nothing had happened.

The American black duck hen was still sticking like glue to her new friend the mallard hen.

And Mrs. Wood Duck was still enjoying the company of her new special friend…

While the kids foraged on their own in the yard.

At the river, the water is beginning to recede a bit, after all the rain we’ve had, and the killdeer are back on the exposed rocks. There were at least 3, and this one wanted all my attention.

When I opted not to give chase, however, it got back up and just watched me while a sandpiper began foraging in the background.

Eventually, the killdeer gave up on me and just flew off.

In the meadow, the only critter up this morning is this plush looking silver-spotted skipper.

I stopped by the pond again on my way south, and a green heron evaded me, while the ducklings settled down for their early morning nap.

Meanwhile, the adults settled down on the other end of the pond.

At the soccer fields, the wren was back to singing and keeping an eye on me.

On the next birch tree over, there was a woodpecker that looks like a female downy, but with grey feathers instead of white. She even has the couple of little black squares in the white stripe down the side of her tail. Curious. I don’t think it’s some effect caused by my camera because the birch bark is nice and white.

Julie Craves, supervisor of avian research at the Rouge River Bird Observatory at the University of Michigan Dearborn and research associate at the university’s Environmental Interpretive Center, explains that “woodpeckers’ white feathers are also susceptible to becoming gray and dirty from soot or other substances,” and maybe that’s what’s going on here.

Lastly, a sulfur was sipping its fill from the Canada thistle this time.

Oh, and before I forget, on our way home from our first in-person get together at Anne’s folk’s place yesterday (thanks Joanne and Don) in who knows how long, Anne spotted these two amazing creatures working a soybean field in the warm afternoon sun.

Them there are sandhill cranes, if’n you ain’t from around these parts.

Plus, I forgot to mention that I found my first park tequila yesterday. How fun is that?