Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

Trying to fill a gorgeous setting…

It was about as nice a morning in Estabrook Park as I could ask for, weather wise, with mild temps, still air, and clear skies, but the critters and I seem to be still adjusting to the new, post-migration, normal, because I really struggled to come up with pictures to reflect the pretty day.

One bright spot was this osprey, who put on an impressive show over the river just upstream of the two islands. It started with a nice flyby, …

and progressed to the impressive hovering maneuver they can do. Sadly, I didn’t get to see it try for anything, let alone land a fish, before it moved on to a new spot.

Closer to the water, there are still a couple of spotted sandpipers keeping the killdeer company, and here’s the one that let me sneak a picture.

At the pond, I was surprised to find no trace of the wood duck hen and her dozen ducklings, despite a couple of visits. I’m sure they’ll turn up, but until then, we’ll just have to make do with this green heron fishing at the edge of the west lawn.

In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a reminder of just how much neck they keep coiled up under those feathers.

Back at the southern soccer fields, I was happy to find a kingbird again, and even happier to find a pair of them. It’s a shame I couldn’t get them to pose together, but one kingbird is better than none, right?

Finally, I did hear a few indigo buntings throughout the park, but none would allow me the portrait this youngster let me have yesterday.

I see that the weather tomorrow is supposed to be a repeat of today, and possibly even nicer, so here’s hoping that I have better luck!

Meteorological summer gets off to a fine start…

Meteorological summer kicked off this morning in Estabrook Park with cloudy skies, mild temps, and nearly still air. I sure could have used a bluer sky, but as a wise man once opined, two out of three ain’t bad.

I had a little time before our 7am meet-up at the beer garden parking lot, so I stopped by the pond, and I’m beginning to hope that we have a nesting pair of green herons there. I’ve been seeing a couple, or more, pretty regularly lately, and here’s one hunting up some breakfast for today.

I don’t believe I took any pictures in the 7 o’clock hour, but after our whole group was assembled at 8am, this mature Cooper’s hawk swooped in as we were making our way to the river. Wouldn’t a bluer sky have been a nice addition?

As is the case with many of the birds in the park, whether they migrate or not, the northern flickers make quite a racket for a few weeks in the spring, but then they go mostly silent after the couples are all sorted out, and nesting season gets under way. This guy didn’t really break the radio silence today, but he did let me have a real nice picture for a change.

When we finally made it to the pond, a pair of green herons were still calling and flitting about, but I was even more thrilled to see our first ducklings there for the year. Hallelujah and congratulations to the new mom! If you count carefully, I believe you can come up with the same twelve fluffy little heads that I did. I didn’t get to see if they emerged from one of the nesting boxes I help Gene install on the island, but we’re already twelve ducklings ahead of where we were last year when those boxes were laying on the ground, so putting them up on posts sure didn’t hurt!

As I was working on a presentable duckling shot, Jenny frantically signaled for me to look up, because that’s where some real action was getting underway. I don’t know if it was on purpose or simply an innocent mistake, but a hawk had entered restricted airspace, and at least three red-winged blackbird males had scrambled to neutralize the threat.

I was too busy trying to keep my lens pointed in the right direction to pay much attention to exactly which hawk it was, but I figured it was probably a Cooper’s hawk, if only because that’s all I’ve been seeing in Estabrook lately. If you look at the picture above, however, after I’ve cleaned it up a bit, you can see that that’s no Cooper’s hawk.

Even better, the red-winged blackbirds enticed it to show us the top side, as well, and with that evidence, my sources inform me that this is a broad-winged hawk, which we’ve only seen once before just last summer. “Welcome back, Sweetie, and watch out for the red-winged blackbirds!”

Finally, just as I was approaching the Oak Leaf Trail to exit the park and go have something to eat, I spotted this guy already enjoying his own breakfast of dandelion seeds. I read that the brown patches suggest a first-year male.

Tomorrow is forecast to repeat much of this morning, but without the clouds, so I look forward to a chance for some even prettier pictures, and we’ll see if I can deliver on that soon enough.

It’s time to close the book on May…

I had a nice enough morning in Estabrook Park, but I kept waiting for a chance to photograph someone new or someone we soon won’t see for a while, but that chance never came. Oh, there are still plenty of pretty sights to see, don’t worry about that, but I’ve gotta recalibrate my expectations now that spring migration appears to be all wrapped up. Thus, I didn’t get a single picture today, which is just the opportunity I’ve been waiting for to show you a few more pictures from our recent trip to Africa.

I already showed you a southern red-billed horn-bill, but you will be stunned to learn that there are also southern yellow-billed horn-bills (Tockus leucomelas), and here’s the one we saw at Pilanesberg National Park.

This next picture may be a little confusing at first glance, and part of that is because there are two birds snuggling together as they hang from that little branch. You can see their two little black faces and beaks pressed together in the middle near the top of that pile of gray feathers, and you can see the left foot of the bird on the right wrapped around that branch and just below its face. These cuties are Speckled Mousebirds (Colius striatus), and besides snuggling, they seemed to like foraging together in a little flock of 6-12 birds in the trees around the Holiday Inn Parking lot.

Also near the Holiday Inn, close to where I spotted that crested barbet, there were at least three of these handsome Rameron Pigeons (Columba arquatrix) crowded onto the top of that evergreen tree. The name appears to have been recently changed to African Olive Pigeon, but that hasn’t percolated through to all my sources yet.

We’ve seen northern shovelers in Estabrook Park and South Holland, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find that the shovelers in South Africa are not northern shovelers. Instead, this one at the fabulous Korsman Bird Sanctuary is called a Cape Shoveler (Spatula smithii).

I did see at least one mallard there, as well, but the far more interesting duck was this striking creature, a Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata).

I’ve already shown you a nice portrait of the fiscal flycatcher that hung out near the Holiday Inn, and I read that it is named after this similar looking bird, a Southern Fiscal (Lanius collaris), which is a shrike. I read that the name “fiscal” comes from the Afrikaans word for tax collectors, who were known to wear black and white, and it is believed that the fiscal flycatcher has evolved to look like the shrike to protect itself from predators, an example of Batesian mimicry.“

Finally, I’ve shown you bright green rose-ringed parakeets from South Holland before, and it turns out that they have also been introduced to South Africa, but I had no idea that they also come in blue, until now.

It’s supposed to be mostly cloudy and cool tomorrow morning, but the winds should be very light for our weekly wildlife walk, so if there are any late birds still migrating through, we should be able to hear them. Or you can just point out to me any of the dozens of perfectly fine species that’ll be here all summer. Either way, I’ll stop by the beer garden parking lot to look for you at 7am and again at 8.

Another dry day in May…

The nice weather continued this morning in Estabrook Park, although the breeze did pick back up a bit, but not so much that I couldn’t hear the birds singing. There are still a few warblers hanging around, but none wanted to be in the pictures today.

Instead, the red-breasted merganser was still out in the open on the river, and appears to have moved on from the washing phase to the drying phase. I hope he gets things sorted out soon so he can catch up to his compadres.

Here’s a little cutie we don’t get to see in Estabrook Park too often, a chipping sparrow, who, despite chipping his heart out, took me nearly as long to get eyes on as the cerulean warbler.

Another sign that summer can’t be too far off was this bullfrog in the river keeping an eye on me as I lined up this shot.

I did see a couple batches of goslings this morning, but this picture from Thursday came out better, and I’d say they’re starting to look like tweens.

There were also a couple of spotted sandpipers flitting about, now that the river is nice and low, but I couldn’t beat this picture from Tuesday.

When I got back from Namibia, I caught just the tail end of the annual toad mating frenzy on the river, but I didn’t get any pictures, and this toad I saw on Thursday seemed kinda tired and might have been just hopping away from that happy event.

Finally, I took this picture with my phone, but I clearly didn’t check the result closely enough to see if it had focused on the right subject, because it sure seemed more interested in my dirty finger than the pretty dragonfly perched on it, our very first Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura). The rule is, however, that I can’t list it in our index of species pictured in the park until I include it in a post, and who knows if or when I’ll ever see one again, so here we are.

The winds are supposed to back off a bit while the clouds thicken up a bit for tomorrow morning, but there is still no rain in the forecast, so it appears that this month will go down in the history books as our driest May yet. I wonder who will show up to usher it out the door.

Summer weather eases back in…

It was a chilly morning in Estabrook Park, with temps in the high 40s, but the recent little cool snap appears to be winding down, the wind has also hit pause, and we’re due to hit 70°F this afternoon. Phew!

The cool, still air made for a light fog over the warm river water, and here’s the wood duck hen and her five ducklings in the thick of it.

Farther upstream, just as I approached the islands above the falls, I spotted a group of deer wading across to the far riverbank. I thought at first they were the pair we’ve been seeing lately, but there were three of them, and they’re all bucks. I wonder where they’ve wandered in from. Has your garden run out of tulips?

As I was hoping the bucks would get closer together for a nice group shot, three great blue herons glided downstream overhead, and here’s the straggler of the bunch.

The warblers have mostly all flown north by now, but they’ve left a few stragglers behind, too, and here’s a magnolia warbler hunting for bugs on a crabapple tree by the river.

A bigger surprise today was spotting one last red-breasted merganser on the river, and it’s only the second one spotted in the park all month. “What’s the holdup, Buddy?”

Finally, the first batch of robin chicks have fledged, and here’s one begging Dad for more breakfast.

And here’s dutiful Dad coughing up the goods. If you look closely, you can see that they’ve both covered their eyes with that inner lid they have for just such occasions.

Lastly, we had a great showing last evening for the Milwaukee Birders’ Birds and Brews. I counted 19 bird species in just over an hour, and I was sure glad I had packed another layer to put on for the brews hour. The next one is scheduled for June 4 in Humboldt Park, in case you’re sorry you missed this one.

Spring reminds us that it’s not over yet…

Our recent string of pretty days continued in Estabrook Park this morning, but someone must have panicked about the warmth and flipped on the giant AC unit parked just a mile to our east, because we’ve had quite the cooldown compared to earlier in the week. The good news is that the sun is over 90% of its way to the Tropic of Cancer right now, and the clear skies let it keep things from getting too cool around here.

Anyway, the sun was just coming over the horizon when I spotted one of the green herons that I have a hope might be regulars at the pond for the summer.

The next pretty sight came at the far northwest corner of the park, as I checked on the cliff swallows nesting under the Port Washington Road bridge, and I managed to capture this one in flight.

On my way back downstream, I heard a Cooper’s hawk calling from up on the bluff, so I hustled up there just in time to see one fly off, probably a parent, and this youngster, who looked a little more dignified than the last time we saw it.

I’ve shown you a few times the beautiful iridescence that male grackle feathers can produce, and here’s a slightly subdued example. I thought perhaps that it was a female, but my sources believe that I was mistaken. Oh well. Next time.

At least there’s no mistaking that this one is a recent fledgling, which the bird above was noisily protecting.

Farther downstream, my wish for a better look at the wood duck hen and her ducklings came true sooner than I expected.

Finally, with the cool breeze out of the east we were enjoying this morning, I didn’t expect to see much insect life, although I sure did look for it. Happily, conditions were so much more to their liking yesterday, that I captured this image of our first American lady butterfly within a hundred yards of the swallowtail I already showed you.

Lastly, I plan on meeting up with the Milwaukee Birders for their “Birds and Brews” at 5:30 this afternoon in Estabrook Park at the Beer Garden, so come on out and join us if you’ve got the time.

A guy could get used to this weather…

Our recent string of beautiful mornings continued today with another exemplar edition, and the wildlife did its best to keep up.

Before we get to this morning, however, let me show you this amazing little cutie that was kind enough to get my attention right as I hopped on the Oak Leaf trail to ride my bike to campus yesterday afternoon. Its call sounded like a warbler, but not one I recognized, so I whipped out my often-trusty Merlin App to see if it knew who it was, and its best guess was “cerulean warbler”. Heavens to Murgatroyd! I sure ain’t heard one of those before, let alone ever seen one.

Thus, I channeled my best little bird nerd and ran back across Wilson Dr to grab my binoculars and camera, all while holding my breath in hopes that the little stinker wouldn’t move on without me. Happily, the caterpillars in that tree must have been especially tasty because once I returned, it kept right on calling for the nearly 10 minutes I frantically searched the tree for a glimpse of it.

Then, once I did finally lay eyes on it, I got quite the little show for another full 10 minutes, although it did keep to the higher branches. I ended up with 150 pictures, and this is the best of the lot, if you can believe it. Give a warm Estabrook welcome to our first ever Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea). We’re near the north edge of their breeding range, but ebird considered my sighting “rare” for reasons I don’t know. Perhaps it just never expected me to find one. Ha!

Okay, back to this morning. I’ve been hearing great crested flycatchers since we got back from Africa, but today was the first time one let me sneak a picture.

There must be some insect emerging from the river right now that is big enough for ring-billed gulls to see, catch, and be worth the effort, because for the past few days there have been dozens of such gulls gliding over the water and occasionally dipping to snatch something out of it. I tried to capture one in the act, of course, but this was the best I could do today.

Long-time readers may recall that I reported cliff swallows nesting under the southern eave of the Holiday Inn across the river, and I kept checking for them this year, but I haven’t seen any, until now. It turns out that they’ve opted to build their nests under the Port Washington Road bridge this time, and you can just see the face of one peeping out of the nest in this picture. Perhaps they became jealous of the pigeons and barn swallows that nested there in the past and decided to horn in on their act.

Another bird that has been singing since my return is the red-eyed vireo, and this one must have heard about the flycatcher picture above and didn’t want to be left out.

As I made my way back downstream, the surprises weren’t done with me yet, because here are our first ducklings of the year, along with their mom, a wood duck hen. What a fabulous sight, and I sure hope we get to see more of them.

Finally, as I made my way across the southern soccer fields, I did see another monarch, but it kept right on flying, as its comrades had done yesterday, and we’ll just have to settle for a picture of this gorgeous black swallowtail instead.

I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

It’s really starting to feel and look like summer…

The summer-like weather continued this morning in Estabrook Park, and I didn’t have to wear even a windbreaker for the first time this year. Woo Hoo!

I had barely stepped into the park when I saw my first treat, this hungry coyote sampling what the Memorial Day revelers had left behind. “Mmm, mmm, good!”

When I checked on the blue jay nest, I was thrilled to see both birds there. Even better, the one on the left was leaning in to feed a chick. “Congratulations to the proud parents!”

I stopped by again on my way home, when there was a lot more light, but by then it was naptime.

My next fun sight was this young Cooper’s hawk on the lawn.

It appeared to be still discovering the world, and here it is sampling some dandelion seeds.

And here it is spread out on the grass, perhaps to soak up a little sun. “Have fun, Kiddo!”

Finally, I saw two monarch butterflies today, but neither would stop for pictures, my first dragonfly of the year, and a couple of carpenter bees filling up on nectar from creeping Charlie blossoms. Here’s one of the bees.

The forecast for tomorrow morning looks nearly as nice as today, so maybe I’ll catch a butterfly taking a break.

The weather finally got the memo that summer has begun…

The cloudy skies that we’ve been enjoying every morning in Estabrook Park lately, finally gave us a break today, and I got to see the sun as soon as it came over the horizon for a change. It appears that I wasn’t the only one to have been missing it either, because this green heron on the pond seemed for all the world to be just as enthralled by it as I was.

We had a good showing for the wildlife walk, both at 7am and again at 8am, and each group got good looks at the red-headed woodpecker that has been hanging around lately. Here it is being a little coy, and …

here it is just about posing for a portrait. I sure hope it can get comfortable with the attention it’s attracting and stick around for the summer.

Finally, just about when the two groups of walkers merged, we learned that the sandpipers and killdeer on the river had a special guest today, our first lesser yellowlegs of the year. “Hello, Sweetie! Where’ve you been all spring?”

That’s all I have for today, and I could dig back into the pile of pictures from Africa, but they can wait for another day, and I’m gonna get back to a family event instead.

The weekend weather gets even classicer.

When I left the house this morning, the forecast was calling for less than a 50% chance of rain, but I sure got more than 50% soaked. Given that this was on track to be our driest May ever, I guess that I should say “we needed the rain”, but couldn’t we have needed it before sunrise?

Anyway, before the rain came, I was thrilled to spot this wild turkey strutting across the southern soccer fields.

Much more common, but no less thrilling, was this green heron on the pond. The heron was able to up its game, however, by reeling in this fish while I watched.

Then the rain started, and just in time for my ride up to Kletzsch Park to meet the Milwaukee Birders. Luckily, they announced a rain delay, so I had time to scoot over to a nearby gas station to savor a cup of coffee and dry out a bit. Happily, the rain did soon quit, there was a nice turn out for the walk, and one of the most exciting finds was this blue-grey gnatcatcher sitting in its nest.

Barely fifty yards from the gnatcatcher, Kletzsch Park delivered again with this adorable screech owl.

That’s it for the pictures today, and I’m surprised I even have that many, given the weather. On the plus side, it does leave me a little room to continue chipping away at the pile of recent trip pictures I still have, so here are a few more from the Korsman Bird Sanctuary.

This first pretty face belongs to a spur-winged goose (Plectropterus gambensis), and I read that “they are among the largest true African waterfowl (besides the wading Goliath heron) and are, on average, the world’s largest “goose”.” As for the bald face, I read further that it acts as a mating display, a maturity marker, an excess heat radiator, and something easier to clean than feathers for a bird that regularly digs into mud for tubers.

As luck would have it, this next bird, a heron with reddish and blueish parts, is just such a Goliath heron (Ardea goliath), “the world’s largest living heron.” They are, on average, twice as heavy as the great blue herons we often see in Estabrook Park.

Finally, here’s an African darter (Anhinga rufa) and close cousin to the Anhinga we most recently saw in Florida.

Welp, I’d better wrap this up so I can get out and enjoy some of the nice weather that has finally arrived, but before I go, let me point out that I will be at the beer garden parking lot tomorrow morning at 7am and again at 8am for our weekly wildlife walk. With an easing of the wind out of the north, it felt this morning as though warblers have started to continue their trip north, but they certainly haven’t all left yet, so this might be your last best chance to see them. Also, the winds are supposed to be pretty light, the temps pretty mild, and the skies clear, so the odds are that you won’t get soaked.