It was nice and mild this morning, but I didn’t think it was ever going to get light out. The streetlights didn’t turn off until 8am, and that’s when I finally headed out the door.

The first surprise came just above the falls where I found the hooded merganser hen taking a nap all by her lonesome.

What happened to the bufflehead, her steady companion for the past week or so? Did they have a spat? Is one not feeling well? It was all very troubling.

Fortunately, the answer came soon enough, at the north end, where I found not one, but two buffleheads amongst the mallards!

Perhaps the “friendship” was all just a ruse, a relationship of convenience. Perhaps I’m just reading way too much into this.

Anyway, as I was seeing if I could get a better shot of the buffleheads, there was suddenly a commotion, with loud mallard honking, just off the southern tip of the northern island, and look who soon retired to a branch overhead.

It sure looks as though a young Cooper’s hawk made a try for a mallard, which seems like a tough matchup. Cooper’s hawks weigh only about 1 lb, and mallards vary from 1.5 to 3.5 lb. Just think of the logistical challenges. Might I suggest a nice 4.5-oz mourning dove? I know where there are a few downstream.

From our breakfast table, it sure looks gorgeous out, but I gotta go to campus this morning and keep tryin’ to learn ’em something. Meanwhile, here are a few more pictures from yesterday to tide you over.

A goldfinch seems to say, “see my wings and tail are still fancy, even in my drab winter coat.”

A male cardinal seems to say, “give me a break.”

After the red squirrel picture yesterday, a grey squirrel asks, “what am I, chopped liver?” Sorry, Buddy. To red-tailed hawks maybe, but to me the better analogy is “a dime, a dozen,” I’m afraid. Now if you would just let me catch you hauling a mouthful of leaves up to your nest…

Herring gulls continue to catch fish like they are going out of style.

And this youngster stopped by to ask “if any of that fish was left over?” But no, it’s gonna hafta catch its own.

There was a trio of geese on the rapids, and it seems that one of them might have gotten used to being fed by some well-meaning but misguided soul. He paddled right over to me and waited patiently, but I tried to explain that 1. I don’t have anything for him, and 2. even if I did, it would be bad for him

Nevertheless, he followed me down the shore like a polite puppy, and it was hard to say “no”, but I really didn’t have a scrap on me.

His mate wasn’t quite so bold, but dutifully followed along, and the third wheel kept its distance out in the middle of the river.

Lastly, here’s one more ice shot before the coming warm-up melts it all.

It was a pretty nice morning in Estabrook, all-in-all. Sure, the skies were gray, but not too dark or precipitating, and the air was seasonably cool, but the winds were calm. I’ll take it!

Because of the cloud cover, I loitered over breakfast to let the skies lighten, and didn’t get out very early. Happily, my timing was just right to spot this handsome couple, taking a brief pause from stuffing their gullets with fine, river-bottom weeds, somewhere along the mild rapids on the lower river.

Also up at such a reasonable hour was this red squirrel feigning surprise that I’d want a picture of “li’l ol’ me?”

On the other hand, this foraging chickadee kept its eyes on the prize and didn’t even bother looking my way.

Our dynamic duo, the pair of hooded merganser and bufflehead hens, were still together and still working the upper river. Yay!

On my way back south, I finally managed to capture an image of one of the hairy woodpeckers who’ve been loudly announcing their presence for the last few days.

Back on the water, the herring gulls are still catching fish.

Finally, some of those intricate ice crystals that have formed lately are being left high and dry by the slightly receding river water. Here are some on a stick.

And here are some on a stone.

Pretty cool, eh?

For all my whining about gray skies, you’d think I’d have a bunch of beautiful blue-sky pictures on a clear and crisp day like today. I sure would like to, but the critters had made other plans, it seems.

On my way north, I turned on my camera only once, but I flubbed the two chances a hairy woodpecker gave me before it disappeared in a tangle of little branches high up in the tree. Dang.

I spotted a gray squirrel with a mouth full of fallen leaves, for the second time in as many days, as it made its way up a tree trunk, and I lined up to capture an image when it came into the clear, but it found its burrow on the other side of that trunk before the clearing and emerged empty-mouthed. Darn!

At the north end, Lisa was kind enough to point out the bufflehead and hooded merganser pair, but I thought I might have been overexposing them lately, so I let them be. Neither of us could see any herons or raptors. Oh well.

On my way back south, it wasn’t until I reached the mudflats again, where the river is wide and slow, that I finally managed to capture a presentable image of a red-bellied woodpecker checking out a hole in an old tree trunk.

Just a bit south of there, at the base of stairway 9, I was thrilled to find a muskrat enjoying some late season greens at the water’s edge. Eat ’em while they last!

Finally, near the southern end, a group of mallards on the far shore were having some sort of agitated meeting, but they wouldn’t tell me what it was about.

That’s it for today, I’m afraid. Better luck next time, eh?

After being dissappointed by my last two outings, I went to the park this morning with no expectations at all. I didn’t get there particularly early, and I didn’t care that the sky was gray. As always, the critters didn’t care one way or the other about my expectations and were busier than they’ve been lately just going about their business.

I had barely made any progress north along the river when I heard the rattle of a belted kingfisher, and I quickly found her straight across the water, but she must have already spotted a fish because she didn’t immediately take off when she saw me.

Instead, she dove straight down into the water and emerged with this tasty morsel. Breakfast is served!

Further north, I was thrilled to find a winter wren again and not far from the last one we saw. Perhaps it’s the same bird.

I hadn’t even reached the falls yet when my luck with little birds continued with this golden-crowned kinglet.

Things settle down for a bit until I reached the north end where I spotted our two resident divers: the hooded merganser hen and her trusty sidekick, the bufflehead hen.

There were more gulls on the water than I believe I’ve ever seen before, at least 20 of them, but they were all on the far side and spread out, so not very photogenic. These mallards, on the other hand, were on our side of the northern island and could barely be more closely packed. Thanks guys!

I had collected quite a few cans by then, so on my way back I climbed up to the beer garden to put them in the recycling there, and figured, what the heck, might as well go check out the pond at this point. Sure enough, it was frozen over shore to shore, and the best picture I could get is of this tiny island off the north shore, where we’ve seen turtles, blue herons, green herons, wood ducks, black ducks, and mallards on warmer days.

Finally, just as I was about the leave the park, this female cardinal convinced me to take just one more picture.

The big news, besides all the door-buster sales today, is that the river is really starting to ice over in spots. Here’s a view looking north toward the abandoned bridge abutments. You can see the falls once you round that bend up ahead. The ice is thin but stretches shore to shore. It’s nice and grey to match the sky we had this morning.

The hardy birds are built for this, however, and continue to go about their business, especially on the water, which stays a relatively-balmy 32°F no matter what crazy stunts the air pulls. Here’s a hooded merganser hen fishing amongst the mallards and ice floes in the mostly open water above the falls. You can just make out that her forehead is wet because she just pulled her head up from scouting for fish.

The bufflehead hen was in that same mix, and here she is right beside a mallard hen to give you some idea of her size.

Finally, not all the ice was grey, and here’s an oak leaf frozen into some intricately crystalized black river ice.

I wish I had found a turkey today to show you, but I haven’t seen one since this beauty beside the pond back on July 10. Instead, there were at least two, and possibly a young third bald eagle over the river this morning, but the park was busy, so they didn’t stick around long enough for me to get close enough to capture an image. It sure was a good sign though, and I expect I’ll be able to show you pictures of them in the coming weeks and months.

Another trio I was happy to see included this red squirrel and probably two of its siblings.

The clouds were thick, and the sky was even spritzing, so the light was darn low, and my camera struggled mightily.

At the north end, I spotted one of the hooded merganser hens again, but saw no sign of the bufflehead today.

On my way south, this red-bellied woodpecker posed for just long enough.

Finally, another beaver heading home, upstream this time, posed for not quite long enough.

The winds were whippin’ out of the south this morning, and it seemed that just about everyone was sleeping in. I barely saw a soul, and certainly nothing to photograph, until I reached the north end.

There was no sign of the bufflehead or the mergansers this morning, and a blue heron was on the east shore up ahead, but someone else flushed it out, probably inadvertently, before I could get close enough. Instead, I did manage to get this image of a red-tailed hawk high above the far shore. Perhaps it’s the same one we saw just Monday.

A crow was foraging again on the now-exposed river bottom between the islands. Maybe it was craving some more of that naturally-aged salmon.

I headed back south and stayed along the river to avoid as much of the wind as I could. I did see two belted kingfishers by the falls at the same time for a change: one above and one below. I’ve suspected there was more than one, but this was the first time I could see both while standing in one spot. Neither one wanted a portrait today, however, so I kept moving.

This next sight took me by surprise because of the freezing temperatures we’ve had lately, but I guess they’re hardy and/or growing in a well-sheltered spot. They sure looked healthy.

As far as I can tell, these are grey oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) and quite edible, but I’m saving my appetite for tomorrow.

Just a bit beyond the mushrooms, I finally met a little cutie who was in the mood.

By the looks of that round shape, short tail held straight up, and the slight stripe over the eye, I’d say we’ve finally got ourselves a winter wren (Troglodytes hiemalis). It’s about darn time, eh? Oddly enough, it appears that their breeding range is just a bit north of here, their winter range is just a bit south of here, and we’re smack dab in the middle of their short migration range. Well, we’ll take what we can get, right?

Finally, there was a trio of geese on the lower river, amongst the mallards, and here are two of them taking turns stretching. Perhaps stretches are contagious among birds similar to the way that yawns are contagious among people.

If you’re traveling this week, we hope you get there and back safely, and we’ll “see” you when you return.

I’ve gotta go give an exam this morning, but the sky isn’t the beautiful blue that we had yesterday, so I don’t mind so much. Plus, there were so many pretty sights yesterday, I’ve got some more to show you today.

Here’s another, slightly blurry, look at that red-tailed hawk that really shows off its red tail. It must have decided that the river wasn’t big enough for the two of us. Sorry, buddy! Maybe it had finally gotten warm enough in the sun, and I was just the impetus it needed to go get some breakfast. I was all the way across the river at a pretty wide part, after all.

Here’s a nice close-up of one of the two female hooded mergansers who probably didn’t mind that the hawk finally took off.

And here’s another look at the female bufflehead. This might be my best bufflehead picture yet. They are usually quite shy, but that could have always been the male’s reaction, and the female could be a bit bolder. That certainly seems to be the case with mallards and wood ducks and perhaps is a result of females usually wearing better camouflage. I’ll have to look into that.

Here’s another shot of the fishing herring gull. It was diving and getting back out of the water repeatedly, but I didn’t see it manage to catch anything. Keep trying, buddy!

While I have you, here’s one more look at the muskrat from Sunday.

Finally, here are two more shots of the foraging chickadees from yesterday.

Till next time.

The thermometer said 21° this morning, and the manual for my camera assured me it was good for 14°, so we were good to go with 7° to spare! That’s a good thing, too, because the sky was crystal clear, and it would have been a crying shame to miss the park today.

The first pretty sight I saw came a bit before the abandoned bridge abutment, near where we saw the muskrat yesterday, and where this blue heron was warming itself in the bright morning sun on a log over the water. Those darn vines hanging down between us were giving my autofocus fits, so I’m thrilled that it somehow focused on the heron one time. Phew!

Meanwhile, as I was trying to trick my autofocus into doing my bidding, look who came cruising down the river. Yup, that’s a beaver heading home once again after a night of gnawing on trees upstream.

After all that excitement, things were calm for a bit until I got above the falls and tried to check on another spot where I’ve seen beaver before. Look who caught my eye in a tree across the river as I approached the water: a red-tailed hawk appearing to try the same trick as the heron.

The beaver hangout was all iced over, so nothing to see there, but there was some new action out on the water.

Mrs. Bufflehead has come down river a bit and has been joined by a pair of hooded merganser hens. Sweet! Here’s a nicer picture of Mrs. Bufflehead as she caught her breath between dives to forage for tasty morsels on the river bottom.

Speaking of tasty morsels, the herring gulls were back to fishing on the river, and here’s one just about the splashdown at the far north end.

There was no sign of the young eagle this morning but be patient. I bet we’ll get to see it again, and hopefully its elders, too, as the river ices over in the coming weeks, and everyone starts frequenting the few patches of open water left.

On my way back home, I spotted this fascinating phenomenon trapped in an eddy just below the falls. It appears to be foam churned up by the falls now frozen into plate-sized pancakes that lazily circle each other on the surface. I do not recall seeing that before, but I read that this is not the first occurrence, and it is perhaps distinct from the so-called “pancake ice” that forms on oceans and lakes. Fun, eh? What will they think up next?

Further south, the little birds were finally up, and here’s a chickadee with breakfast already.

Finally, here’s a goldfinch who just needs five more minutes in the sun, please, before it’ll be ready to forage.