Temps were not especially cold this morning in Estabrook, but the air was damp, the breeze was noticeable, and the cloud cover was thick, so it really evoked for me Simon and Garfunkel’s “deep and dark December.”

Nevertheless, birds gotta eat, and here’s a female belted kingfisher searching for its breakfast from one of the guy wires that span the river and support the towers on the far shore.

The big surprise of the day came by the upstream island when crows alerted me to a bald eagle enjoying its fish over the far riverbank. Here it is reaching to take a bite.

Here it is with a nice big hunk in its beak.

And here it is all finished and letting its belly get to work.

Four of the six common mergansers I spotted yesterday were still on the river today, and here’s the one that let me sneak the nicest photo, given the light and distance.

I didn’t find any new visitors at the pond, but this white-throated sparrow sat for a pretty nice portrait.

Finally, as I was walking home along the Oak Leaf Trail, this American goldfinch did the same behind the Benjamin Church House.

Lastly, I see that the forecast calls for clear skies tomorrow morning, so that will be a nice change of pace.

It started snowing just around sunrise this morning, as was foretold, but I needed the walk anyway, so out the door I went. Things were pretty quiet in Estabrook Park, as one might imagine on a snowy Saturday, but I did see a few birds.

The red-tailed hawk was near the islands again, but it let me get nowhere near as close today, and a belted kingfisher was around, but it also kept its distance. In fact, the only pictures I did manage to take were of the “backyard” birds who forage in the woods on the far side of the pond where someone regularly dumps a load of birdseed, for better or for worse.

The surprise of the bunch was a pair of fox sparrows, our first since early October, and here’s the one that paused to glance my way.

There are still a few white-throated sparrows kicking around, and since we’re just inside their “nonbreeding” range, that may be true all winter.

There were some dark-eyed juncos, of course.

And here’s a female northern cardinal giving a house sparrow some advice, such as “don’t you be eating my seed.”

Finally, how could I pass up a bright red male northern cardinal.

Lastly, if something seems amiss with the images in the post you received by email, please check my new page explaining the current state of images to see if I’ve already answered your question there.

My siblings and I did manage to get our folks moved last week, without too many tears, and I arrived safely back in Wisconsin yesterday afternoon. Thanks for all your well wishes.

Before I left, I was also able to sneak one more picture, of this gorgeous, red-shouldered hawk as it soaked up some warm morning sun while searching for some breakfast.

Back in Estabrook this morning, things were pretty quiet, as you might imagine. I couldn’t find any redpolls at the pond, but there were plenty of house finches, and here’s a handsome male.

I couldn’t find any odd ducks on the river, yet, either, but a pair of belted kingfishers are still fishing around the islands, and here’s the female.

Back up the pond, this mourning dove tricked me for a second with a striking shadow across its face.

Finally, I found this mature Cooper’s hawk perched right over where someone has been placing bird seed for years in the woods behind the pond, and I wonder if it will have any luck with that.

Anne and I are at her mom’s place for dinner today with her extended family, my folks are at my brother’s place out east, and I hope that you and your family are able to celebrate the holiday together, as well.

I know I told you that I wouldn’t have time to go looking for wildlife on this trip, but there I was, minding my own business, and simply stepping outside to greet my brother and his son, who had come over to help pack up my folks’ worldly possessions, and I noticed a bird in the woods behind them because it seemed large and swooped down near the base of a big tree, which suggested a tantalizing possibility. So, I quickly said, “hi, come on in,” and ran inside myself to grab my camera and my binoculars.

Once I had my gear, I started scanning the woods, and the first bird I found was this little downy woodpecker. Sure, I’ve shown you dozens of downy woodpecker pictures that are better than this, but I’m telling a story here, so bear with me.

Then another bird moved, and this one was a little bigger, but it was “just” a northern flicker. They’ve been gone from Estabrook for the winter since October, but are still hanging out in Connecticut, and that’s not the bird I’m looking for, either.

A couple of red-bellied woodpeckers stopped in, and this one at least posed against the pretty blue sky, but they were still not who I was hoping to find.

Finally, one more woodpecker poked its head out into the open, and it was indeed a big bird low on the side of a tree. For those of you who don’t recognize that face, this is a pileated woodpecker, “one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent [and] nearly the size of a crow.” Be still my heart.

They have been reported in Estabrook, but I haven’t seen one there yet, and I have seen only one in all of Wisconsin, so far. But here’s one right in my folks’ backyard. It moved around a bit, and it did let me have a little better look, but then it moved on to check the trees closer to my sister’s house.

Well, the movers are coming this morning, and if things go well, we’ll be sleeping under a new roof tonight, so wish us luck.

As I mentioned last time, I’m back out in CT, but this is a “work” trip, so I don’t have time to go looking for wildlife, unfortunately. I do have a minute, however, to dig up some more pictures from our recent trip to Central America, and this time they’re from Belize.

Here’s one more look at a magnificent ringed kingfisher, but this time at Crooked Tree Lodge.

Here’s another look at one of the two northern jacanas who seemed to be perpetually foraging at the water’s edge in front of our cabin at Crooked Tree Lodge, and without all that golden morning sunlight that flooded the previous picture in Flores.

After we spotted the groove-billed anis but before the five squeezed together on a single branch, I got my very first glimpse of a shy ivory-billed woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus flavigaster) who appeared briefly and quickly took off.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a white-eyed vireo at Crooked Tree who really put on a show, and who we have seen before in Estabrook, but I have only been able to show you that one time, until now.

Here’s another look at that gorgeous vermilion flycatcher, but this time he’s giving you a side view so you can better see his black wings and tail.

Finally, here’s a long-tailed flicker on Caye Caulker, where they were plentiful but quick moving. They look quite similar to the silver-spotted skippers we see in Estabrook, and I tried and tried to get a picture that better showed off their long tails, but this was the best I could do.

Okay. Now I’d better get busy helping to pack up a household before my sister gets any more annoyed with me and starts calling me “Androit!”

Well, it’s rainy and dark this morning, just as forecast. Plus, I’m under a bit of a time-crunch today, so let’s see if there aren’t any trip pictures left that I haven’t already shown you.

We saw these pretty little birds, ruddy ground doves (Columbina talpacoti), in several locations, and I was sure I had shown you a picture before, but it appears I was mistaken. So, here’s a pair seeking cover in some blossoming bougainvillea on a side street in Flores, Guatemala.

I have managed to show you a picture of this big-beaked beauty, a ringed kingfisher, once before from Brazil, but the lighting was a little harsh in that photo. Instead, here’s one catching some gorgeous golden-hour sunshine in Flores.

We did get to see a black-headed saltator before, in Antigua, but it was quite shy, and it only let me capture its backside. This one at Tikal wasn’t much bolder, but at least now we can see its front side.

Also in Antigua, we got to see a Deppe’s squirrel, and then a Yucatán squirrel in Belize. So, to fill in the set a bit more, here’s a husky-looking Yucatán squirrel at Tikal in Guatemala.

On this trip we saw anoles, iguanas, and geckos, but this is my very first Teapen rosebelly lizard (Sceloporus teapensis), and my sources tell me that “Teapen” refers to Teapa, Mexico, where the species was first identified.

Finally, I may have run out of butterflies to show you, so here’s a large grass hopper, instead, which was about the size of the first two digits of my middle finger, and which we saw repeatedly crawling around the outdoor pathway to our hotel room at Tikal. My sources tell me that it’s a Romalea obscura, which is a species of “horse lubber”, and I read further that they get that name from their “head shape, which resembles a small horse’s head, and the term ‘lubber’ from its large, slow, and ‘lubberly’ (clumsy) movements.” I’m not sure I see the horse head, but I can confirm that this individual was not quick on its feet.

Lastly, I’m headed back to CT this afternoon to help my mom and dad move out of the home they’ve lived in for nearly 60 years and the home I grew up in. Two of my siblings will also be there, but I’m sure we can still use all the luck we can get, so please keep your fingers crossed for us. I’ll post when I can, but service may be spotty for the next few days.