Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

I finally make it back into Estabrook…

Despite being back in Milwaukee yesterday, I had one more stop to make before going back to Estabrook Park this morning. The Milwaukee Birders were visiting the Shorewood Nature Preserve yesterday morning, and I couldn’t really let them bird my back yard without saying “hi”, now could I? Plus, it gave me a chance to see my very first Forsters’s tern (Sterna forsteri) and take this fuzzy picture of it. I also got my first Caspian tern picture, but it wasn’t as nice.

Meanwhile, back on shore, our first Swainson’s thrush of the season was foraging on a gorgeous bed of moss.

When I finally did get back into Estabrook this morning, the clouds were thick, the breeze wasn’t too strong, and it didn’t rain. The first photogenic sight I saw was our first robin’s egg of the season. Hurray!

At the river, a great horned owl was in its old usual spot on the downstream island. The screech was in, too, but its picture came out about as nice as the Caspian terns’.

And our first solitary sandpiper of the year was foraging on the exposed river bottom beside the upstream island. “Welcome back, Sweetie!”

Below the falls, a killdeer was back on our side of the river for the first time since the start of April.

At the pond, all seven goslings looked hale and hearty, and here they are down for their morning nap.

Finally, your blossoms of the day are these Virginia strawberries. “Yum!”

Lastly, we had a dozen folks for our wildlife walk, and we identified 41 bird species.

Utah and Florida wrap-up…

Before I wound up in Florida, my sister and I had one more opportunity to look for wildlife in Utah, at the Sullivan Virgin River Park in Washington City, but I haven’t had a chance to tell you about it until now, and “yes,” that’s the same Virgin River into which we saw the dipper dipping.

I was thrilled to get a picture finally of this Lucy’s warbler (Leiothlypis luciae), and that hint of a “rusty cap” on the top of his head marks him as an adult male. We heard them on our hike into the Grand Canyon, and I managed to spot one in a tree beside the Colorado River, but I forgot to haul my camera along on that trip.

There were also several verdins around, and this one was too busy singing to worry about li’l ol’ me for a change.

The highlight of the morning, however, was finally getting eyes on what ended up being a whole flock of Gambel’s quail. I had seen them before, but my sister hadn’t, so we followed their calls several times in hopes of a glimpse, and it finally paid off.

Then we drove to Vegas to catch our flights, my sister flew home, and Spirit Airlines took me to Orlando. Even better, they let me have 5+ hours of layover, so I had time to look up the nearest park with a water feature and get an Uber driver to take me there. It was the lovely Airport Lakes Park, and it was just 2 miles away from the terminal, as the crow flies, but I’m not a crow, and I’ve learned that Florida does not like me walking on their highways.

Anyway, as soon as I entered the park, I could hear the familiar call of an Osprey, and it didn’t take me long to find the source. Here it is, high atop the lights over the soccer field feeding its chicks.

The park does not provide much access to Lake Warren, which it abuts, other than a pier which is currently closed because of “storm damage,” but looks more like it has simply been out in the elements for a few years without much if any maintenance. Luckily, it seems that I am not the first person to arrive at that conclusion, so side access was pretty easy to find, and my reward for that little bit of rule-breaking was my first glimpse of an anhinga since Brazil. I read that “the word anhinga comes from a’ñinga in the Brazilian Tupi language and means ‘devil bird’ or ‘snake bird’,” so I guess it is fitting that I saw one there first.

The woods between the soccer fields and the lake were full of birds, including black and turkey vultures, red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks, titmice, gnatcatchers, and even a pileated woodpecker, but my favorite picture is of this singing northern parula , whom I hope to see again in Estabrook Park tomorrow. Since I’m looking up the etymology of unusual bird names now, I read that “the common name “parula” ultimately derives from Latin parrula, Tit (bird),” or “a diminutive form of parus, meaning little titmouse.”

As happens, from time to time, the woods weren’t full only of birds. There were also squirrels, a racoon, and plenty of dragonflies. My favorite of the latter has got to be this stunning, roseate skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea).

Finally, your blossom of the day is this beauty, specifically a Virginia meadowbeauty (Rhexia virginica), as far as I can tell.

Lastly, now that I’m back home, I will be able to join you on our weekly wildlife walk in Estabrook Park tomorrow (Monday) morning. Come on out if you can.

Orlando, Florida…

I finally made it home safely this afternoon, but on my way from Las Vegas to Milwaukee, Spirit Airlines was kind enough to gift me a morning of birding in Orlando, Florida, of all places. I don’t have time right now to go into all the details, nor show you all I saw, but I can at least show you this one stunning creature, my very first white ibis (Eudocimus albus). How amazing is that?

That’s all for now, and I’ll have plenty more to show you soon.

Some Utah leftovers while I’m traveling

My sister and I do plan on going out to look for wildlife one more time tomorrow morning, here in scenic Washington, Utah, but even if we find something amazing, I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to write it up, so here are a few more sights from Utah that I haven’t had room to show you yet.

I’ve been seeing Say’s phoebes all trip, but it wasn’t until we were just about to leave Bryce Canyon that this beauty finally let me have a nice picture.

Now that I’ve seen my first lark sparrow, it seems the dam has been broken, and we’ve been seeing them everywhere. Here’s one across the road from the sage thrasher in Loa, Utah.

Speaking of Loa, here’s another mountain bluebird in a slightly less natural setting.

Here’s a colorful grasshopper, that I am currently unable to identify further, that my niece spotted in Arches National Park.

Just because they look so amazing and they let me have some nice pictures, here’s another look at one of the common loons in Otter Creek Reservoir.

Another bird that’s been showing up since the Grand Canyon is the Steller’s jay, but once again, I failed to get a nice picture until this one in Bryce Canyon.

Finally, here’s a northern house wren in Zion National Park, whom I hope to see return to Estabrook Park soon.

Lastly, your blossoms of the day are these gorgeous dark-throated shooting stars (Primula pauciflora) beside the Virgin River in Zion. Maybe our eastern shooting stars will be open by the time I get home.

Utah 2025, Day 3

Zion was the most crowded park we visited on this trip, based on the ratio of cars to parking spaces, but we had the luck we needed where it counted, thankfully. The weather was nice, the scenery was beautiful, and the critters were bountiful.

The first little cutie who would pose for me was this tiny black phoebe on a branch over the Virgin River. I haven’t seen one since Anne took me to Big Bend National Park back in 2023.

On the other side of the path, I was thrilled when a Anna’s hummingbird kept coming back to the same perch to give me more chances of a decent picture. We have seen one before in Sedona, but that was a female or immature male, and this handsome devil is an adult male in all his breeding finery.

There were yellow butterflies around, and they appeared to be tiger swallowtails, but I never saw one land. Fortunately, this yucca giant skipper (Megathymus yuccae) was happy to sun on a rock in the Virgin river at the north end of the valley.

Back on shore, this is one of several very bold rock squirrels (Otospermophilus variegatus) scurrying around looking for snacks that tourists accidentally dropped.

The star of the show, however, at least for my sister and me, was this American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), “North America’s only truly aquatic songbird,” in the Virgin River at the far end of the Riverside Walk. I know it may not look like all that much, but dippers hunt for their food like no other bird I know, and check out this video I took of it repeatedly jumping into the rushing water to snatch insect larvae from the rocks.

We had heard one earlier in the morning as we looked for birds along the stream that ran behind our motel, but we had failed to lay eyes on it. So I was checking nearly every rock in the Virgin River, in hopes of getting my first glance, but it was my sister who found this amazing creature first. What a treat!

In case you are video averse, here’s a still image of it diving in headfirst.

Finally, your blossom of the day is this single desert columbine (Aquilegia desertorum) growing beside the trail. With any luck, we’ll see a similar sight in Estabrook Park soon enough.

Tomorrow we drive to Las Vegas to catch flights home. Wish us luck.

Utah 2025, Day 2

After Arches National Park yesterday, we stayed overnight in the tiny town of Loa, Utah, and this morning, before the kids got up, my sister and I went out to see who might be around. It was below freezing, for the first time this trip, at sunrise, and it took a while for the local critters to get going, but once they did, they put on a nice show for us.

The first big treat was this sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), our very first, who was quite persistent in getting his message out.

There were also vesper sparrows, lark sparrows, bluebirds, and yellow-rumped-warblers, but the biggest surprise was this yellow cutie. You may be as stunned to learn as I was that house finches, yup, the grey or red birds we see in Estabrook all winter long, can be yellow! I now read that “yellow house finches are frequently seen in the southwest and Hawaii where natural foods are low in some … carotenoids.“

Then it was time to get some breakfast and drive down to Bryce Canyon National Park. On the way, we were passing by a large body of water, Otter Creek Reservoir, and I was trying to make out the birds on the water, when my sister pointed out two large birds in the air, which looked for all the world like pelicans. Wow!

So, we stopped when the road got close to the water, and I hopped out. Sure enough there were a few American white pelicans on the water, which we’ve seen before at Kohler-Andrae State Park. Instead, the bigger surprise was our very first western grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis). What amazing beauties!

Even better, there were a few common loons (Gavia immer), which look anything but common. I once glimpsed them from afar on a canoe trip decades ago, but I’ve never had a chance to photograph one until today. Outstanding!

We eventually had to get back on the road, but the thrills weren’t over yet because just before we rolled into Bryce Canyon City, this darling pronghorn was standing beside the road. Thankfully, my sister, who was driving at the time, saw it first and had the wherewithal to pull over quickly so I could get you this picture. “Thanks, Deb!”

Bryce Canyon was cool, and the scenery is really something to see, but the icing on the cake for me was getting yet another chance at a pygmy nuthatch picture.

Finally, what’s a visit to Bryce Canyon without getting to see a golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis)? Right?

Lastly, your blossom of the day is this curious sight, which I believe is dwarf lousewort (Pedicularis centranthera).

Tomorrow we’re off to Zion National Park, so wish us luck!

Utah 2025, Day 1

After Antelope Canyon yesterday, my sister said “we’ve come all this way, we might as well see Utah, too,” so we drove up to Monticello yesterday afternoon to stay on the outskirts of town in a geodesic dome under a very dark and very stary sky. Not surprisingly, it was quite cold this morning, but the clear skies also let the sun warm things up quickly.

One of the birds out taking advantage of the nice morning was this stunning mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides), who I first saw in Big Bend National Park back in 2023, but I didn’t realize it at the time. In any case, it was my sister’s first.

Another was this western meadowlark, who we just saw in Lakeshore State Park, amazingly enough, but who my sister hasn’t seen until today.

I’ve been seeing mule deer nearly everywhere we go, but this morning was the first time I managed to get a nice picture of one.

From Monticello, we drove up to Arches National Park, which turned out to be worth the drive, and one of the sights that made it so was this plateau fence lizard (Sceloporus tristichus).

Another elusive rascal we’ve been seeing since the Grand Canyon is this black-throated sparrow, and today one finally relented.

We also saw a chipmunk at the Grand Canyon, specifically a cliff chipmunk, but they apparently have different ones up here, and this is my very first Hopi chipmunk (Neotamias rufus).

Finally, your blossom of the day is this gorgeous Mojave kingcup cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus ssp. mojavensis)

Arizona, 2025, Day 4

After a fabulous time at the Grand Canyon, we drove up to Page, AZ yesterday afternoon so that we could have an early visit to Antelope Canyon this morning. Our scheduled visit time wasn’t crazy early, however, so my sister and I had time to go out looking for wildlife on the golf course in town beforehand.

As we approached the course just a bit before the sun came over the high horizon in the east, we noticed that it was covered with dark shapes. Once we got close enough and the sun finally crested the ridge, look who made up about 2/3rds of those dark shapes: white-faced ibises (Plegadis chihi)! Holy smokes! They are our first ever, and they were frantically foraging for morsels in the grass just as I see ring-billed gulls forage on the southern soccer fields in Estabrook Park. As soon as one found something, all its nearby buddies hurried over to help.

The other 1/3rd of the dark shapes turned out to be mountain cottontails (Sylvilagus nuttallii).

Above the grass, and making a bit of a racket, was a trio of darling western kingbirds (Tyrannus verticalis), another first for us.

In the natural growth beside the fairway, we found my sister’s first rock wren;

at the edge of a rock outcropping, we spotted her first greater roadrunner;

and in the tall bushes overhead, we found her first black-chinned hummingbird, and my first adult male.

Then we had to go for our scheduled slot-canyon tour, which was amazing, and when we emerged at the “upstream” end of the slot, look who was there to greet us, our very first lark sparrow (Chondestes grammacus). Ha!

Finally, your blossoms of the day are these gorgeous buds on what I believe is a smallflower fishhook cactus (Sclerocactus parviflorus)

We’re now in Utah and planning to visit Arches National Park tomorrow, which I hear is nice, but before we get to that, I can’t wait to see who’s around when the sun comes up.

Arizona, 2025, Day 3

My sister had this crazy idea that we should hike down to the Colorado River and back up to the rim yesterday, day 2, so we set out before sunrise and did that. I managed to get some interesting pictures with my phone, but I did not haul my camera along on that hike, so those can wait for another day. This morning, however, my sister and I went out to see who we could see before we got on the road, and there were plenty of faces new and old.

This first beauty is our very first black-throated grey warbler (Setophaga nigrescens), whose natural range does not extend east of New Mexico, so you’ve gotta come out west to see them.

Another westerner is this ash-throated flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens), another first for me, and a bird whose appearance and behavior reminded me of the great crested flycatchers we’ll be seeing arrive in Estabrook soon.

It wouldn’t be a visit to the Grand Canyon without seeing a cliff chipmunk, it seems, so here you go.

Similarly, this western bluebird came out to welcome me back with another fine portrait opportunity. I wish the eastern bluebirds we see in Estabrook would be so kind.

This pygmy nuthatch, on the other hand, gave me a much better look than I got last time.

There were plenty of these around, and at first the glossy males made me think they might be grackles of some kind, but the short beak and grayish-brown females helped me identify them as our first Brewer’s blackbirds (Euphagus cyanocephalus).

Finally, your flower of the day is this tiny common stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium).

I’m still a bit exhausted from yesterday, and we’re hiking again tomorrow, so I’ve gotta let you go, and I’ll be back with more tomorrow.

Arizona, 2025, Day 1

While waiting for the rest of my party to arrive, I strolled out into the nice xeriscaping they added in front of the rental car center at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. I know that may not sound like much, but it was quite nice, and wait till you see who I found there.

First, there were a few Eurasian collared doves, which we’ve seen a few times, most recently in Albania.

Then, I caught a glimpse of a verdin, which we saw when I was in Sedona.

But the star of the show was this stunning and hungry Costa’s hummingbird (Calypte costae), my first ever, who kept coming back to this flowering bush for more helpings of nectar.

Even better, it only retreated a little ways to a taller bush, where I managed to get this slightly better picture. For the full effect, however, do yourself a favor and check out the photo gallery on AllAboutBirds. You won’t regret it.

Finally, your blossom of the day is this saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea).

See? I told you it was nicer than it sounded.