Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

Back to Long Island Sound…

Deb didn’t have to work yesterday, so we drove back down to the Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary early in the morning. The gates weren’t even open yet when we arrived, so we had to park down the road a bit, and our reward for being so early was finding this osprey enjoying its breakfast on a light post right over that parking lot. Sweet.

There were several oystercatchers out on the mudflats again, and this time I noticed that they don’t all have bright orange eyes. It turns out that juvies have dark brown eyes, instead. “Well, hello there, Sweetie!”

The biggest sight of the morning, however, was this short-billed dowitcher. I’ve been able to show you one before, but that was from Caye Caulker, so this is my first one in the US. Woo hoo!

Then it was time to get back to Cheshire and family activities, but as crazy good luck would have it, my other sister, Sue, cooked up a scheme for all of us to pile into the car and drive out to Mystic to visit Enders Island and see the dahlias. Once we got there, to an island in Long Island sound, I’m sure you will be stunned to learn that there were birds to be seen. I inadvertently spooked this one from the weeds behind the seawall, a spotted sandpiper, but it was so young or hungry that it only hopped up onto the wall so I could get a better picture. “Thanks, Kiddo, but please, don’t stop foraging for me.”

Finally, there were several terns fishing out over the water, and I got all excited when I thought some were roseate turns, but I was mistaken, and they were just good ol’ common terns, instead. Oh well, but still a pretty bird.

We took the scenic route home, so by the time we got there, everyone was exhausted, and I let this post slide until this morning. Sorry about that.

The B-team…

As I mentioned yesterday, my other sister did fly in last night, but her flight was delayed and didn’t arrive until 2am, so nobody was in the mood this morning to go looking for wildlife. Thus I get to show you some more birds we saw yesterday morning in the fabulous Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary at the mouth of New Haven harbor.

This first bird really kept its distance, the little stinker, and we’ve seen them before, but this is the first black-bellied plover that I’ve seen actually wearing its namesake black belly.

We got to see a semipalmated plover for the first time in Estabrook Park just this summer, but this one just caught a nice big worm, and it’s the first one I’ve seen in Connecticut.

We’ve also seen greater yellowlegs, one snowy Halloween, and this one refused to look my way, but it’s still a pretty bird.

We’ve also seen plenty of osprey in Estabrook, of course, and I couldn’t get this one to turn around either, so it fits right in with the rest of this crew.

Finally, I still haven’t gotten a butterfly picture out here this trip, so we’ll just have to make do with one more monarch from Estabrook.

So we headed for the coast…

Since we weren’t having much luck in and around Cheshire this trip, I surprised Deb at 5 am this morning with the suggestion that we try someplace new: the Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary at the mouth of New Haven harbor. Amazingly, she was game, so off we went.

It was a bit of a drive, so the sun was well up when we arrived, but we had barely left the parking lot when Deb discovered our first surprise of the day, a yellow-crowned night heron. We’ve seen a juvenile in Estabrook again this summer, and I finally saw an adult in Belize last fall, but I believe this is the first adult I’ve seen in the US. Nice!

Right next to the heron was a snowy egret, which we last saw this spring in Dallas. Now, that’s a good start.

The tide was nice and low, so we had timed our impromptu visit just right, and the surprises got bigger as we looked farther out onto the exposed mud. Here’s my very first American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus). Long-time readers may recall that I used to see Eurasian oystercatchers in South Holland, and I knew that we had our own version over here, but it took me a while to finally spot one. Woo hoo! The whole beak is bright orange, and the black on the tip of this one is mud from digging for breakfast.

The biggest surprise of all was this character that flew in and immediately began skulking in and out of the tall grass growing along the edge of the water. I had to look it up to discover that it is our very first Clapper rail (Rallus crepitans), which “are named for their calls: a series of loud, repeated “kek” calls.” Hot Diggity Dog! You may recall that I was only able to show you a rail for the first time just last summer, a Virginia rail at Horicon Marsh.

Finally, they weren’t all exotic, and here’s a familiar face, a pretty little green heron.

Lastly, my other sister is flying in tonight, so I’m not sure what our options will be for tomorrow morning, but I’ve kept a couple of pictures in my back pocket from this morning, and I’ll have something for you in any case.

The good start peters out…

I don’t have much to show you again today, but that’s not for lack of trying. My sister, Deb, and I set out early and hit Hannover Pond, where we saw all the ducks last winter, and Broad Brook Reservoir, where we saw the heronry and the aerie a few springs ago, but nobody wanted their picture taken this morning. After she had to go to work, poor kid, I visited the nature preserve next to my folks’ new place, and there I finally caught somebody on film, our first black-and-white warbler of the fall migration. Woo hoo!

But that’s it, I’m afraid, so to double the content of this post, here’s one more painted lady butterfly from the weeds beside the soccer fields in Estabrook Park on Saturday.

Oh well. That’s just how the cookie bounces sometimes, and we’ll try again tomorrow.

Off to a good start, out here in CT…

I did make it safely to my folks’ place in Connecticut this morning, and thanks for your safe travel wishes. I couldn’t very well walk in the door and say, “Hi, I’ll be back in a couple of hours!” So, I don’t have a lot of pictures for you yet, but this one beauty parked itself where I couldn’t miss it: right on the gutter outside my folks’ door. It’s a red-tailed hawk, and the pale yellow eyes suggest that it’s youngster.

I haven’t seen any butterflies out here yet, but here’s another silver-spotted skipper from the weeds at the south end yesterday.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but I’ve had good luck out here before, so let’s see what I can find tomorrow.

Populations continue to ebb and flow…

We had fabulous weather this morning in Estabrook Park for our weekly wildlife walk and a good turnout, too. The first treat came early when a fawn, still in spots, came running diagonally across the parking lot right toward us all as we were catching up and planning our route. I just stood there and enjoyed the show along with everyone else, so I don’t have a picture for you, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was this youngster, just based on its exuberance.

After that, we took the usual route, by the pond, along the river, and then back up onto the bluff. That’s were our one warbler finally decided to show its face, albeit briefly, and here’s the best picture I could muster of our shy little visitor, another female or immature male blackburnian warbler.

Nearly right below the warbler, the first brown-headed cowbird I’ve seen in Estabrook this month let me have a better look. We’re right at the northern edge of their year-round range, so they’re spotted around there through the winter, but much less frequently than in the warmer months.

It was only after we had returned to the parking lot and all went our separate ways, that this fierce looking red-tailed hawk glided over and perched high above the dog park. Ah well, you can’t win ’em all. Right?

The monarch butterflies are becoming a common sight, which I am thrilled to see, and I saw at least four at the pollinator garden, including these two doing their best to make more. I was a bit surprised to see this at such a late date, but I read that “those that emerge [from their chrysalis] before mid-August will lay eggs over the course of their month-long lifespan. So reproductive females (some that were born here and some from farther north) [are] laying eggs in Wisconsin until about mid-September.” Their offspring will “emerge as adults well into October.” How’s that for cutting it close, eh?

Finally, at the far south end I spotted the first crescent butterfly I’ve been able to show you since July.

Lastly, if some of you are thinking, “that’s weird. He’s been in town for two full weeks now. I wonder if everything’s alright.” Well, you don’t have to worry any longer, ’cause I leave for Connecticut first thing tomorrow morning to see my folks and siblings for a week. My folks will be celebrating their 66th anniversary on Thursday, so I figured “what the heck? I might as well go and wish them congratulations in person.” As usual, I’ll bring my gear with me, look around while I’m there, and show you what I find.

Look who came out from the shadows…

Our recent string of very nice mornings continued in Estabrook Park today, and I even needed a light jacket for the first hour or so. That’ll keep the mosquitos down, at least for a while.

The pond wasn’t quite as busy today, as it was yesterday, so my first treat didn’t come until the islands in the river, where I found this beauty grazing on the pale smartweed that has come up on a sandbar.

A pair of belted kingfishers were as active as ever around the upstream island, and here’s a young male again, but not hiding behind a branch this time.

Once again, I failed to see any warblers, but I did get to lay eyes on this amazing creature, so we still have at least one ruby-throated hummingbird hanging around.

The great crested flycatchers have long gone silent, and nobody has reported seeing one in Estabrook all month, so I sure wasn’t expecting to see this guy, but maybe he’s just passing through on his way south from farther up north. “Safe travels, Buddy!”

The woodpeckers have quieted down, too, if not gone completely silent, so I gotta get back in the habit of finding them with my eyes, and here’s one of the red-bellied variety that made my job easier. “Thanks, Sweetie!”

The big surprise of the morning was spotting this stunning creature on the weeds that remain beside the southern soccer fields. The wings span about 4 inches, and they’re quite shiny, so when they first caught my eye near the top of a stand of joe-pye weed, I figured it was a sliver of clear plastic that I should collect. Thank goodness I approached carefully anyway, because this turns out to be the very first shadow darner dragonfly (Aeshna umbrosa) that I have ever seen. I read that it “flies at dusk and in shaded areas,” so it really is some kind of a miracle that I caught one out in the daylight. Yippee ki-yay!

Finally, the thistle there continues to attract and feed butterflies, and here’s a gorgeous black swallowtail soaking up some sun while it sips nectar.

Lastly, tomorrow morning is forecast to look like a repeat of today, so it should be a great time for our weekly wildlife walk. The sun won’t rise until 6:07 am, so let’s revert back to the single, 8 am start time, and give me a chance to reach the beer garden parking lot without breaking a sweat. Plus, that should give the sun time to warm up the bugs and the birds that hunt for them, so we have something to look at.

Thank goodness for old friends…

It was a beautiful morning in Estabrook Park, with temps in the mid-sixties, a light breeze, and clear skies, and the Badgerland Striders could not have chosen a better time for their half marathon. With sunrise at 6:06 am and a start time of 7:00 am, perhaps you can imagine how the park was already humming with anxious runners when I arrived. I wasn’t worried, though, ’cause I figured I’d have plenty of peace and quiet to commune with the wildlife along the river. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to find more to photograph at the pond than the river for a change.

First, there was this sextet of wood ducks jostling for preening spots on a log against the far shore.

Then, there were a pair of belted kingfishers chasing each other around for a moment, and this young male paused almost where I wanted him. I took this picture when I could, but before I could take a couple of steps to my right to get that stick out from in front of his face, he decided that was enough posing for today. Oh well.

There was also a green heron, but before I got the picture I wanted, I noticed this Cooper’s hawk high in a tree to the east. As with the kingfisher, it let me have one shot, but did not want to wait around for me to get that stick out of the way. Darn.

The green heron, on the other hand, seemed to be in a trance. It hadn’t moved while I went after the Cooper’s hawk, and when I got back, it let me kneel down on the little wooden bridge at the north end of the pond and take all the shots I wanted through the railing. “Thanks, Sweetie!”

I didn’t see any odd ducks, new shorebirds, egrets, or warblers at the river, but I did watch this young spotted sandpiper take a bath, and this is the same looked I’d have on my face if I was contemplating a dip in the river water at 7 am.

Back at the south end, I finally spotted the full trio of hooded mergansers that Anne and the grandson had reported back on Wednesday.

Lastly, there were a few butterflies on the remaining weeds beside the soccer fields, including a couple of monarchs and a painted lady, but I haven’t shown you many silver-spotted skippers so far this summer, so here’s one on a hyssop blossom in the pollinator garden.

I see, now that I’m home, that another birder reported spotting two Tennessee warblers and a yellow warbler in Estabrook this morning, which I somehow missed. Plus, the forecast for tomorrow morning looks even better than today’s, so here’s hoping that I’ll be able to get my act together and spot one or two new birds for you.

One more new arrival and some old favorites…

As I sit at my dining room table to write this now, we’re getting a nice rain, which we sorely need, but right after sunrise it was a nice morning to look for wildlife in Estabrook Park.

The main treat of the day came early as I made my way upstream beside the river. That’s were I heard the ping of our first northern waterthrush of the fall migration. There were even two of them, calling back and forth to each other, but only one little cutie paused in the open for a second so we could get a good look at it.

At least one wood-pewee is still with us, and I know I showed you a pair just yesterday, but just look at this darling pose? How could I say no?

I spent quite a while looking for other warblers, but I came up empty today. Instead, look who I found over the far riverbank as I checked the south end for hooded mergansers. I read that the paler yellow in its beak, compared to its own feet and the beak of the one we saw a little over a week ago, could be a sign of age or vitamin deficiency, but it sure looks healthy otherwise, doesn’t it?

Anyway, that’s it for the birds already, so here’s a damselfly, probably a female American rubyspot, with a metallic green patch on its side, which I don’t recall noticing before.

Finally, I didn’t see any butterflies today, so here’s one more painted lady from the remaining weed patch at the south end.

I did finally hear the official word from the Parks Department about the former weed patch on the other side of the paved path, and that word is “lawn”, I’m sorry to say. I’ve followed up to see if that really is the final word, but one potential bright spot is that I did also receive an invitation to submit a Community Project Request for a pollinator garden at that location, so we might just have to see how that goes. Meanwhile, thanks for all your suggestions. I’m glad that we at least got to the bottom of it, even if it isn’t the bottom we were hoping for.

A pause in the action…

After all the excitement yesterday of the teal, the warbler, the moth, and the grandson’s night heron, today felt like a return to the slower pace of the dog days of summer. The weather was certainly nice enough in Estabrook Park, and I even wore a light jacket until temps rose back into the 60s, but the pace just felt slower.

For example, here’s a great blue heron who must have already caught its belly full of fish and is now content to park in the sun and let its belly get to work on them.

Here’s a pair of wood-pewees peacefully perched together, and the last time I saw two together like this, one was a hungry youngster frantically devouring what its parent had just brought.

One species that was a little more rambunctious than usual was the northern flickers. I saw at least six hopping around in a tree together and calling to each other, and here’s one pausing for a moment to assess the risk I represent. “Don’t worry about me, Kiddo.”

I did see the first hooded merganser I’ve seen in a while, on the river at the far south end, right where Anne and the grandson had told me they saw one yesterday.

The biggest surprise of the morning, however, was this turtle sunning itself on a rock in the river just upstream of the merganser. At first, I thought it was a painted turtle or red-eared slider, which we often see in the pond, and I’ve seen on the river once in a while. But after I got a closer look, I noticed that the lines on its head and neck are thinner than the ones on those other two and not as bright a yellow. Well, that’s because it’s a northern map turtle, instead, and only the second one I’ve ever seen in Estabrook. Woo Hoo! Readers from last summer might recall that I found one crossing the parking lot at Perrot State Park in Trempealeau after our bike ride across Wisconsin, but I think this one is a different individual.

Finally, we continue to search the Milwaukee County Parks org chart for the person that can change the plan for the former weed patch between the paved path and the soccer fields, but in the meantime, here’s a monarch on the thistle still standing on the other side of the path.

Lastly, I see that temps are forecast to be back up into the mid-sixties at sunrise tomorrow, so maybe the show we were enjoying yesterday will resume. A guy can hope, right?