And just to keep things interesting, a female or juvenile common merganser (Mergus merganser), which I don’t believe we’ve seen in the park before, was heading down river this morning. After I caught just enough of a glimpse with my binoculars to know it was something special, I had to drop everything and sprint down the river trail to get along side of it for even this not-too-great image. Yay! Something new.
I also saw three blue herons fly by and was lucky enough to stumble across one pausing to get a bite and who appears to be a juvenile, which we haven’t seen before, either.
Wow. That’s a lot of waterfowl all of a sudden. Happily, there were some bugs out and about to mix things up a bit. First up is our old buddy, the silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus). This morning he chose Queen Anne’s Lace to pose on and got photobombed by a bee.
Oh, and I collected my winnings from MKEBrewHero this morning. I don’t have any pictures, but they took some, and I’ll include a link if and when they post them.
I haven’t seen a duckling in days, and I hope, as I know you do too, that they merely moved on to fresher water, but I definitely don’t mean “to a pond upstate.” The river is getting pretty low, and the oxbow pond must be getting pretty stale now that it is isolated from the river, so let’s all suppose the ducklings are just out exploring new parts of the river that I can’t get to.
I did see one wood duck hen on the pond and a couple of mallard hens on a sandbar in the river this morning.
The most exciting sighting today was another red squirrel, this time by the pond. He seemed quite upset about something, and here he is asking me if I’m talking to him.
Also, the juvenile sandpiper appears to be getting more comfortable in front of the camera, and here he is practicing his crane kick.
Since I was already picking up litter and taking pictures, I figured starting to post some on Instagram wasn’t that much more of a hurdle. Okay, okay, now the fun part, at least for me. They have drawings to see who gets some swag, and you’ll never guess who was the winner of the “FIRST official drawing for the Brew Hero program at Milwaukee County Parks!”
I did see the doe and fawn again today, but they were in the brush, and neither were in the mood for hanging out, so no pictures. Instead, all I’ve got for you is bugs.
Man, when there are two butterflies of the same species, either male and male, or male and female, good luck having anyone sit still long enough for a picture. Instead, all I got was endless hyjinx like this.
And there you have it. Nothing but butterflies on purple coneflowers today. Maybe tomorrow I’ll find something brown or grey for you.
Red was on a mission, but I think maybe the landscape has changed since he last came this way, and he was not going to like what he found. Therefore, with the Farmers Market imminent, I violated the Prime Directive once again, and brought Red back to a better spot on the river, where I have seen several other turtles before. Happily, Anne just happened to be nearby and recorded my transgression.
Red was pretty funny. He’d just hang out, looking around, as I hiked along the trail until he could hear or see water. Then his claws went wild, and I had to hold on tight. As we neared the big mudflats I had in mind, we crossed yet one more stream, and he really let me have it. I didn’t actually drop him, but if I didn’t set him down right away, I might have. I grabbed my camera in hopes of getting a goodbye shot, maybe with him looking over his shoulder at me with a tear in his eye, but he was not having it. I thought maybe I’d done enough damage for today, and I just let him go.
Here’s hoping that he likes the new spot on the river better than the one he left and can now stay put until next time. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to find what he’s looking for east of the parkway.
Anyway, the monarchs sure seemed to be in a photogenic mood this morning because they were posing everywhere. Here they are on purple coneflower, on swamp milkweed, and on bull thistle.
It was another fabulous morning in Estabrook Park, and I was just walking up the middle of the parkway, which has been close to car traffic since Memorial Day weekend, and I was approaching the middle parking lot, when this young deer, still sporting spots, simply could not figure out what to make of me. I’m gonna guess he’s a male, based on what look to be two pedicles on the top of his head.
His mom came out once, early on, to check out the situation, but seemed less than thrilled, and quickly headed back into the brush. It happens. Our young hero, on the other hand, seemed to be having the time of his life and pranced out twice to give me a closer look, coming all the way to the curb one time. I did my best to act like this was just a normal thing and nothing to get excited about.
What an adventure he looked to be having, and what an absolute treat he was for me to watch.
His was not the only debut this morning, either. Here are two more striking new blossoms on the slope up from the falls to the beer garden. On the top/left appears to be Royal catchfly (Silene regia), which is supposed to be “pollinated by the ruby-throated hummingbird“, so we’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for that; and bottom/left is a mystery that I cannot yet solve. Drop me a line if you have a good guess.
Finally, long-time-reader Gary commented on yesterday’s report that “an avid fisherman friend of mine verified that although that school of tiny fish you keep seeing are technically a type of catfish, they are actually baby bullheads. And darn cute bullheads they are. Much cuter now than when they grow up.”
It was another gorgeous morning in the park with cool air, calm winds, and sunny skies. Most of the critters were laying low, it seems, and I didn’t see a single duck. There were at least 3 belted kingfishers, however, on the same branch as yesterday, but the pictures aren’t even as good, so I’ll spare you.
Okay, onto our first new arrival of the day. Say hello to spotted water hemlock, spotted parsley, spotted cowbane, or what the Iroquois call suicide root (Cicuta maculata), “a highly poisonous species of flowering plant in the carrot family” growing down by the river.
Next up is the relatively nondescript common nettle or stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), also growing by the river, which I only noticed after I rubbed up against it. The Pedia of Wik reports that it has “many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on the leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation upon contact (“contact urticaria”, a form of contact dermatitis).” A couple hours later and after a shower, I can still feel the sting along my left arm and leg. Yowza!
Finally, I spotted another school of catfish, this time in the river.
Oh, before I forget, Anne and I went out for what might be our last look at comet Neowise last evening, and on the way were thrilled to see the aerial acrobatics of several bats for the first time this year. With the binoculars, we did see the comet, although it has dimmed, and also picked out a couple of Jupiter’s moons. All-in-all, it was a great night for observations.
It was a nice cool morning and a good thing that I could wear long pants and sleeves because man-o-man the mosquitos are getting thick out there! I sprayed insect repellent straight on my face after getting bit in my eyebrow! Luckily, I thought to close my eyes first. At least I stayed out of the water this time.
After doing my best with the sandpiper, I heard the call of abelted kingfisher down stream, and I took a look just in time to catch this scene. That’s a male (upper left without a “chestnut belly band”) delivering a nice, big, fresh fish to a young female (lower right with a “chestnut belly band”). That’s a sweet father-daughter moment, eh?
I watched him deliver fish twice, and then I tried to move down river myself for a better shot. He called once in a while, but he never came back before I gave up. I did have a much better shot, but she seemed just as tired of waiting as I was. You know how teenagers get when waiting for food, right?
The good news is that I was treated to this spectacle for my troubles. Canada geese! Remember them?
I’ll spare you the suspense and report that the biggest down was me falling into the river. Don’t worry! The camera is fine, and I’ll dry out. I did manage to get this picture, however, of the mallard hen with her two nearly-grown ducklings before I went in. We’ve seen them a few times before at the big mud flats down the bank from the southern playground.
I cleaned up as best I could and continued north until I came upon this pair of spotted sandpipers (Actitis macularius) on our side of the river for a change. On the left/top, without spots, appears to be a juvenile, and on the right/bottom, with spots, appears to be a breeding adult.
As I’m trying to get shots of these skittish birds, which we’ve been after for weeks, guess who shows up.
That’s right! The three mallards that watched me fall in just 10 minutes before. I guess they figure I must be completely harmless after that stunt.
Better yet, they marched right up onto the path and into the weeds on the east side. I eventually gave up on continuing north and backtracked to go around them. Little stinkers are getting bold!
Here’s mom keeping an eye on me while her kids have their second breakfast.
I finally reached the oxbow pond north of the falls and found our mallard family with the yellow duckling, and this morning mom and all five ducklings are back together! Woo Hoo! Maybe junior just felt off and was self-quarantining for the day, eh?
Once they see me, well, then it’s bath time, of course, and after their bath, they march right up the bank, which is pretty steep at this point, and onto the path! What the heck did I step in this morning, besides the river, right?
Here’s the second mom this morning suggesting that I go around! What the heck is growing on the east side of the path today? Ducknip?
And there you have it. I sure am as glad as you all must be to see those five siblings back together again. Yay!
A few birds seem much more willing to pose for a picture recently. From top/left to bottom/right, we’ve got an American goldfinch, who we last saw on some Canada thistle; what appears to be an juvenile eastern phoebe, whose elders I’ve never seen sit still for so long; and our new best buddy, the indigo bunting, showing off his blue wings this time so we know for sure he’s not a blue grosbeak.
Finally, the sad news. The wood duck hen was by herself on the pond again this morning, and of the five mallard ducklings, including the yellow one, only four remain. 😢
So it goes, I guess. Perhaps that the price for having minks.
Our top story today is that Anne took me out to the south parking lot of Estabrook Park to see the Neowise comet last evening, and we found it pretty easily with the help of some binoculars, right below the big dipper as advertised. That’s the first time I’ve seen the tail of a comet with my own eyes, and I highly recommend it.
Meanwhile, this morning in the park, there was a sole wood duck hen on the pond but no duckling, and we all hope against hope that the duckling was just elsewhere, right? And ha! Check out the frog photobombing our picture that I only just now noticed.
The family of mallards with the one yellow duckling were on the oxbow pond by the river, and that yellow one really seems to like staying in the water long after mom and the four siblings have hit the weeds. It will be fascinating to see what it gets for adult coloration, eh?
Finally, some bald-faced hornets (Dolichovespula maculata) are expanding a nest in the little fruit tree on the northeast lawn of the pond. Sorry, but I’m not getting any closer.
And that rounds out today’s top stories. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 
