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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I could almost hear Old Man Winter chuckling to himself as I looked out the window this morning and sipped my coffee. It was snowing, although I’m sure most folks were glad we had almost no accumulation, the clouds were thick, the wind was stiff, and the cold was pretty bitter. He ain’t done with us yet.
Fortunately, the snow didn’t last long at all, the clouds blew out over the lake, and there are plenty of critters in Estabrook Park who are built for the cold and wind. Here are a pair of common merganser hens taking a break from fishing in the icy water to keep their feathers in tip-top shape.
Here’s a goldeneye drake catching his breath between dives to the river bottom for snails.
The huge surprise of the morning, however, was spotting this killdeer, who would normally still be in balmy southern Illinois, at least, but was now standing on the softball field and considering the error of its ways.
I’m sure it was as surprised to see me as I was to see it, but instead of fleeing, it opted merely to sink into the grass, like Homer Simpson retreating into his hedge.
I’m not exactly sure if it was escaping me, the wind, or both of us, but I was impressed by how far it could sink.
At the pond the house finches and house sparrows were thick in the bushes on the island again, after taking a week off during the thaw, but the funner sight for me was this opossum trotting across the ice.
Finally, this cardinal must have heard me grousing about the shy cardinal yesterday, and wanted to make sure I knew that some cardinals really are as bold as their plumage.
Lastly, the weather forecast for our weekly wildlife walk tomorrow morning is even colder than today, with temps in the teens and winds pushing the RealFeel® temps into single digits. Yikes! On the other hand, I have been having a string of “first of the year” sightings this week, at least for Estabrook, and maybe it will continue tomorrow. Thus, when you contemplate coming out to join us, you really have to ask yourself, “do I feel lucky?”
It was a pretty nice late-February morning in Estabrook Park. Temps were in the mid-twenties, so the river path was nicely frozen back up, the winds were light, and the sun even peeked through the cloud deck once or twice.
The next biggest surprise was that no one else wanted to show their face today. I only caught this guy, I suspect, because he thought he was well hidden. “Not so fast, you handsome devil, you!”
Finally, instead of me dredging up some more pictures from Nicaragua, I propose that we just have a short post today and try again tomorrow.
The rain and wind did arrive, but the rain moved out by sunrise, and we didn’t get any of the snow that was threatened, so it wasn’t too bad a morning to go looking for wildlife in Estabrook Park.
The river ice is really starting to disappear, and the geese, mallards, and common mergansers are making the best of all the newly open water, but the exciting return of the day was this male belted kingfisher staking out his territory around the upstream island. I glimpsed one in January, before the river froze over, but I haven’t gotten a picture of one for you since early December. “Welcome back, Buddy, and let’s all hope for a better picture soon, eh?”
That’s it for pictures today, I’m sad to say, but you’ll be thrilled to know that we still haven’t yet exhausted the supply of pictures from Nicaragua, and this first one is a familiar face that we can hope to see in Estabrook in April: a Baltimore oriole.
This shy bird, which I found lurking in the shadows over that little river in Granada, had the pointy beak and orange color of an oriole, but the black eye mask and long black beard do not look familiar.
Thankfully, he was kind enough to turn around to show us, not only the white streaks on his black wings, but also the orange streaks on his black back, and that makes him an aptly-named streak-backed oriole (Icterus pustulatus), a first for me.
Here he is in partial profile so we can see the eye mask, beard, and back streaks all together. Sadly, they are primarily Central American birds and are “very rare in [even] the southwestern U.S.,” so our chances of seeing them in Estabrook any time soon are “slim to none,” as the experts say. In any case, you may be just as stunned to learn as I was that there are thirty-two (32!) species in the Icterus genus, the new world orioles. Good heavens, it’s gonna take some work to collect them all. Right?
Finally, every morning in Granada, when Deb and I would go up onto the roof-top patio to check for birds enjoying the bougainvillea growing in the neighbors courtyard, we would see blue-gray tanagers. I first saw them in Brazil, but this may have been Deb’s first exposure, and she was quite taken with them. This particular individual was taking a break from the bougainvillea, which you can see in the orchard oriole picture above, and was chillin’ instead on some nearby rebar sticking out the top of some structure, which is a common sight in Latin America.
I see that it is supposed to cool off further by tomorrow morning, but the wind is supposed to back down, and the sun might even peek through the clouds a bit, so it should be a pretty good mid-February morning in Estabrook Park. I can’t wait to see who shows up next!
