Last year, on Easter Sunday, I clearly remember searching high and low in vain for a rabbit picture, just cuz, and this year, almost the first thing I saw as I entered the park is this little cutie, working hard to help to keep the lawn look neat and trim at the Benjamin Church House. Of a dozen pictures, this is one of the few in which it took a brief break from the buffet to look my way.

If that weren’t special enough, wait till you see this next one. The weather was so gorgeous yesterday afternoon, that I took another quick swing by the pond, and look how I found there. Our first painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) of 2021, just 3 days earlier than last year.

And if you thought that was amazing, hold onto your hats, because here comes the first butterfly of 2021, a mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) freshly up from its long winter’s nap and trying to soak a little sun on the pavement of the Oak Leaf Trail. I read that they “have a lifespan of 11 to 12 months, one of the longest lifespans for any butterfly,” and that “the adult butterflies hibernate during the winter months … making it one of the first butterflies to take wing in the spring!”

Almost as amazing as seeing this beautiful creature, to me, is the crazy confluence of events that lead to me getting this picture. It starts last fall, if you can believe it, is when I first spotted one as I rode by on my bicycle, and I was so surprised to see a butterfly so late in the season that I immediately looked up what it might have been when I got home. That’s when I learned that they hibernate instead of migrating.

Fast forward 6 months, and when Anne got home from her bike ride yesterday, she said she saw a black butterfly. The image of a mourning cloak popped right into my head, and I had no hope of going out to find it for myself, but I went for a bike ride anyway. Sure enough, it jumped off the pavement just as I approached, and I hopped of my bike to try to get a picture with my phone, but had no luck. I think it got stuck to the shirt of a rider going the other way and I couldn’t find it.

So I continued my ride, and on my return, there it was again, a bit further south. This time, I hopped of my bike, whipped out my phone, chased right after it, and it soon settled down on the pavement one more time. Finally, I was on my hands and knees in the middle of the path taking this picture, when a couple sped past and startled it yet again. I couldn’t find it after that, but I did have a picture, and I absolutely cannot believe my luck.

Okay, one last tidbit. There was just a paper published this year about how butterflies bolt into the air so quickly. They actually shoot a jet of air out from between their wings as they clap them together.

Back to the pictures! Here’s our first bee of 2021.

Here’s our first belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) who appeared finally to be trying to get down to fishing from this birch tree over the river and not just rocketing past me on the wing.

Here are a couple of new shots of a female northern flicker from this morning.

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Here’s another nice violet and another new blossom just up in the forest along the river, which my sources tell me is Rue Anemone (Isopyrum thalictroides)

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Finally, I am sad to report that our heroes on the southern tip of the island in the pond appear to have stopped incubating. She was off her nest yesterday afternoon, and I wasn’t too worried because it was a nice warm day to cover her eggs and take a quick break. She was off her nest again this morning, however, and just snoozing on the west lawn, so that’s not a good sign.

Meanwhile, the goose on the northern tip was still on her nest this morning, so we still have a hope for goslings on the pond near the end of April. A pair of wood ducks were also around, so we can also have a hope that she’s using one of the two nesting boxes on the island, and we might see a wood duckling, too, but that will be much later.

Lastly, I spotted this fun bit of beetle art, so here you go. I read it was likely caused by “one of about 6,000 species in 247 genera of beetles in the subfamily Scolytinae,” so that’s about as far as I plan to dig into that topic.

I bumped into Charles again this morning, and he reported spotting a yellow-rumped warbler, so I have a hope of seeing one soon, too.

One was the best of sites. One was the worst of sites. That’s as far as the wordplay goes.

Here’s a male red-bellied woodpecker showing off his fine nesting site in hopes of attracting a mate. He made it look very easy-in, easy-out, and note how the hole faces downward so that it is sheltered from the elements. Very nice, and ready for immediate occupancy, although it is probably not yet furnished.

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Here’s a less-fortunate red-bellied woodpecker fending off a starling that had the gall to show up with nesting material in its beak! At first, I was just trying to get a decent picture of a starling, but then when the woodpecker dove in and messed up my shot. I noticed, however, that neither were taking off, so I continued to try for a picture, and I finally realized what was going on. Starlings are known for stealing nesting holes that woodpeckers make, and this hapless chap chose a spot that starlings like. I hear they are relentless, and I hope he has better luck next time.

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Phew! After all those acrobatics, let’s see what else was going on.

Our heroes are still incubating on the southern tip of the island in the pond, a second goose was either laying another egg or finally incubating on the northern tip, and the carp are back in school at last, despite the apparent die-off over the winter! Thanks to my buddy Dan for spotting the carp for me.

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The northern flickers are seemingly everywhere now, and here are a couple more of shots of a female again.

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The geese and mallards are as plentiful on the river as ever, and the buffleheads and one goldeneye are still around.

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I finally got a more-appropriately-colorful picture of a goldfinch singing the most cheerful song and on its way to becoming bright yellow.

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Lastly, another new blossom is up beside the maintenance building south of the pond, but what it is called is still a mystery to me. They’re not snow drops (Galanthus) because they don’t hang down. They’re not spring snowflakes (Leucojum vernum) because they don’t hang down and they don’t have little green spots on the petals. I don’t think they’re musli (Chlorophytum tuberosum) because the petals aren’t pointed at the ends. If you can identify this pretty little flower, please let us all know!

Yikes, it was cold out this morning. I wish I had worn my good winter mittens. The soil was quite crunchy with needle ice in places, and this goose, who appears to have spent the night snoozing on the mudflats by the river, had a nice heavy coating of frost on its back and wing feathers.

Also on the river were the young goldeneye, Mrs. Gadwall, one wood duck drake, several mallards, and a slew of geese. In the picture below with the two hens, can you tell which is the gadwall and which is the mallard? They don’t make it easy.

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The biggest sighting of the morning, however, was this northern flicker, who we first spotted back in the park just yesterday. There were even two of them, at first, but one soon amscrayed.

What an absolutely magical afternoon in the park. Holy mackerel! Off the bluff, beside the river, the cool breeze from the lake was gone, the sun was warm and bright, the sky was deep blue, and the birds were everywhere!

I encountered several groups of golden-crowned kinglets (Regulus satrapa), incessantly hopping from branch to branch almost silently as they searched for a bite to eat. Here’s a sampling of what I saw.

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I had gone to the park in hopes of finding a newly-golden gold finch because I saw several on my walk to campus this morning but only had my phone with me at the time. Sadly, this was the best I could do, but you can definitely see the new color coming in. I’ll get you a better picture soon.

I also had a hope of finding some skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), which I had heard is now up. It took me all the way to the north end of the park to find some, and here it is.

Meanwhile, back on the trail, the brown creepers are also plentiful now. It is mesmerizing to watch them creep up a tree, so come see them while they last.

Further south, I spotted our first killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) in the park. Woo Hoo!

It turns out that there were two of them, and they made their characteristic call when they took off. I believe they nest on the open ground under the solar farm across the river.

While I was trying to keep tabs on the killdeer as it kept walking away, this mallard hen seemed so unperturbed, I just had to take her picture.

Just south of the southern staircase, I happened upon Gina Szablewski, who posts pictures on Instagram for Friends of Estabrook Park, and she asked me if I’d seen any flickers or sapsuckers yet, because they should be here by now, but I hadn’t.

Well, not 50 feet down the path, look who showed up, our first northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) and our first yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) of the season. Ha!

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As I kept trying for a better shot of the sapsucker, I got it mixed up with a downy woodpecker, so now I have a ton of pictures of a downy woodpecker, who has a much whiter belly.

Here’s one last little cutie who stopped by to watch me struggle my camera, and he or she is either a veery or a hermit thrush, but we’ve been through this before.

Okay, okay. Last find. I spotted this beauty while I was hunting around beside the stream looking for skunk cabbage. It pays to look, eh?

After that warm spell we’ve just had, two more park denizens have emerged from their winter hibernation, these daffodils by the Church House and these glories-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa forbesii) in front of the maintenance building. Yay!

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There is not much to report from the pond. There is only one goose clearly incubating, and the rest are still sorting things out. A few mallards and a few wood ducks seem to come and go on some schedule I do not know. I didn’t even take any pictures.

The situation on the river is similar, but I did manage a better-than-usual picture of the buffleheads, and I spotted what appears to be a nonbreeding male hooded merganser, from the looks of his bright yellow eye.

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Along the river, plenty of little birds are active.

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Lastly, some trees are already done with their blossoms, which now form a pretty orange carpet on the oxbow pond beside the river.

I can’t wait to see what April brings.

It was an odd morning in Estabrook. The temperature was mild enough, but the wind was still quite gusty. The sun was mostly out, but the sky wasn’t very blue. I heard and glimpsed a kingfisher again, but didn’t manage to capture an image yet.

I did finally manage to find wood ducks up in a tree, a sight which eluded me all last summer. They started out low, on a log over the oxbow beside the river.

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And then they went quite high.

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When I first got to the pond, it seemed that nobody was there, but it turns out that our heroes were indeed in their spot on the southern tip of the island, a second couple were actively working on a nest on the northern tip, and a third couple were still trying to decide if they were going to make a go of it halfway in between. Nobody was on the water, and all the other couples and that one oddball appear to have finally moved on,.

When I came back for a second visit the only change was that a few wood ducks had flown in to search for whatever anyone might have left on the lawn.

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There was the usually chorus of chickadees, robins, cardinals, juncos, and woodpeckers throughout the park, but nobody was in a posing mood this morning. Instead, I found this tiny patch of moss growing in a natural planter and glowing in the early morning sun, and that’s gonna have to be your splash of color for today.

Our latest arrival in the park this morning is this little chipmunk beside the Oak Leaf Trail. I read that they hibernate for the winter and are now re-emerging. I’ve spotted them a few times over the past week or two throughout the park, but this was the first one to sit still a bit for me. Actually, there were two of them, and they both seemed torn between chasing each other and freezing so I wouldn’t see them.

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The geese are all still doing their thing on the pond. The goose on the southern tip of the island is still incubating, and the one on the northern tip is perhaps still laying. The were at least two more couples, and their clocks have got to be ticking now. Time to lay eggs or find another spot.

Oddly, there wasn’t a duck on the pond this morning during either of my visits, but happily, there are still ducks on the river, and the goldeneye odd-couple seem to have joined forces with the buffleheads. Mallards are still plentiful.

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Lastly, the cardinals are still staking out their territory as loudly as ever, and since the sky finally started to turn blue again this morning, here’s your splash of color.

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I only managed to document one new arrival today, and it’s this little brown creeper (Certhia americana) whom I found methodically creeping up tree trunks beside the river.

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I also spotted, but failed to capture, a group of three cranes, probably sand hill, flying high and drifting south fast in the high winds, and what looked to be a pair of blue-winged teals on the river. The white stripe on his face really gives it way, but I was just too slow on the draw again.

On the pond, our heroes are still sitting on and guarding their nest on the southern tip of the island, and nobody was on the northern tip. I read that it can take several days to lay a clutch of eggs, and the goose will not start incubating until they are all laid so that they will all hatch at about the same time. Perhaps that’s what’s going on here.

The wood ducks were nowhere I could see when I first arrived, but I counted five of them when I returned. They seem to like hanging out with Canada geese. I read that geese make good guard animals, and maybe the wood ducks take advantage of that.

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Finally, as I was watching the wood ducks on the pond, it occurred to me that we haven’t seen Mrs. Gadwall in a while, I wonder if she finally continued on, and that’s right when I spotted her.

It was a fine morning for ducks, geese, or anyone else wearing a full-body dry-suit, cold with on-and-off precipitation. Nevertheless, I found a gap in the green blob on the radar, so where we go.

There are still 4 couples and a 9th wheel of geese on the pond, and a second couple appears to have settled in for the long haul on the far northeast tip of the island. Maybe that means we’ll get two sets of goslings by the end of April. Yay! Can you even imagine?

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Meanwhile, the other couples keep vying for a site, and preparing for when they get one.

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The wood ducks seem to be settled in as well. Today there were two drakes and a hen. She’s always more adventurous than those showboats, coming right up on the lawn, along with the geese and the mallards, to check on what I might have brought, perhaps because she expects to need the calories more. I always explain to all of them, though, that I don’t have anything for them because anything I could bring wouldn’t be good for them, and they’re mistaking me for the old guy who visits in the afternoon.

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I didn’t see as much of the river as usual, due to all the recent rain and ensuing mud, but I did happen upon this endearing little scene. I guess if she’s gonna have a showboat, she wants him to look the part.

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There were plenty of mallards about, as usual. They’re like robins, quite sticking in appearance really, but so successful that they hardly even register anymore.

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Finally, I did find some new splashes of color despite the grey skies and water. Here they are.

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PS. Long time reader and previous guest contributor, Prof. Erica Young, has sent in another amazing sighting. Keep your eyes peeled and your camera ready!

That’s right, boys and girls, it was exactly 1 year ago today that I breathlessly fired off an email message to a few friends and family whom I thought might be interested to learn that there was a wood duck on the pond in Estabrook Park. Before then, I didn’t even know wood ducks existed, let alone what they looked like, or the fact that I could find them after a short walk from my front door.

But look at us now! We’ve seen 87 species, not counting fish, bugs, and sundry other creepy-crawlies because I haven’t gotten around to counting them all yet. I’ve taken 19,225 pictures, published 244 posts, and there are 75 of us, including me. Besides all the fantastic critters, I’ve found 2 tasty cans of park beer, several cans of park beans, a baggie of park oregano, 2 park folding knives, 1 fine pair of National Geographic^TM branded park binoculars, which I now use almost every day, countless park fishing tackle, a bunch of park money (including a 50,000 Indonesian Rupiah note now worth $3.47 US because I didn’t trade it in when I could), several dozen park nerf darts, and all kinds of other park junk that Anne wishes I would just throw away. But Honey, these are my treasures!

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Thanks to all of you for coming along on this adventure, and now onward to today’s activity! It would have been cool to have a picture today of something amazing, like a coyote catching a mallard from the river or a bald eagle catching a fish from the pond, but that is not how nature works, it seems. She’s got her own schedule, and all we can do is observe.

Alright, alright, I’ll stop typing and show you some pictures. At the top of the list is our first wee kinglet of the season, golden crowned by the looks of it, searching for a snack on its way to breeding grounds that start just upstate and continue all the way to Hudson Bay.

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Next stop is the pond, where the goose shake-out continues, but our heroes seem to be holding on to their prime spot on the island. This ain’t their first rodeo, after all, and given how far she can reach her head down into her nest, she might already have some eggs in there, for all we know. She was at this operation long enough for me to get 7 pictures before she sat back down. Oh man, I sure hope that means 7 eggs!

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Meanwhile, on the river, I spotted the buffleheads again, who immediately made a beeline out of range, our goldeneye odd-couple, lots of geese and mallards, and 2 pair of wood ducks.

Here’s the best shot I have showing the 2 goldeneyes so you can see that there really are two of them, and one has a yellow tip on her beak while the other one doesn’t. The second picture is just nicer, and shows how crowded the best spots on the river can get, but the kid turned his head at the last second. Isn’t that always how it is, Dads?

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Here’s a shot of a wood duck drake and hen standing on the shore of the northern island, which a goose decided to photobomb at the last second.

Finally, as I headed out this morning, Anne asked if I was going to try to recreate that first photo from a year ago. Well, no, if only because it was not such a great picture, but I did manage to capture an image of another wood duck on the pond anyway. Ha!

And he’s gonna have to be your splash of color, too, because I didn’t see any new blossoms today. The snowdrops, crocuses, Siberian squill, and alpine squill are all still in bloom, so get out there and see them while you can!

PS. If you’d like your own pre-chilled park beer, a crew has been working on the Estabrook Park Beer Garden this week, and they say they are “currently targeting an open date in the first weeks of April.” See you there!