Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

A foggy, foggy day…

Well, we got our wish, assuming you had your fingers crossed as I did mine, and the rain mostly held off this morning. But you know the old saying, “be careful what you wish for.” Instead of falling as rain, the moisture stayed in the air, and we’ve been enjoying a crazy thick fog ever since the sun began its vain attempt to burn through it.

Luckily, there were still birds on the river, so I could keep my lens pointed below the horizon, in hopes of keeping it dry, and here’s the one goldeneye drake I saw today. There were also two hens upstream, but maybe they’re avoiding him.

Just beyond the goldeneye, I found this common merganser hen, up on one of the little patches of ice that still remain.

The big surprise of the morning, however, was this hooded merganser drake, who also happened to be the most skittish of the three. We’ve only seen hoodies in Estabrook once so far this year, and I sure hope this won’t be our last sighting.

Around the islands, along with the geese jockeying for nesting sites and mallards filling their bellies, there was a small gathering of gulls. Here’s one of the two herring gulls, with its conspicuously pink legs and feet.

And here’s a pair of aptly named ring-billed gulls, with black rings on the ends of their bills, of course, but also quite yellow legs and feet.

Lastly, the big surprise around the islands was not only that there were fourteen common mergansers, which I probably have seen before, but also that they all congregated so closely together that I could get a picture of thirteen of them. That also might be the most drakes I’ve seen together in the park.

As crazy as today’s weather has been, the fog is forecast to continue through the night and into tomorrow morning. At this point, I don’t even know what I’d dare wishing for.

Another sure sign of spring…

We had a nearly perfect March morning in Estabrook Park today. The sky was clear, the air was still, and it froze overnight but temps were quickly on their way to the 40s, which I hear is good for making the sap flow. Anyway, sorry about missing yesterday. I had a string of non-park activities in the morning, didn’t get into Estabrook until midafternoon, and I was just too tired by the time I got back home to write anything up.

It was a bit gloomy yesterday afternoon, but I did manage one nice picture, of this red-breasted merganser drake on the river below what’s left of the falls.

The biggest treat of this morning, besides the weather itself, was spotting my first daffodil shoots of the season beside the river path and upstream of the islands, where the side of the bluff faces south.

I found another Cooper’s hawk today, but this one let me have only one shot, with a stick right across its face, but at least you can see that gorgeous yellow eye.

There were no new sights at the islands or the pond, but I did get a pretty nice hairy woodpecker at the far south end.

By happy coincidence there was a downy woodpecker nearby, too. Even better, these two pictures give me an excuse to show you one more difference between them, if you can’t see the difference in size nor the difference in relative beak length. A third option is that the white feathers on the edges of a hairy’s tail are solid white, while the white feathers on the edges of a downy’s tail have black checks, and you can just see two of them in the bottom right of the picture below.

Lastly, it was such a nice day that I ventured across the river to check the far side of the islands to see if some early wood ducks might be hiding there again, but I had no luck with that today. Instead, check out the odd sight I saw on the side of the Holliday Inn building. That is a male house sparrow peeking out at us from the inside of an old cliff swallow nest. I guess “house sparrow” doesn’t really specify what kind of house, does it?

The forecast for tomorrow calls for showers all morning, but the precipitation amounts are pretty low, so maybe I’ll be able to sneak some pictures between the rain drops. Keep your fingers crossed!

Blue skies return, at least for a day…

It was another wonderful morning in Estabrook Park but in a very different way than yesterday. Instead of fresh snow, we had blue skies and bright sunshine. The skies were so clear, in fact, that there was enough light for me to venture into the park before 6:30 am, for the first time this year. Woo hoo!

Thus, I was able to check the whole river and even swing by the pond before our wildlife walkers started to arrive. Just as I headed to the beer garden parking lot, I found my first grackle at the pond for the year.

We had a nice turnout for our walk, and two folks claimed to be trying a group walk for the first time. What an honor that they chose ours! Meanwhile, one of our regulars had spotted a bald eagle over the river on their way in, so we set out in search of that first.

Along the way, we heard this guy, a red-bellied woodpecker, despite his red cap, announcing the availability of his new nesting cavity. “Good luck, Buddy!” Sure, I would have preferred to capture him looking our way, but I got my first good look at the back of his head instead, and I never knew they had such a ducktail going on back there.

Happily, we did get to see an eagle over the far riverbank by the islands. It was alone this time, so I can’t tell if this is the male or the female, but it was a nice treat for our newcomers either way.

Finally, since my recent picture count rollercoaster continues with another trough, here’s one more look at yesterday’s Oregon-type dark-eyed junco, but from the side this time.

I see that the blue skies are forecast to disappear by tomorrow morning, but so is the wind, so we’ll see soon enough if that deepens my picture trough or pulls me out of it. I did get a glimpse of my first chipmunk of the year, and maybe tomorrow it won’t be so shy.

March eases in like a little white lamb…

It was a wonderful morning in Estabrook Park. Everything had a fresh coating of light and fluffy snow, the air was cold and still enough to keep it that way, at least for a couple of hours, and the sun poked through the clouds every once in a while. What a way to start the month, let alone meteorological spring!

The next pleasant surprise of the morning was finding our two bald eagles perched over the far riverbank near the upstream island, though there was no snuggling today.

At the pond, a blue jay allowed me a rare photo, and this one is even better than last time.

The bigger treat at the pond was this dark-eyed junco in the “Oregon” group of subspecies, which ebird still considers to be “rare” for here. In this first picture, you can just see where its black hood ends at the shoulders.

In this picture you can really see how the black hood compares to the brown and gray back and sides.

Finally, what’s the point of having snow if I don’t get a picture of a northern cardinal in it? Unfortunately, much of the snow had already been knocked off of the branches by then, if only by birds hopping around on them, but you can still see a little snow in the lower left corner.

The forecast looks nearly as good for tomorrow morning, with a little more wind and a lot more sun, so come on out for our weekly wildlife walk to see who might have just arrived, or to see the winter visitors before they’re gone.

Ending February with a splash of color…

It was a nice enough morning in Estabrook Park, but the sun never broke through the clouds, and maybe the critters used that as an excuse to sleep in. I did see a few birds, but nobody that I knew how to turn into a nice picture.

Thus, I headed over to Havenwoods for Winter Break and hoped for better luck there. Before things really got rolling, I caught a glimpse of bluebirds through the windows, but they bolted as soon as I opened the door, of course, and then it was time to lead a bird walk. We did struggle to see much in the middle of a February afternoon, but as we returned to the Nature Center, and just as it started to snow, look who finally decided to put on a show.

Thanks to Kate for organizing a great Winter Break again, to the Havenwoods staff for hosting the event, and to Donna for inviting me to help staff the Milwaukee Birders table. I’ll be back in Estabrook tomorrow to see if any new faces blew in with the new month.

That pace picks back up in Estabrook…

It was a gorgeous morning in Estabrook Park. It was below freezing at sunrise, but just barely, and just enough to freeze up the river path mud nice and firm. Plus, the winds were nearly calm, and the sky was nearly clear, so I had high hopes. Best of all, the critters also seemed to be enjoying the change in the weather.

My first fun sight was this row of common merganser hens up on some ice between the islands and all working on their morning preens.

In the open water between us, I found my one and only goldeneye of the day, this drake. As you can see, there is still ice on the river, but it is disappearing quickly, and these birds will soon be heading to Canada to make more, so we’d better enjoy them while they’re still here.

As I scanned the rest of the river for a new bird, I heard a nuthatch behind me, which isn’t too surprising, given the number of white-breasted nuthatches we have in Estabrook, but this one sounded slightly different. Well, that’s because it was a red-breasted nuthatch, which we do get to see, but not very often, so I hustled up the bluff to see if I could find it. I had to chase it for a few minutes, as it foraged in one treetop and then the next, but I finally spotted it, and it let me sneak just one picture before it was gone. It ain’t my best, and it ain’t even my worst, but it is enough to positively ID our first red-breasted nuthatch butt of the year in Estabrook Park. Woo Hoo!

Then I headed to the pond, where this red-bellied woodpecker was drumming away on that metal plate before it that holds the streetlamp to the lamppost. That’s gotta be rough on his beak, but I guess he really likes the way it sounds, or he really hopes the ladies will like the way it sounds.

On the other side of the pond, another bird that won’t be with us too much longer this season, this female dark-eyed junco, gave us a real nice look.

Then I hiked back down to the river and found another new arrival, our first common grackle of the year. Yee haw!

Finally, I was all the way back at the south end, and back up on the bluff again, when I took one last look through the trees down to the river. I saw a bunch of mallards up on a little patch of grass on the far riverbank, and thought to myself, “there’s the dozen I saw a couple hours ago.” But then I noticed one bird didn’t look like the others, and that’s because it’s our first American coot of the year. Yippee Ki‐Yay! They’re not too rare on the lake, but we only get about one a year on the river, so this was a special treat.

Lastly, I’m heading over to Havenwoods tomorrow to help out at the Winter Break Milwaukee. I’ll probably visit Estabrook before then, but I might not be able to show you what I found until later in the day. Meanwhile, you could come out to Havenwoods yourself to check-out all the winter activities they‘ll be offering. It is even forecast to snow, which would be perfect timing, given the theme of the event.

Another solo performance…

It has clouded up now, but this morning was the nicest morning of the week in Estabrook Park, at least so far. It was a little cooler, and the clouds were pretty patchy, so the light was respectable, but the wind had finally died down, so I could really hear some birds for a change.

Speaking of birds, they just keep making my job easier, in a way, but I sure hope it isn’t a permanent trend. Once again, only one bird put in a photo-worthy performance, and this time I didn’t even have to move to get the shot I wanted. Oh, I took a bunch, don’t you worry, but just about the only differences between them all are slightly different head angles, and I picked the one that looked nicest to me.

So, here it is, your bird of the day, a white-throated sparrow sitting pretty by the pond.

The forecast for tomorrow looks nice, so let’s all hope the critters in Estabrook feel up to putting on a little more of a show.

A young Cooper’s hawk at the pond…

The holding pattern of weather we’ve been enjoying for the past few days continued in Estabrook Park this morning. Temps were in the low twenties again, wind speeds were in the low teens again, and the sun was able to poke through the clouds again. The geese and ducks continue to be on the river, and nobody new showed up today.

The most interesting sight, for me at least, was at the pond, where I spotted this Cooper’s hawk on the railing of the little bridge in the northwest corner. I continue to learn from my mistakes, albeit slowly, and I quickly took the shot I could, in case that would be my only opportunity, and then I backed up to see if I could get a better look if I approached from the south.

Well, I got lucky this time, the hawk stayed put, and I was able to get a little better picture, good enough to see clearly that it’s a young one. There were still sticks in front of its face, however, even when I sat on the lawn at the edge of the water, and I didn’t want to trust the ice, after the thaw we had, so I didn’t really have a way to get much lower.

So, I sat on the bench for a moment to consider my next move and finally opted to try sneaking up the paved path that leads to the bridge. Once again, the view was improved, but that black scrap of a leaf right in front of its chest wasn’t great.

I worried that if I approached on foot any farther, I would spook the bird, so I sat down and slowly crab walked up the path until I could get a clearer shot, and this is what I got. There are still a few sticks in the way, so I wouldn’t call it perfect by any means, but it’s a pretty nice look at a beautiful bird, nevertheless.

That’s the whole show for today, and I’m gonna treat it as an opportunity to practice being grateful for the sights I see and not worry about the rest. We’ll see how that goes.

A pretty morning in Estabrook Park…

The weather was nicer than I expected this morning in Estabrook Park. Sure, it was still plenty cold, but the wind wasn’t blowing too hard, at least for the first couple of hours, and the sun was shining pretty good, so it was quite pleasant.

The usual suspects were on the river again, and this goldeneye drake let me sneak one of the nicer looks I’ve had.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the river, there was a whole group of common mergansers who appeared to be still sorting out who was going to the prom with whom.

The biggest treat of the morning, however, was finding this bald eagle on the downstream island. We glimpsed one yesterday, but it saw us before we saw it, and it promptly took off. Maybe it was just hungrier today.

Even better, after I had gotten the picture I wanted and continued up the path, it did take off, but it only retreated to this branch over the far riverbank. There was no singing this morning, so perhaps they are beyond that stage of their relationship.

The forecast for tomorrow promises more of the same, so here’s hoping the critters are just as obliging.

A fond look back to a slightly warmer day…

It has warmed up a bit by now, the clouds have thinned, and the wind has abated, but it was pretty cloudy, cold, and windy at sunrise in Estabrook Park this morning. We even had a few nice lake effect snow showers. I did have one intrepid wildlife walker join me, but his excuse was that he had just dropped off his car for service and now had a couple of hours to spend before it was ready. It’s just as well, because most of the critters were also waiting out the morning, and my fun recent string of new faces was finally broken. Oh well.

Thus, here are some more faces from yesterday when it was also cold, but at least the sun was shining. By now, I hope many of you recognize this male red-bellied woodpecker, who really did appear to be simply basking in the sun by the pond.

And here’s his little distant cousin, a male downy woodpecker, who appeared to be more hungry than cold, or at least hungry enough to ignore the cold, and was hard at work chipping away at the bark on little branches.

Also at the pond, the little red squirrel was back in its favorite warming spot.

Out on the river, I was surprised yesterday by a seeming complete lack of mallards, who are normally quite common, if not ubiquitous. I had seen none on my way north and none around the islands. As I made my way back south, I encountered a long-time reader hiking the other way who reported that she had just seen a pair, so I kept my eyes peeled, and sure enough, I spotted exactly one pair just a little ways passed her. Before I could get a picture of the lucky couple, however, I noticed a third bird near them who turned out to be this common merganser hen with a fresh fish in her bill, and I figured you might like that picture better. Who doesn’t like fish, cold and fresh, for breakfast?

Finally, the cardinal I showed you yesterday toyed with me a bit before that picture, and he took his sweet time ascending to the peak of that clump of sumac seeds, so here he is again but before he hopped to the top.

The forecast for tomorrow morning calls for similar temps, but lighter winds and maybe even a little sunshine, so maybe we can hope that the parade of new faces picks up where it left off. I here there are grackles and a couple of merlins around. If you see ’em, tell ’em I’m waitin’ for ’em.