Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

A lull after the storm…

It certainly was a nice enough morning in Estabrook Park. Sure, it was cold, at 10°F, but the breeze was pretty light, and the sun shone through at times. The critters, however, mostly kept out of sight. I did see two great horned owls, but the pictures aren’t as great, and I didn’t see any other raptors. I did see plenty of mallards and geese, but all the less-common water fowl must have fled to the lake. Luckily, yesterday was such a stellar day that I still have plenty of pictures left over to fill in for today.

As I just mentioned, I did see two owls, but I like this picture from yesterday better, before the one had moved and the sun came out.

Here are two more of the bluebirds, a male and a female, that were looking for a sip of river water with the one from yesterday.

Here’s a gadwall drake dabbling with the mallards at the far north end yesterday.

By the pond, I watched this nuthatch checking out an old woodpecker hole in a branch of the big oak tree behind the west lawn.

Here it is again doing the classic nuthatch pose.

One of the bigger surprises yesterday was catching a glimpse of this yellow-rumped warbler. It is probably the same bird I glimpsed at the start of the month, but this time the picture, fuzzy as it is, came out a lot better.

Back at the far south end, the red-tailed hawk that we’ve been seeing in that area lately posed perfectly in the sun and against a beautiful blue sky.

Finally, here’s another one of the European starlings filling up on little red fruits.

It’s beginning to look a lot like winter…

We got about four inches of the white stuff in Estabrook Park since just after I left yesterday morning, and the clouds were still low and heavy when I returned early today. That dim light might be why I was able to find this muskrat enjoying its breakfast out on the ice, as we’ve been seeing its bigger cousin do this week.

Meanwhile, the beaver was farther upstream and fixing instead to enjoy takeout at home.

Here’s a closer look through fewer branches.

A bit farther upstream, I found my first pretty bird picture of the morning, this darling hermit thrush, who perhaps was wondering if it isn’t finally time to fly south to its winter range in southern Illinois.

At the north end, this eastern bluebird might have been wondering the same thing.

On my way back south, the sun was starting to come out, Tom the mink whisperer gave me a heads-up that our great horned owl had moved to a nearby silver maple, and man, oh man, what a pretty spot it picked.

The bushes around the pond were full of birds, after yesterday’s odd lull, and this robin picking berries from a snow-covered bush on the island put on the best show.

Finally, I didn’t see a starling during my entire walk through the park, despite checking both reliable spots. After I crossed Wilson Drive on my way back home, I found out why: they’re all picking berries from this fruit tree in front of Kingo Lutheran Church. There were probably a couple dozen of them.

Opposite Day

I don’t know if the critters in Estabrook Park could sense that there was snow coming today, but they sure were making themselves scarce when I visited this morning. Nearly half of the birds I saw yesterday were in hiding today, and the two critters I did manage to get pictures of today had kept out of sight yesterday. Fascinating.

Things had gotten off to a nice start, despite the dark cloud cover, when I spotted this beaver checking for sticks to nibble on as it worked its way upstream along our shore.

After a bit, it did find something worth getting out of the water for, but I could only get a clear shot of its back end. At least we get a better look than usual at that amazing tail it has.

After I left the beaver to its breakfast, I soon found another infrequent sight, this elusive winter wren.

After that, the show was pretty much over. I did see five of the common mergansers, but no gadwall, and not a single raptor. Luckily, a couple of the raptors yesterday put on such nice displays, that I have extra pictures from then, and here’s another look at the Cooper’s hawk.

Finally, here’s another look at the red-tailed hawk.

Tomorrow’s forecast is currently calling for more snow and plenty of wind, so who knows what I will see, but I’ll give it a look anyway.

Quite the welcome home party

Anne and I had a great time out east, but you also know how I always find it great to be back in Estabrook Park, and the mild winter weather this morning, with temps just below freezing, light winds, and even a bit of sun, sure didn’t hurt.

My first big surprise came as I approached the falls down the bluff from the Bier Garten and looked up river to get a preview. There appeared to be at least two common merganser drakes, and when I finally got up to the open water between the islands, I found three drakes and three hens. Even better, this quintet bunched up nicely for a group picture.

The surprises kept coming because I soon found this gadwall drake dabbling with the mallards in the river upstream of the northern island.

Meanwhile, on shore right behind me, this mature Cooper’s hawk was basking in the sunlight while it lasted.

The pond is still frozen over, so there’s not much chance of seeing a duck there, but the trees and bushes around it were full of little birds, and here’s one of the two fox sparrows I spotted.

Just below the fox sparrow, this white-throated sparrow appeared to stretch its neck just before it took off.

Finally, just as I was about to leave the park at the south end, this beauty swooped into one of the black walnut trees that guard the exit there, probably in pursuit of one of the squirrels that call it home. This isn’t the first time I’ve found a red-tailed hawk there, and I sure hope it won’t be the last.

Connecticut Wrap-up

The precipitation yesterday did eventually peter out, and I was able to get outside to take a couple of pictures of the birds by my folks’ house. Here’s a dark-eyed junco finding seeds in the little strip of grass beside a building where the snow didn’t land.

There is an abandoned driving range nearby, which is now covered with tall grasses and low bushes. This provides great habitat for all kinds of little rodents, which in turn reliably attracts birds of prey, and here’s a red-tailed hawk looking for lunch.

Finally, I also spotted another mockingbird yesterday afternoon, but there was still no sun to light up its pretty eyes.

Overnight, there was a huge change in the weather out here, and the temperature was all the way up to 51°F this morning, so the snow was already almost completely gone. There was also a low and thick cloud cover, so not much light, but at least I never felt a drop as I strolled along the Farmington Canal Trail.

I couldn’t find the otters nor the ring-necked ducks on the pond this morning, but we had a pair of hooded mergansers instead, and here’s the drake keeping his distance.

I didn’t see any red-tails or owls this morning, but here’s one of the two red-shouldered hawks that like to hunt beside the trail.

Finally, my sister and I started hearing yellow-bellied sapsuckers yesterday, and this morning I was finally able to capture an image of this male. I see that we are just inside their winter range out here, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised.

With any luck, our flights this afternoon will go smoothly, and Anne and I will be back in Wisconsin this evening. I look forward to seeing who’s come or gone in Estabrook Park tomorrow.

Monday morning reruns…

We had some snow on the ground this morning in Connecticut, but the precipitation has now changed over to rain, which is how I remember it often went when I lived here as a kid. If this was Estabrook Park, I’d probably be out in it anyway, as you may know by now, but I just didn’t bring the gear along on this trip that I would need for this weather. Thus, we turn to the editing room floor.

Here’s another look at one of the two red-shouldered hawks from last Friday.

Here’s another look at the tufted titmouse, on the same day, but before it got its pose just right.

Finally, here’s the otter from that morning just as it first triumphantly surfaced with whatever it had caught for breakfast.

Connecticut takes a breather

The weather in central Connecticut this morning was almost a carbon copy of yesterday’s: clear, still, and cold. The critters, however, were taking a rest day. I did glimpse the barred owl again, but it was much farther away, and soon swooped off its perch after something before I could line up a shot. The otters and red-shouldered hawks, on the other hand, were nowhere to be found.

In fact, I had already turned around and was on my way back home before I took my first picture. I was walking passed the spot where I took the blue jay picture last Thursday, and I heard quite a squawk from above, which almost sounded like a mammal in distress. I quickly fired up the Merlin app on my phone to help me identify this strange new sound, and it suggested “northern mockingbird”, of all things, which really got me excited because I hadn’t seen one yet on this trip. Sure enough, the squawker soon appeared, and led me on a little chase. Thankfully, it never hopped far, and soon posed perfectly in the warm morning sun. Perhaps that was its plan all along.

Interestingly, at least for me, I read that “the oldest Northern Mockingbird on record was at least 14 years, 10 months old when it was found in Texas,” so this bird could definitely be the exact same individual I saw two years ago, also in December, in the exact same spot. Ha! “Hello, old friend and thanks for the heads-up!”

Finally, since I didn’t take a single other picture worth sharing this morning, here’s another look at a trio of black vultures from the committee I saw on the Vic House yesterday.

CT just keeps getting better…

Man-oh-man, the sights just won’t stop out here. The temps were in the mid-teens at sunrise, but the air was still, and the sky was perfectly clear, which you know I like. Best of all, my sister, the vet who saved the wren a while back, wanted to come with and see the otters.

As we approached the pond, there was a commotion in the woods on the other side of the path, and it turned out to be this beauty, a red-tailed hawk, appearing to make a try for some wood ducks dabbling in a tiny stream. The hawk took a moment to pose for me, and then flew off in search of other prey, and the wood ducks were spared, at least for now.

When we reached the pond, we were a bit disappointed to find it entirely frozen over, and all we could see on it were several dozen geese just resting on the ice. We slowly walked the length of it searching for some open water, and were about to give up and move on, but I gave the geese one more look with the binoculars just in case someone was hiding amongst them. That’s when I finally spotted the otters, who had either found or made a hole in the ice. Ta da! Mission accomplished.

As much as she wanted to stay and watch them, my sister’s toes were getting cold, so we kept moving, and the next treat waiting for us was this little melanistic grey squirrel watching the sun rise, and maybe thinking warm thoughts, from a tiny branch over the trail.

We hadn’t gotten far from the squirrel when there was another flash of motion beside the path. At first, I thought it was another hawk, but the shape wasn’t quite right, and when it stopped to see who we were from a safe distance, I could hardly believe my eyes. It was my sister’s first owl ever and only my second ever barred owl! What marvelous luck she brought along. Of course, the owl had perched almost right in front of the sun and somehow managed also to get a few branches between us, but I persevered and heroically managed to get one picture to look not too bad.

The owl had finally seen enough and moved a little farther away, and it was still darn cold out, so we moved along, too. A hot cup of coffee at the cafe to which we were headed was really starting to sound good, but there was one more sight to take in, this bluebird. There were at least three of them, but this little darling knew the assignment. “Thanks, Sweetie!”

Finally, we made it to the cafe and were just taking our first sips of coffee, when my sister said, “is that a vulture across the street?” I took a peek through the binoculars, and sure enough, she was right, and we weren’t done. I grabbed my camera and ran out the door for a closer look, and the closer I got, the more I saw. In all, I counted at least 20, and here’s the tightest cluster I could find. For those of you that know Cheshire, that’s the roof and chimney of the Victorian House Restaurant & Tavern, aka “the Vic House,” and I wonder if this is some kind of omen.

Finally, here’s a closer look, for those of you wondering what color eyes do black vultures have. They look brown to me.

More CT sights

It was a bit cooler, but the sky was still clear, and the breeze a bit lighter in Connecticut this morning, so it was another fine day for checking out the wildlife along the Farmington Canal Trail.

My first surprise was to find that most of the geese were gone from the pond, but I did find a pair of wood ducks instead. They were quite shy, however, so this is yet another picture taken through a fence and a few sticks.

I was even more excited to spot this quintet of ring-necked ducks, who were a little less shy, and we saw here just last spring, but which I might have only seen one time in Estabrook Park.

Best of all, the otters were back, if a bit farther away, and this one caught something that it munched on for a while.

I had time to hike farther south today, so I got to see this stunner, a red-shouldered hawk.

I soon saw a second one, and they eventually flew a ways to find a perch together in the warm morning sun.

I also saw a few mallards and geese along the way, but it’s always a treat to find American black ducks.

Finally, the titmice seemed bolder today, and this one posed especially nicely.

Lightning strikes twice, but in a good way…

Despite the weather along the route, which caused a couple of flight delays, I made it safely to Connecticut yesterday. Yay. My good luck continued overnight as the wet weather moved out, and the skies were clear, if cool, this morning, so I headed down to the Farmington Canal Trail, which I often visit when I’m here.

As I scanned the pond behind the Bozzuto’s corporate headquarters, located next to the train tracks that used to run where the trail lays now, for anything other than the dozens of Canada geese hugging the far shore, I noticed a ripple in the water closer to my shore. I couldn’t see what was causing it, and I dared to hope for diving ducks or mergansers, but I was totally unprepared to see this trio.

For those in the back row, here’s a closer look at three North American river otters (Lontra canadensis), who appeared to be having a blast. I’ve only ever seen them once before, in Estabrook Park, back in 2021, and I honestly can’t decide which is more amazing, that I once found them within a mile’s walk of my home in Wisconsin, or that I found them again within a mile’s walk of my parents’ home in Connecticut. Either one is pretty crazy, right?

The pictures ain’t great because the sun had just cleared the horizon behind them, so the lighting was terrible, they never paused for a moment, so I had to keep the shutter fast, and I was shooting through a fence and low bushes, so I’m thrilled that one picture even came out this good.

Anyway, the otters slowly worked their way toward the far shore of the pond, so my pictures weren’t getting any better, and I continued down the path. When I came to a little clearing beneath a huge oak tree, which had dropped loads of acorns, I found all kinds of little birds feasting on or amongst them. There was a song sparrow and a bunch of white-throated sparrows, but the bird that really caught my eye was this blue jay, who didn’t like the looks of me, but who really wanted one of those acorns. As it stared me down and decided what to do next, I was able to slow down my shutter to a speed more appropriate for the early morning light.

Finally, what would a visit to Connecticut be without a titmouse picture, and there were a couple who would grab an acorn lickity-split, and then retreat to a nearby branch to break it open and feast on the contents. This one was kind enough to pick a perch to which I had a pretty clear shot.

That’s all I managed this morning, but the nice weather is supposed to continue, so here’s hoping that the amazing subjects do, too.