Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

A morning better than I had expected…

The thunderstorms had finished rolling through by sunrise this morning, so I was able to get out earlier than I had expected.

My first treat came very early, as I was crossing Wilson Dr, when I heard the call of a peregrine falcon high overhead. Happily, it wasn’t going anywhere fast, and I was able to catch sight of it as it glided in for a landing on the WITI TV tower at the far south end of the park. Then, it was kind enough to hang out while I hustled around to the west side, where it had landed, and it even put on a bit of a show with its wings out in the breeze. “Thanks, Sweet Pea!”

My next surprise came at the pond, where I found this dejected-looking solitary sandpiper resting on a log. I read that they are mostly night migrators, so perhaps it was grounded by last night’s storms and is now just resting up to try again tonight.

It wasn’t so much of a surprise to see this green heron, since we’ve been seeing plenty of them lately, but it was a treat that it flew in to perch so close while I was working on the best sandpiper picture I could muster.

I did see at least one warbler, but it was quite shy, and my pictures are barely good enough for an ID, so let’s just skip straight to the bugs. Here’s a cabbage white butterfly sporting a very pleasant creamy yellow hue.

And here’s our first New England aster of the fall season. When I first saw it, I thought to myself, “that’s lovely, of course, but a pretty insect would really put a cherry on top.” And then, as if on cue, this tiny bicolored striped sweat bee buzzed in and really made the picture.

We’ve seen them before, and the ones I usually see have black and white stripes, so I thought this one must be someone else. Instead, it turns out that females have the black and white stripes, while males have black and yellow stripes, so that’s who this guy is. That also explains why he’s not collecting pollen and doesn’t even have the dense hairs on his hind legs, called scopa, for holding it, as she did. In fact, I read further that no male bees do, the lazy bums.

I see that the forecast is looking pretty good for tomorrow morning, so let’s hope it brings me better luck with the warblers.

A slow, slow Tuesday in September…

It was a little warmer and a lot cloudier than yesterday in Estabrook Park this morning, but still plenty nice enough for a visit.

The most exciting show came early, on my first visit to the pond, when this belted kingfisher made its usual loud rattle as it moved to a different perch, and a Cooper’s hawk that had been perched higher gave chase.

Well, the chase didn’t take long, the hawk came up empty, and here it sits looking for its next opportunity. “Try for a squirrel next time. We’ve got plenty!”

That’s it for vertebrate pictures today, I’m afraid. Perhaps the warblers took advantage of a relatively calm night and got out of Dodge because I didn’t see a single one this morning. So, here’s a male American goldfinch from yesterday pulling the seeds out of a thistle blossom and setting the pappus adrift to mesmerize young hummingbirds.

I did get a chance to pour through the swift pictures I tried to take after sunset yesterday, and I am a little surprised to report that one came out good enough to recognize a chimney swift diving into the top of the chimney. I can’t quite tell what the second one, lower and slightly to the right, was doing, but they all seemed to like swirling around the chimney, like toddlers that don’t want to go to bed yet.

Finally, I did see one more late-season dragonfly, and this one is a black saddlebags on the bushes by the beer garden.

Lastly, I see that we are due for more thunderstorms overnight, but they should clear out by mid-morning, so I have a hope of be able to go take a look for new wildlife then.

In other news, I’ve got a couple of talks coming up for the North Shore School for Seniors fall semester, and you can check out times and topics and register on their website. Perhaps I’ll see you there.

Some nice September surprises…

It was indeed a glorious morning in Estabrook Park, and seventeen folks took advantage of the weather and the holiday to join me on our weekly wildlife walk. We headed to the river first, and there we found this darling hooded merganser among the mallards, wood ducks, and Canada geese on the water around the islands.

From there we climbed back up on the bluff and found several warblers in the top of a tamarack tree beside the paved path. The easiest ID was a Nashville warbler, even though my best picture isn’t very good. Another was light and grey with slight streaking, and we believe that one to be an immature female Cape May Warbler. The third one let me have a good look, and the black streaks on its bright yellow breast led me to think Magnolia warbler, but I was mistaken because it’s missing the black neck band. Instead, I should have realized that it’s a mature male Cape May Warbler. Oh well. It’s still a pretty bird posing against that pretty blue sky either way.

Finally, after we wrapped things up and I discovered that at least one person in the group had spotted a hummingbird, which I missed because we were so spread out, I headed back home with hopes of at least finding some good butterflies today.

Well, as I was searching the remaining weeds beside the southern soccer fields for insects, look who I found instead. At first, I couldn’t quite tell what was going on. It just perched there with that big thistle pappus in its beak, which a nearby goldfinch had probably just release after eating the seed. I wonder if the hummingbird is a recent fledgling still getting its bearings in the world, and it simply didn’t know what to make of that big white fluffy thing.

Anyway, it eventually dropped the pappus, regained its senses, and flew off to go about its business, which better include heading south pretty soon. “Safe travels, Kiddo! See you next spring!”

Finally, there were also some monarchs filling their bellies before their own migration, and here’s one.

Lastly, someone reported seeing an interesting bird in Estabrook this afternoon, so when I saw that, I stopped working on this, strapped my camera back on, and raced over to the river. I had no luck with that particular bird, but the sky was full of dozens of swifts. It was a spectacular sight, and when the sun set, I remembered that I’ve always wanted to check the chimney at the Shorewood Public Works Department facility for swifts.

Since I already had my camera and my bike, and I was already on the Oak Leaf Trail, I just rode over the Capital Drive bridge to check it out, and it was simply amazing. They swirled around like bees at a hive, and every now and then a few would swoop right down into it. The show will soon be over for the fall when they join the hummingbirds and monarchs on their way south, so don’t miss the opportunity to see them now if you have it.

Taking the holiday weekend seriously…

The clear skies that had been forecasted did arrive in Estabrook this morning, and it was a beautiful day to be in the park. The wildlife appears to be taking the holiday weekend seriously, however, and I had a dickens of a time coming up with some pictures for you.

The one warbler I was able to capture was this Wilson’s by the beer garden, and it was great to see it out in the sun this time.

There were birds out on the river, but I didn’t see anyone I haven’t already shown you recently, so I didn’t take another picture until I was approaching the southern soccer fields again, where this crow was chatting with another crow in the next tree over. You could be forgiven for thinking it was waving to me, but it was just scratching an itch on the side of its head, instead.

That’s it for today’s pictures, but yesterday was so productive, I have some from then that I can show you. Here’s the green heron in the pond again, but the log appears to have sunk a bit.

The flickers were also talkative today, but none would give me a look even half as good as this one from yesterday.

Finally, I saw at least a dozen monarchs drifting around in the nearly still air, but this picture of one on some goldenrod from yesterday came out the best.

Lastly, the forecast for tomorrow morning looks as nice as today’s did, so at least we’ll have a pretty blue sky to enjoy as we look for wildlife on our weekly walk, even if the critters continue keeping themselves scarce. Sunrise is even later than two weeks ago, if you can believe it, so let’s keep to the single, 8 am start time, that we initiated then. Come on out and help me find the new arrivals, if you’re able.

Signs of a break in the weather…

Sure, it was foggy, cloudy, and even a little breezy in Estabrook Park this morning, but there was a short gap in the clouds at one point, and at least I didn’t get chased home by rain for a change.

All the regulars were at the pond when I arrived, and here are a pair of wood ducks up on a log to preen and nap.

Here’s a young great blue heron, who seemed quite intent on its fishing. There was also a green heron and a belted kingfisher, but I’ve shown you plenty pictures of them lately.

As I was checking the birds on the river, this hairy woodpecker put in a somewhat rare appearance.

The surprise visitor of the day was this solo double-crested cormorant fishing in the river between the islands, and here it is up out of the water to take a break and dry off.

At one point, there was a big enough gap in the cloud cover for some blue sky and sunshine to appear, which was quite nice, and this eastern wood-pewee seemed to think so, too.

By the time I reached what’s left of the weeds beside the soccer fields at the south end, there was even a dragonfly, this male widow skimmer, trying to soak up some sun.

Finally, there were several butterflies out and about as well, so I was able to replenish my supply of colorful pictures, and here’s a Peck’s skipper on a thistle blossom.

Lastly, the forecast calls for clear skies tomorrow morning, for the first time I’ll experience this month, so maybe I’ll be able to get us some more warbler pictures. One can only hope, right?

They called a committee meeting…

It was a dark and stormy morning in Estabrook, but there was a gap between the showers, so I snuck into the park to see who I could see.

Things got off to a nice start when I caught a glimpse of this darling young Cooper’s hawk gliding into this tree for a landing. As I’ve done before, and which you can’t prove doesn’t work, I kept my camera in front of my face to hide my eyes, and it let me capture the best image I could hope for, given the lighting.

My next treat came on the river around the two islands. As I searched in vain again for any odd ducks, I could see a large dark bird perched high over the riverbank a bit farther upstream. So, I did my best to sneak up on it, and it turned out to be another turkey vulture. Two sightings in as many days! That’s quite a change in fortune given the recent dearth of appearances.

Better yet, it wasn’t alone, and here are two of its friends.

And here are three more (the one on the far left is the same bird as on the right above). Holy Smokes! Six of them! A regular committee meeting! I’ve seen quite a few black vultures together in Connecticut and elsewhere, but this is the first time I’ve seen so many turkey vultures together in all of Wisconsin, let alone Estabrook.

Lastly, and I know that came up fast, but so did the next down pour, it turns out that today was bath day for the Canada geese, and here they are a-rub-a-dub-dubbin’ in the river just above what’s left of the falls.

I don’t even have any more leftover butterflies for you, so we’ll just have to hope that the forecast for a drier tomorrow holds true. Keep you fingers crossed!

Some fun sights before the skies opened up…

I know it’s late, but I spent a lot of time on campus today, so now is when I can get to this. This morning started out pretty nice. Sure, it was warm and humid, but the air was very still, and the clouds weren’t too thick, so I was able to reach the pond in time to catch this green heron just chillaxing on a log in the middle.

At the river, I found this darling little hooded merganser fishing amongst the mallards right above what’s left of the falls. It appears as though something has gone wrong with its bottom bill, and I can’t tell if that’s from an injury or if it came out of its shell like that, but I did watch it catch and eat a crayfish, so it seems unphased by the situation. “Good luck, Kiddo!”

Farther upstream, as I was counting the mallards again, in hopes of spotting more odd ducks, suddenly everyone bolted for cover, and the cause of all that excitement soon drifted over. It was a very dark, young bald eagle, and it continued down river on the far side of the island, so I just watched it go. Before I could get back to the mallards, however, there was suddenly another enormous dark bird in the sky. They circled each other a couple of times, often disappearing behind trees, and at least one appeared to be a vulture, but before I gave up hoping for a photo opportunity the eagle took a perch right in front of me. The dark plumage and beak suggest that it hatched just this summer. “Welcome to Estabrook, Handsome!”

I couldn’t see where the vulture(s) had gone, so after I got the best eagle shot I thought I could, I turned around in time to get this belted kingfisher hiding coyly behind a leaf.

As soon as I had my kingfisher picture, look who landed right between the two previous birds. Ha! I haven’t been able to show you a turkey vulture in Estabrook since April of 2025! “Glad to see you again, Your Grace.”

Then the clouds got dark, the wind picked up, I hustled home, and I just barely made it before the skies opened up. Phew!

Finally, I had no time for butterfly pictures today, but to add a little color, here’s a monarch on a purple cone flower at the pollinator garden yesterday.

Lastly, the experts did agree with my identification of that Connecticut warbler in Estabrook Park yesterday, so that’s our thirtieth warbler. Hip, hip, hurray!

A bit of Connecticut may have followed me home…

I hadn’t even reached the pond when the warbler show began in Estabrook Park this morning. There was a bit of black plastic on the grass just south of the middle parking lot, and as I reached down to collect it, I noticed a little movement in the hedge about 20 feet away.

When I saw the distinct and complete white eye ring, I figured it was a Nashville warbler, but they have yellow throats. Immature yellow warblers can have a slight eye ring, but they also have yellow throats. Mourning warblers have dark heads and throats, by they don’t have eye rings.

Thus, the process of eliminations suggests that we may be looking at the first Connecticut warbler (Oporornis agilis) that I’ve ever managed to capture on film. Naturally, I’ve asked the experts for confirmation, and I’ll let you know what they say, but if they do confirm my identification, that’ll be one heck of a welcome home, eh?

As soon as I turned around from the warbler, I watched this pretty little Swainson’s thrush fly into a fruit tree that the robins were raiding. It’s ears must have been ringing from my post yesterday.

Warblers and thrushes are not the only little birds on the move these days, and here’s an eastern warbling vireo in a tree beside the river. I usually hear one or two along the river all summer, but they went quiet a few weeks ago, so it is great to see one again.

Back to the warblers, here’s a Wilson’s, with its trademark black cap, in the next tree over.

Out on the water, it paid to count the mallards again today, ’cause that’s how I found these three darling little blue-winged teals. Here’s hoping that one of these days they’ll bring some of their cousins, the shovelers, with them.

Back up on the bluff, as I scanned the treetops for more warblers, I found our third yellow-billed cuckoo of the summer, instead. Holy Maceral!

Finally, there was a moth busily feeding on the hyssop blossoms in the pollinator garden, as though it were a clearwing moth or even a butterfly, but it clearly wasn’t either of them, and I believe that it is our very first soybean looper moth (Chrysodeixis includens), instead.

The forecast for tomorrow morning suggest we’re in for a repeat of today, so I can’t wait to see who’ll show up next.

Birds of September…

I did arrive safely in Milwaukee this afternoon, after two perfectly uneventful Delta flights, which is just how I like them, but I won’t get into Estabrook until tomorrow morning, so let’s refresh our memories of who we might see coming through the park this month.

I look forward to seeing thrushes again, and here’s a darling Swainson’s thrush on its way to Central and South America.

We already heard a red-breasted nuthatch during last Monday’s wildlife walk, but I sure would like to get another picture of one.

I have already heard one rose-breasted grosbeak, as well, and here’s a female from last September, but you can probably guess that I’m hoping for more pictures of them, too.

And don’t forget the warblers! We’ve already seen a couple, and it sure won’t be like the spring migration, but we should still see plenty more, such as this young Tennessee warbler.

If we get lucky, we might even see some mature males in their adult plumage, such as this American redstart.

Keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow morning!

One more surprise from the seaside…

We all stopped by my brother’s place yesterday afternoon, and as we sat around on his back patio chitchatting, this little cutie, a young or female ruby-throated hummingbird, sat with us for a moment or two.

That’s the only picture of wildlife I managed to get yesterday, so this morning my sister and I tried the Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary one more time. The first amazing sight was at least a dozen osprey all fishing from high out over the water. Unfortunately, they were much too far for me to capture on film, so here’s one more look at a clapper rail, instead.

The star of the morning, however, was this nondescript little sparrow. I had read that they could be seen here, and we kept seeing little sparrows flitting around in the tall grass, but they had managed to evade my camera so far. Thus, I was thrilled even to get this meager picture of one because it is the very first seaside sparrow (Ammospiza maritima) that I have ever seen.

We did see plenty of the other usual suspects this morning; oystercatchers, yellowlegs, plovers, etc; but no one was allowing pictures any better than what I’ve already shown you, and it was eventually time to go join my folks for breakfast. But as we were making our way back to the parking lot, it would seem that one of the seaside sparrows recognized how momentous this occasion was, and didn’t want me to leave with such a paltry image, so here it perched. “Thanks, Darling!”

Lastly, the butterflies out here are hiding someplace, but I haven’t been able to find where that is, so here’s one more look at a crescent from Estabrook Park.

Tomorrow, I make my way back to Milwaukee, but I don’t know if I’ll make it into Estabrook before dark, so I’ll try to post something to carry you through.