Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

A short-eared owl at Killsnake

The December thaw continues to deepen this morning in Estabrook Park, and the air is full of moisture, either falling from the thick cloud cover above, or rising off the snow below into the warm air, so it’s not a great morning for taking pictures. Instead, let me show you some from a little field trip I got to take yesterday afternoon.

It turns out that there is a state wildlife area called “Killsnake” about 70 miles north of here near Chilton, WI. “The property is approximately 7,000 acres and consists of a variety of open prairie grasslands, both upland and a large wetland-grassland complex, bottomland hardwood forest, a small area of cedar swamp, tamarack and bog,” and it also turns out that short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) appear to love it in the winter time.

They have been spotted in Estabrook at least one time before, but that was back in 2023, and no one has reported seeing one there since. So, John, who has often led our weekly wildlife walks when I’ve been out of town, suggested we drive up to Killsnake to see them, and conditions looked favorable yesterday afternoon, with seasonably mild temps, a light breeze, and clear skies. Dennis, who has joined us on many walks, was kind enough to drive and got us there right at 3pm.

At that point, there were no owls, nor any other birds to be seen, but there were 40 (that’s right, forty!) cars parked along the edge of the roads at a T-junction in the middle of a huge field. Given the number of cars, I believe it is safe to guess that there were 40-60 people standing around, and the camera equipment they had brought with them was worthy of an NFL football game, except that much of it was wrapped in camo weather protection. These folks were serious.

We all just stood around and made chit-chat while scanning the skies periodically until right around 3:20. That’s when a single owl casually flew in and perched on a handy clump of driftwood that someone had placed just 30 feet from the road. Then the only sound I heard was the beeps confirming focus lock and the click, clack, clunk of shutters opening and closing.

If you had some video of the event and told me that it was a performance by a tamed and trained owl in front of a crowd of paying customers, I’d believe you. The crowd was very well behaved, nobody stepped off the road, nobody ran, voices were muted, but I can still hardly believe how undisturbed the owl appeared. As I mentioned it was a huge field, there were plenty of other perches, but it plopped down right in front of us. On top of that, the lighting was perfect, and the background was gorgeous. A commercial operation would be hard pressed to equal the setting or the performer.

The owl did fly around a bit and checked out some other perches, and I did try my hardest to capture it in flight, but this was the best I could come up with. Dennis, on the other hand, has some stunning shots, which you can see on his flickr page.

The owl even caught a small mammal, and you can just see the tip of its tail hanging down below the driftwood perch in bottom of this picture. I heard people murmur about seeing owls gulping down their dinner in the past, but yesterday it hopped to the ground behind the driftwood, instead, to eat in a bit of privacy.

Before the sun dipped below the horizon, at 4:16, the owl gave us a couple more poses, and then it started its evening hunt in earnest. My equipment really doesn’t capture enough light for that, so I was free just to watch it go. What an absolutely marvelous sight.

Soon after that, the temperature really started to drop, everyone started packing up to head home, and we did the same. Thanks again to John and Dennis for providing me with the opportunity to witness such a magical sight.

Finally, I see that winter is schedule to resume tomorrow, at least for a day, so I’ll be back in Estabrook to see what’s new, and I’ll be sure to let you know.

Lastly, if you’re new to this project (thanks for joining us!) or have otherwise missed my explanation for the double images, you can read all about it here: https://signsoflifeinestabrookpark.net/images/

A December thaw…

I love a cold and snowy winter as much as the next guy, maybe even more. Why else would I live in Wisconsin, right? Nevertheless, I sure did enjoy a morning in Estabrook Park with temps above freezing, nearly still air, and a warm sun. It would appear that the critters did, too.

I’ve been waiting for this first sight since ice first started forming on the river, and today was the day I finally got to see a beaver up on that ice. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of one since July. They have been leaving signs, for sure, but nothing beats seeing one in the flesh.

Even better, this one gave us a bit of a show as it stood up on its haunches to look down river. I can’t tell if it was looking for a mate, food, or a predator, and it wouldn’t say.

Farther upstream, the winter wren was out again, and this time it let me sneak a nicer picture.

Back out on the river, another furry critter was up on the ice, a muskrat this time, and it was on a mission.

Here’s a short video of it hustling along.

Finally, this immature Cooper’s hawk was leaving the pond to the adults and perusing the menu at the meadow by the islands instead.

That’s all I’ve got for you today, and if you venture out to look for yourself, let me warn you that conditions were slipperier this morning than any day this month. After the warm up yesterday, it was cool and clear enough overnight for radiant cooling to freeze everything back up by sunrise, and I suspect the frozen ground is acting like the refrigeration system under a skating rink, so the river trail was more like a ribbon of ice than ever. The paved paths weren’t much better. Things may change as the day continues to warm, but be careful out there!

Catch-up day, perhaps…

It was a very nice morning in Estabrook Park, with temps in the positive teens, for the first time in a while, a light breeze, and mostly clear skies. The critters, however, were making themselves scarce for some reason that I don’t really know. Perhaps they were all just too busy making up for lost time to pose for any pictures today.

This image of an eastern cotton tail on the island in the pond was the best I could do.

The good news is that I had plenty of time to take advantage of the mild temps and thick ice to collect the two wood duck nesting boxes that had fallen from the trees on which they had been installed. They appear to be in pretty good shape, but I’ll give them a good checking out once the snow melts off of them, and then mount them back where they belong when conditions permit again. With any luck, that will get us wood duck ducklings on the pond again this summer.

It is supposed to break 32°F soon and stay above freezing into tomorrow morning, so it will be fascinating to see what the river trails are like then. Perhaps the critters will have gotten all caught up on their calorie intake by then, too, and I’ll be able to get a few more pictures for you. Keep your fingers crossed!

Ducks on ice…

We had two folks join the weekly wildlife walk this morning, despite the cold, which is a 100% increase over the previous two weeks. Woo hoo! What we didn’t have, however, was critters posing for pictures. The most notable sighting was probably the young bald eagle, whom we saw gliding over the river several times, but we never saw it land.

The next most interesting sight was probably this American black duck drake. He has a light, yellow bill, instead of the dark, olive bill of the hen we saw last week. Thankfully, by the time we spotted the duck, near the end of our walk, the sun had finally found a hole in the cloud deck and lit up the scene wonderfully. That’s a mallard drake snoozing right behind him, and a mallard hen preening behind the mallard drake, for those of you keeping score at home.

And that’s the whole show for today, I’m sorry to say. I see that we’re in for a warm-up over the coming days, so maybe that will shake things up a bit, and I’ll find something new to show you soon. Wish me luck!

The current deep freeze bottoms out…

The temperature this morning in Estabrook Park was the negative of yesterday’s, and the breeze was still blowing pretty good, so the wind chill was down into the negative twenties. Yikes! I’ve certainly felt colder, but I’m not sure if I have in December. At least the sky was clear and the sun was out, so I could start nice and early!

Here’s a look at that sun just after it cleared the bluff and started to light up the mallards dabbling in the open river water, where the mild rapids resume below the falls. You can also see the layer of steam rising off the relatively warm water and blowing downstream.

You’d think the park would have been pretty empty, and you’d be mostly right, at least along the river, but up on the bluff folks were warming up for the “Candy Cane Course 5K & 12K,” which I’m sure sounded like a good idea when they signed up. Anyway, the river wasn’t quite empty either, and here’s a robin perched right at the edge of the ice to take some sips of water.

The flocks of house sparrows and house finches that visit the pond when it’s cold enough were noisy today, despite this Cooper’s hawk lurking in the trees. Perhaps they had collectively decided that if the hawk was going to do something, it would have already done so, and they might as well get back to twittering while the hawk waits for the sun to warm it up.

Finally, it took a while for the woodpeckers to become active, but once the temperature rose to zero, I started to hear them, and here’s a male red-~~breasted~~-bellied getting to work on digging up some breakfast.

Lastly, temps are supposed to be all the way up into the teens for our weekly wildlife walk tomorrow morning, although the breeze will still be blowing, and the sky will have clouded up. So, put on your good coat, your Yaktrax®, or the equivalent, and come on out to see the common mergansers and maybe the American black duck or some bald eagles. I’ll see you at 8 in the beer garden parking lot.

A little excitement on a cold day…

It was a chilly morning in Estabrook Park, with the thermometer at 3°F for sunrise, despite a blanket of clouds that prevented the sun from warming things up much. At least the wind didn’t feel too bad in most places.

My first surprise of the day was finding the muskrat up on the ice again, in almost the same spot as yesterday, despite the drop in temperature. Just seeing that bare tail sitting out on the ice in the open like that gives me a chill.

The next picture worth taking came at the pond, where this “Oregon form” dark-eyed junco was on break from collecting seeds.

Finally, for Estabrook, there were also a pair of American tree sparrows at the pond, whom I don’t get to see very often, busily foraging along the edge between the forest and the lawn, and this is the one I managed to capture on film.

I wrapped up a little earlier than usual, partially because of the cold, and I didn’t have anything else going on this morning, so I paid another visit to Grant Park to see if the evening grosbeak (Hesperiphona vespertina) would show itself this time. Happily, I barely waited 15 minutes and then suddenly it was there. Woo Hoo! I read that they are an “irregular migrant. When cone crops in northern coniferous forests are poor, Evening Grosbeaks “irrupt” in fall and spend the winter far south of their normal range. These irruptions formerly happened every 2–3 years in the eastern United States but have become less frequent.” Hence, the hoopla over this individual.

Then, per usual, I stopped along the lake shore on my way back north, and the most interesting sight was a few goldeneyes in the Lakeshore State Park lagoon. It started with this pair appearing to perform a little mating dance.

Then, just as the drake made his signature move, throwing his head all the way onto his back, another drake tried to horn in on the action.

This quickly led to a brief kerfuffle between the drakes.

And finally, they had to dry themselves off. I, perhaps as did they, lost track of the hen in all that excitement, but I don’t think she went far.

I mentioned earlier that the wind wasn’t too bad at Estabrook, but that was not the case at Lakeshore. Oowee, it was cold there. I’ve been home a couple of hours already, and I’m still warming up. I see it is supposed to be even colder tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see if the cold brings anyone new our way. I’ll keep you posted.

Critters keeping warm on a cold day…

It wasn’t the coldest day of the month, so far, but it was nice and chilly, nevertheless, this morning in Estabrook Park. Fortunately, the winds were pretty light, and the sun came out every once in a while, so it was a nice enough time for a visit, if you were dressed for it. The critters that live there, on the other hand, have only the feathers and fur on their backs, of course, so this is how they look when they “bundle up.”

We’ve been seeing this red-tailed hawk fairly regularly, lately, and here it is across from the islands in the river, all poofed up, and trying to soak up some of that sun while it can.

It’s tough to stay warm without calories to burn, and here’s a muskrat up on the river ice again to pack in some more.

This eagle, on the other hand, did not look particularly different today, and perhaps that is due simply to its large size.

On the other extreme, this tiny winter wren, which has been evading me since October, had better have other tricks up its sleeve.

Finally, the house sparrows and house finches were really making a racket at the pond, but I was happy to find at least one white-throated sparrow in the mix.

The forecast suggests that it is only going to get colder, and we should expect temps in the single digits tomorrow with wind chills in the negative teens. Brrrrr! Perhaps we’ll get to see if that will be cold enough to make an eagle fluff up.

All over the map…

The thick clouds that have been making gray skies all week finally drifted away overnight, so we had a beautiful, if chilly, morning in Estabrook Park.

I was thrilled to see one of the mature bald eagles high over the far riverbank again, but with just one of them, I can’t tell if this is the female or the male. I even saw the youngster fly by later in the morning, but it wouldn’t stop for pictures.

The crows have been busy patrolling the park for raptors lately, and here’s one taking a well-deserved break to peck at some breakfast between its toes on that branch below it.

At the pond, the little red squirrel, whom we often see there, was feeling a bit shy this morning.

Finally, for Estabrook, how could I resist a northern cardinal feeding on sumac seeds in the gorgeous morning sun?

Now, about my visit to other parks yesterday afternoon. It appears that we have a visiting evening grosbeak hanging out at Grant Park, and I have never seen an evening grosbeak, so I set out to see if I could spot it, too. Well, after standing around for a solid hour with no sign of it, I decided to cut my losses and move on. I did get to see, however, the first red-breasted nuthatch I’ve seen in a while, so that was some consolation.

On my way back north, I stopped in at the South Shore Yacht Club and spotted my first lesser scaup in a while.

Next, I stopped in at Lakeshore State Park, and there I finally found our first goldeneyes of the season. I counted about a dozen, both males and females, and this drake image came out the best.

There were also buffleheads, which we’ve already seen this season, and red-breasted mergansers, but they kept their distance.

The forecast calls similar weather tomorrow morning, if a bit cloudier, so maybe a goldeneye will finally pay a visit to the Milwaukee River for a change. We’ll see soon enough.

A deer in winter…

We received about another inch of wet, heavy snow overnight, and I took some time to clear our sidewalk this morning before temps fell back below freezing, so I didn’t get into Estabrook Park until 10am. By then, my expectations of finding wildlife were low, and the birds pretty much met those expectations, but this buck surprised me. I saw the doe first, and she didn’t wait for me to get my camera fired up before slipping over the crest of the bluff. This buck, on the other hand, pause for a minute to stare me down, and I will be eternally grateful.

And that’s the show for today, I’m afraid. I did take the afternoon to visit a couple other parks, but it’s late, and I’m exhausted, so those pictures will have to wait for another day.

No raptors today, but pretty and interesting birds anyway…

We received a little more snow overnight in Estabrook Park, which is always nice, and temps were in the high twenties this morning, which is a bit of a warmup, but the cloud cover remains thick, and there was a bit of haze in the air, so I’d call wildlife viewing conditions somewhat of a mixed bag.

The eagles stayed home today, probably in Lincoln park, and both a red-tailed and a Cooper’s hawk made flyovers, but neither stopped to say “hi”.

Instead, one highlight I did find was this common merganser hen resting on some river ice and perhaps enjoying the relatively warm air.

I am happy to report that belted kingfishers must still be finding the calories they need in the water that remains open, and I managed pictures of two distinct individuals today. This one, of a female, came out the nicest.

Finally, our American black duck is back, and here it is dabbling with the mallards. Besides the darker overall color, the black bars on each end of the blue stripe, instead of white bars, as on the hen behind it, clinch the ID.

The weather is supposed to be even worse tomorrow morning, so who knows what we’ll get, but I’ll be sure to let you know.