It was a wet and dreary morning in Estabrook, but before we get into that, let me say “thanks” to all the folks who stopped by the Friends of Estabrook Park booth yesterday at the Fish & Feather Festival. We sure had nice weather in Hubbard Park for the event. There are too many names to type here, and even if I did, you can safely bet that I would somehow leave one out, so let me avoid that mistake and thanks again for stopping by to say “hi.” You know who you are.

Now, back to this morning. I woke to the sound of rain, so I didn’t bother hurrying out of bed. Eventually though, there appeared to be a big gap between the showers on the radar, so I put on my raincoat and headed out.

The wood ducks at the pond were nice and friendly this morning, and here are a couple of males looking especially resplendent.

At the river, I was happy to see a sandpiper, of whom we haven’t seen much in a while, land just offshore to forage. The little white flecks on its back lead me to believe that it is a young solitary sandpiper on its way from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and beyond maybe even for the first time. Safe travels, little buddy!

Also out on the water, I was thrilled to spot what I believe is our first migrating blue-winged teal, and a hen to boot!

We’re actually in their breeding range, but we haven’t seen any since the spring, so they must be back on the move now and heading for the Gulf Coast.

This morning was turning out way better than I expected, but it started to sprinkle pretty good, so I headed back south and spotted our obligatory blue heron on the far shore right in front of a log that looks as though beaver have been working on it.

Just south of the falls, I finally started seeing the little birds in the trees, and here’s another golden-crowned kinglet.

At the clearing by where the stream from the pond empties into the river, I got to see the male downy woodpecker to go with the female from yesterday.

A yellow-rumped warbler was busy foraging in the tree above it.

The chickadees are still mining the cutleaf coneflower, and here’s one working on a seed it has carried way and wedged between its foot and the branch.

A stayed along the river to avoid the farmers market crowds and meet this dashing little waterthrush instead.

Finally, right behind the waterthrush, there were still damselfies clinging to the long blades of grass bending over the river, and as best as I can tell, this one is a male American rubyspot (Hetaerina americana)

Lastly, I keep forgetting to include this picture of what might be the last monarch butterfly of the season, which I took Saturday afternoon after whining about not finding monarchs any more.

PS. I have two corrections to make in yesterday’s post.

1. The raptor I saw was a merlin, not a young peregrine falcon, as I mistakenly thought.
2. The name of the sparrow is “chipping” sparrow, not “chirping” sparrow, as my hands accidentally typed.

Between the dark skies and falling rain, it was a short trip this morning. I glanced at the pond, didn’t see anything new, and kept right on truckin’ to the river at the north end. There, I did see a youngish blue heron again, but this time it scratched an itch instead of caught a fish.

While I was trying to line up a shot of the killdeer again, I saw a kingfisher fly north over the river, quieter and slower than usual, and then swoop up to its usual spot in the tall trees on the island. Just as I turned back to the killdeer, the kingfisher started squawking like mad, made an instant u-turn and fled for its life from a little raptor that had been waiting for it in that tree.

Well, the kingfisher managed to get away, and the raptor returned to the tree top so we could get a good look at it. It sure looks like a merlin, which we saw back in January and again in March, not the young peregrine falcon, whose parent, perhaps, we last saw on the TV tower back in July. Love to see it. Welcome back to Estabrook!

On my way back south, I think I caught a glimpse of a chirping chipping sparrow young white-crowned sparrow. It look’s like the Lincoln’s sparrow, but without the narrow black streaks on its head and with light wing bars. We’ll see. I’m sure someone will set me straight if I’m wrong.

At the same spot, a female downy woodpecker was busy foraging for breakfast.

By the stream that comes down from the pond, the chickadees were hard at work on the cutleaf coneflower again.

This one almost seems to be saying, “take a picture. It’ll last longer.” Ouch!

Finally, as I walked along the parkway to get home, I could here several nuthatches, and when I looked, I found four of them foraging noisily together right beside the walkway.

“What the chickadee said.”

Lastly, I gotta go setup for the Fish and Feather Festival in Hubbard Park, so I apologize in advance for the inevitable typos. Now the forecast is for less than a 25% chance of rain until 3pm, so I have a hope of staying dry, and I’d love to see you there.

Bye.

Wowza! That high pressure system parked over Michigan just keeps delivering the hits. What a morning it was in Estabrook, and if I were to ask for perfect weather, I don’t know what I would change.

Life on the pond continues with the new normal: a slew of wood ducks, one bright yellow duckling, and no herons, grebes, or mergansers.

The first sight to greet me at the river was this handsome red-tailed hawk Cooper’s hawk on a big log jutting out just over the water, and maybe it had been getting something to drink as I walked up.

At the north end, I was thrilled to see our new guests again. Yesterday, I posted the one picture I had gotten on Wednesday, and I thought it was a brown-headed cowbird. Luckily, diosaalx6 saw it and wrote in to tell me that it was a female rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) instead, which is a new bird for us in Estabrook. Yay! Thanks, diosaalx6!

Well, there were three or four of them back in the same spot today, and here is a male and female together,

Just a male,

And just a female.

A bit further on shore was another white-throated sparrow, and this one seemed to say, “that’s enough with the grey rocks, mud, and dead grass, already. How about including some pretty foliage in the background for a change? It’s autumn for crying out loud!”

Meanwhile, out on the water, a youngish-looking great blue heron had bigger fish to fry.

Oh, and there are still waterthrushes about, but this one wasn’t quite as bold as the one I saw on Wednesday.

On my way south, there were a group of grackles foraging in the woods above the trail, and this one somehow didn’t notice that I was taking its picture.

I had begun to think that we had seen our last warbler, not counting the waterthrush, of course, but look who I saw sampling the buckthorn berries just south of the falls. You can just make out the tell-tail yellow patch on its lower back that makes it a yellow-rumped warbler.

Given that its only got to fly to southern Illinois to reach its wintering grounds, we might be lucky enough to continue seeing them here for a while. Yay!

Finally, when I went out looking for butterflies Wednesday afternoon, I didn’t come home completely empty handed. Here’s a turkey vulture who was circling over the meadow by the river at the north end.

Lastly, when nature only gives us cabbage whites and sulphurs, I guess I’d better take pictures of cabbage whites and sulphurs, eh? Well, in that case, here’s a sulphur from this morning sipping nectar from the pretty little light-purple asters beside the Oak Leaf Trail.

PS. The hourly forecast for the Shorewood Fish & Feather Festival tomorrow is now “mostly cloudy” from 11-12, so if you’re planning on stopping by to say “hi”, and I sure hope you do, you might want to come earlier rather than later, but I’ll be there rain or shine.

I was so excited about all the stuff I saw yesterday that I forgot to check if that was my 400th park report before I published it. Well, it was, so we’re going to celebrate my 401st today instead. Ha!

As exciting as it was to see a beaver in the river again yesterday, can you even imagine seeing two?!?

The blue heron that was fishing on the rapids below the falls followed me up the river and stopped to check out the falls themselves as I approached.

Wood duck drakes in all their finery are showing up everywhere now, and here’s one on the river in some nice colors reflecting off the far shore.

There were at least three killdeer, and two of them passed by each other close enough for this fun shot.

Besides the killdeer, waterthrush, and robins, all out foraging on the rocks exposed by the low river water, it appears there was also a male brown-headed cowbird female rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) in the mix. Special thanks to diosaalx6 for pointing out my error.

Her yellow iris, light streak over the eye, and dark patch below the eye show up well in the bright morning sun, especially when I zoom in.

She’s on her way from Canada to wintering grounds that start right around here and continue all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Meanwhile, that same blue heron from the rapids and the falls continued north with me, and it finally caught something between the two islands.

Looks like a lot of grass…

but don’t worry. There’s a tasty little fish in there, too.

The white-throated sparrows are pretty close to their winter range, if not in it already, so they seem to be taking their time and are willing to strike a nice pose for us.

That bold waterthrush also caught something to eat.

And further south, another one even ventured right out onto the lily pads.

Finally, right on the other side of the path, a brown creeper was creeping up a tree trunk. They are also in or near their wintering grounds, so we might expect to see them for a while, if we can spot them. Did you manage to find the one I included in Sunday’s report?

Lastly, I had hoped to show you one last butterfly picture, and I even went out again yesterday afternoon to look for one on an aster in the warmth of the day, but I could only find cabbage whites and sulphurs, both of whom I’ve already featured lately. Darn. I guess we’ll have to wait till spring now.

See you in October!

I hit the park a little earlier than usual this morning, before sunrise, and mostly because I was awake anyway, but also to see if I’d been missing anything lately. You may have noticed that I’ve been waiting for enough light to get good warbler and vireo pictures, but we know there’s plenty of action before then.

Well, the first sight to greet me was a great blue heron fishing in the mist where the rapids resume after the big, wide, slow part of the river below the falls. What an absolute treat.

Here’s a close-up, in case you’re viewing this on your phone and can’t even see the heron in the image above.

As I was busy trying to decide just how wide to make that shot and also trying to catch the heron with its neck in that picturesque s-shape so it’s all backlit by the reflection off the water, look who just happened to swim by.

Yup. That’s our old pal, the beaver, who we haven’t seen in weeks. I guess that’s what I’ve been missing, eh?

At the north end, the killdeer were back, and the sun had finally come up to light the scene.

Another heron, this one with full, mature plumage, was taking a break from fishing and perhaps also warming its bones in the warm morning sun. It was a cold morning.

And a female hooded merganser, with quite the “hood” for a change, was busy fishing for crayfish, but I didn’t see her have any luck. Maybe that trio of youngsters ate them all a couple of weeks ago, but I hope not.

On shore, another young indigo bunting, with just a few hints of blue, was keeping tabs on me.

The big treat for me, though, was that there were more waterthrushes, and they were being way less coy than usual.

I’ve never seen one just stare me down like this before.

They’re on their way to southern Mexico or the rest of Central America, so maybe they were just super hungry.

On my way back south along the river, I was happy to see our goose couple with three good wings between them still looking otherwise healthy. The injured one rested while the other foraged nearby with four others, and after I stood on the shore a while trying to compose the perfect picture, it came over to check in and maybe suggest that I just keep it moving, Buddy. Sure thing, Pal!

Finally, if you’ve been to the park lately, you know that the squirrels have a ton of nuts to eat or hide before the snow flies, and this one was doing its part.

As has been the norm lately, I got a ton of pictures this morning, and I won’t have time for the park tomorrow, so I saved a few to post then, so be sure to tune in to see who else was on the prowl today.

Lastly, the forecast for the Shorewood Fish & Feather Festival this Saturday is now “cloudy in the morning with scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day,” so if you’re planning on stopping by to say “hi”, and I sure hope you do, you might want to come earlier rather than later.

It’s not light out yet, but the forecast high temperature for today is 67°, so not so much like summer anymore. Plus, I’ve gotta go to school today, so here are some more pictures from yesterday.

Besides all the kingfisher antics, this great blue heron was having some luck of its own fishing on the river.

There was also a cormorant out there, and as I was trying to get a picture of the heron and cormorant together, the third kingfisher, who had caught the fish, photobombed the shot.

Unfortunately, the cormorant wasn’t ready, so here’s a better one of the cormorant with the heron and a bonus mallard hen, but without the kingfisher. It was a regular wild kingdom out there yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, back on shore, the little birds were keeping just as busy. Here’s another Lincoln’s sparrow, now that we know who they are.

Here’s another red-eyed vireo trying to rustle up enough calories to take it all the way to the Amazon.

On my way back south along the river, I found another yellow-rumped warbler with its bright yellow “rump” and just a hint of the yellow they are supposed to have on their sides.

This looks like another yellow-rumped warbler opting not to show us any yellow at all. What give’s, guys? That’s your signature move.

Here are a couple more acrobatic kinglet shots, just to keep the chickadees on their toes.

I finally had to tear myself away from the river and head inland, and that’s where I met this hermit thrush showing off its cinnamon tail, which the Swainson’s thrushes do not have.

Lastly, the pink-edged sulphur from yesterday also sampled some sow thistle.

At one point, things got crowded.

I think that’s finally all of them. Stay tuned for tomorrow when I get to go back to the park, and the forecast is for more cool and calm air with a bright sun and a blue sky. Perfection!

It almost felt like summer again in Estabrook with temps starting in the 60s and quickly reaching the 70s under a warm sun and a picture-perfect blue sky.

The little yellow duckling was swimming around on the pond again this morning, along with nearly two dozen wood ducks, and here’s a handsome one.

There were no herons or anything else new, so I quickly moved on to the river. At the north end, I spotted this male and female belted kingfisher having an animated conversation in the top of a tree over the island.

As I was watching that drama unfold, a third kingfisher caught a fish in the river and landed on this log to choke it down. First the kingfisher thrashed the fish a few times to subdue it.

And then down the hatch it went.

Meanwhile, back on shore, the little birds were getting their breakfasts, too.

A golden-crowned kinglet was too busy foraging to pose as nicely as the one last week, but it did take a moment to show us its golden-crown.

Here’s a dark-eyed junco just back from summering in Canada and already in its wintering grounds. You’re here, little buddy! Welcome back! You made it! Yay!

As I was doing my best to capture a decent junco image as they stuck to the shaded riverbank, a blue heron landed in a well-lit branch on the far shore.

About halfway between the north and south end, at the base of the stairs down from the middle playground and where the stream from the pond reaches the river, is a nice big and wide low area, and this morning it was really abuzz. The acrobatic chickadees were feasting on cutleaf coneflower seeds again, but I’ve already shown you pictures of them the previous two days. Instead, check out this pretty little Nashville warbler.

Without taking a step, I could also see this an “nonbreeding adult/immature” palm warbler.

And, just when I thought we might have seen the last of them for the season, here’s a green heron out on the river.

Finally, I stopped by the patch of asters I discovered blooming beside the Oak Leaf Trail yesterday to look for butterflies again, and there was just this sulphur today. The two spots and pink fringe suggest its probably a pink-edged sulphur, maybe the same one as before.

Lastly, since I’ve gotta go to school in the morning, and so many pictures came out presentable this morning, I’ve saved some for tomorrow. Check in then for the rest of what I saw today.

It was another stunningly beautiful early autumn morning in Estabrook Park, and for reasons that it’s best I don’t get into, I skipped the pond and went straight to the river.

I didn’t even make it to the water before this chipper looking flycatcher, probably an eastern wood-pewee, caught my eye as it soaked up the morning sun.

Right below the pee-wee, so that I barely had to take a step, this female rose-breasted grosbeak helpfully showed us both sides to aid with our identification. What a sweetheart, eh?

Just around the corner, this chickadee was at it again.

And as I was trying to capture the full extent of the chickadee’s acrobatic prowess, this little chipmunk seemed to say, “sure, but who’s cuter?”

As I pondered that question, a movement caught my eye. Can you see who it was? Click here if you’re stumped.

Meanwhile, this bright red cardinal with a contrasting black ring around its beak scoffed, “disguises are for wusses!”

Phew! That’s a lot of action for 20 feet of trail. Luckily for me, things were pretty quiet from then on until I reached the north end. There, as I was trying to keep track of some darty little bird in a tree up ahead, I could hear something making a big ruckus on the water, and I turned just in time to catch this gorgeous sight.

When I mentioned big fish splashing in the water a week or so ago, long-time reader, Drew, wrote in to suggest salmon, so that’s my guess for today.

I had hardly returned my attention to the little bird in the tree when this majestic creature, who appears to be a red-tailed hawk, soared overhead.

I never did get a decent look at that little bird in the tree, but by then things had warmed up enough on the ground for the asters to be full of bumblebees…

and butterflies, like this green-eyed sulphur of some type. The two circles on its wings and hints of pink around the edges makes me wanna go with pink-edged sulphur.

On my way back south, the water below the falls was full of fly-fishing people, and so I was quite surprised to see this, usually very shy, great blue heron just above the falls and seeming to yawn in their direction.

I did want to check in on our new, yellow duckling, so I hiked over to the pond to find it alive, well, and sound asleep on the far shore.

While right offshore another blue heron stretched one of its huge wings.

By then the farmers market was in full swing, so I headed down the Oak Leaf Trail to avoid the crowds, and I spotted another soaring raptor just across Wilson Dr. The picture’s not as good, so I’m including it just for completeness, but the prominent banding on its wings and tail, which you can still make out despite the blur, make me think that it’s a Cooper’s hawk.

Meanwhile, right at my feet, this tiny blue butterfly, which appears to be an eastern tailed-blue with its wing tails warn off, spread its wings to catch some sun.

Once again, I didn’t have to take a step to find another striking blue creature, this damselfly, who I believe is a common blue damselfly, aka common bluet, or northern bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum)

I know that’s a lot of pictures, but the forecast is for nice weather again tomorrow, so I expect even more pictures, and I’ve gotta get these out the door to make room. Plus, Tom assured me that I “never post too many pictures!” So here we are.

Oh yeah, before I forget again, one of my followers on instagram, chimed in on that sparrow I showed you on Friday and claims that it is an adult Lincoln’s sparrow, and sure enough, the pattern of gray, brown, and black stripes on its head matches. It ain’t from around here, and is just passing through on its way from the UP or Canada to the states along the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s our picture again, just to over do it, but remember what Tom said.

How you like them apples?

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!