Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

The surprise guests become even more surprising…

The weather this morning was just as nice as forecast, so I entered Estabrook Park with high hopes just a few minutes before sunrise, and the critters did not disappoint.

The first treat of the day, and probably the biggest by any measure of the (insert time period here), was encountering this family of American river otters barely twenty feet away. To make it even more fun, they appeared to be as interested in me as I was in them, and they took turns bobbing up for a closer look, so I have more pictures to milk for the rest of the week. You may recall that I saw them a couple of times at a good distance back east this winter, but I’ve only ever seen them in Estabrook once before, and that was almost four years ago.

Once they had all satisfied their curiosity and dove under for the last time, I stuck around a bit in case one might resurface again, and look who soon came swimming by, the beaver that we often saw there early last summer. I wonder what they think of each other.

The red-breasted merganser and green-winged teal seem to have finally moved on, and the most interesting sight at the north end is the one remaining goldeneye, but I left it alone today. On my hike to the pond, on the other hand, I first heard and then saw our first brown-headed cowbird of the year. Yippee!

Barely a hundred yards past the cowbird and on the softball field, I finally got my first picture for this year of the killdeer I’ve been hearing for a week or two. Yippee-ki-yay!

Once I finally reached the pond, it took me a while to find this wood duck hen trying to take a nap deep in the bushes on the northern tip of the island.

I’ve already shown you the mallards and the geese on the pond this week, so I headed back to the river, and as I passed the dog park, this starling in the birch tree right out front caught my ear and then my eye. That’s quite a rainbow of iridescence it has, eh?

Finally, when I reached the river again, I found our visiting ring-necked hen quite a ways down stream of her spot yesterday but more relaxed, a lot closer to shore, and in some gorgeous morning light.

Man, with the way this week’s been going, I can’t wait to see who I’ll find next. Right?

Another surprise guest appearance…

It had gotten cold enough overnight for a skin of ice to form on the puddles, but it was back above freezing by this morning. Plus, the wind wasn’t too strong, and the clouds were pretty thin, so it was a fine time for watching wildlife in Estabrook Park.

My first treat was catching this muskrat enjoying its breakfast at the edge of the river, where we often saw it right around this time last year.

The green-winged teal drake was still with us, but a little harder to photograph than yesterday.

One reason it might have been jumpier today was the presence of this little scamp, one of our island mink. When I first spotted it, it was being escorted by at least two geese and a few mallards as it swam from our riverbank to the island, a behavior that I’ve seen before.

Another treat was one of our great horned owls being kind enough to show its face again.

The biggest treat of the morning for me, however, was spotting this female ring-necked duck. As far as I can tell, I’ve only seen one in Estabrook once before, so here’s hoping it sticks around for a bit. Maybe it could team up with the teal.

Meanwhile, we still have a goldeneye drake, …

and a red-breasted merganser drake.

Plus, there were three wood duck drakes on the pond, of which here’s one, so it was quite a morning for colorful ducks!

Finally, the forecast for tomorrow morning looks perfect, so let’s hope that the critters are up and about, to take advantage of it.

The floodgates are opening…

It was another beautiful morning in Estabrook Park, though not quite as warm, still, or sunny as yesterday. The parade of new arrivals continues, however, so it was a great time for a visit.

The first big surprise came as I approached the islands in the river. I always scan ahead, in an effort to see who’s there before I spook them, and look who I saw perched over our riverbank today: our first great blue heron of the year. All right!

There were a bunch of little birds picking at the gravel that runs through the middle of the meadow opposite of the upstream island, and the most interesting one for me was this American tree sparrow just because we don’t get to see them that often in Estabrook.

Back out on the river, the next huge surprise was spotting this green-winged teal drake. We saw a hen or immature drake hanging out in the river for a few days last fall, but I believe I’ve only ever seen a mature drake in Estabrook once before. Yee haw!

Back on shore, we’ve still got a hermit thrush who hasn’t yet flown north.

I didn’t see any common or red-breasted mergansers today, and I only glimpsed a trio of hooded mergansers, but there were at least three goldeneyes still with us, and here’s one of the drakes.

When I finally got to the pond, the geese were out grazing on the lawn, and the new arrival today was this lone wood duck hen. “Welcome back, Sweetie!”

Finally, as I was trying to get a decent picture of the wood duck, who was hiding behind some sticks and in the shade, I just happened to glance up in time to catch a quartet of large birds flying north over the river. I only had a second before they disappeared behind the big oak tree that grows over the west lawn, and my autofocus decided to focus on that tree instead, but I believe that the outstretched long necks and legs, plus the black and sandy pattern on the wings, still identify these as the first sandhill cranes I’ve managed to photograph in Estabrook Park. Woo hoo, and oh well! Maybe I’ll have better luck next year.

It feels like spring has finally sprung…

The weather was as nice this morning in Estabrook Park as forecast, and yesterday’s sun had dried out the river trail mud quite a bit, so it was a perfect time for our weekly wildlife walk. There were thirteen of us all together, and we saw 28 bird species, including a first-of-the-year northern flicker.

We did see this red-breasted merganser later, but my best picture opportunity came on my walk to the beer garden while the sun was low enough in the sky to leave it in shadows.

Our first stop was the pond, were we saw the young white-crowned sparrow, who did its best to avoid pictures, and several white-throated sparrows, who have started singing, and at least one of whom were kinder to my camera.

Our next stop was the river, where we saw all three mergansers, goldeneyes, mallards, and geese, but I was most excited about seeing my first Cooper’s hawk of the month.

Folks eventually had to get on with their day, but I hadn’t taken many pictures yet, and my schedule was clear, so I went back to the river, where I found this song sparrow singing its heart out.

I stopped by the pond one more time on my way south, and I found this critter enjoying a nap in the warm morning sun.

The pond ice has not all melted yet, but a pair of geese and at least a dozen mallards were enjoying what open water there was, and when I sat on the bench on the west lawn, the geese and a pair of mallards came up to say “hi”. I’m sure they were wondering if I had anything for them to eat, but that’s some other guy. Plus, the sign clearly says, “don’t feed the birds.”

Anyway, here’s the gander keeping an eye on me while his goose samples the grass. Here’s hoping that they are the pair who have raised goslings on the pond for as long as I’ve been doing this, and she will soon assume her throne on the southern tip of the island.

Here’s a bold mallard hen who quickly followed the geese.

And here’s a mallard drake hanging back for a second.

I didn’t have any luck finding the flicker again, so wish me some for tomorrow morning.

Back to the lake…

It was already above freezing at sunrise this morning, and I expected the trails along the river in Estabrook Park to be very muddy again, so I opted to join the Milwaukee Birders as they visited Lakeshore State Park.

When I first arrived, the lagoon was teeming with greater scaups, and here’s a drake, …

and here’s a hen. I’ve seen them at least once in Estabrook on the Milwaukee River in Estabrook, but they mostly keep to the lake, so I was glad for the chance to see them before they’ve all gone back north.

There were also a few redheads, but they kept farther from shore, and a few goldeneyes, but we’ve seen plenty of them lately. The red-breasted mergansers, on the other hand, let me get a good picture, and we haven’t seen much of them in the park in a while. Plus, they always look amazing.

I had hoped to see some buffleheads, but I didn’t find one until I was north of Bradford Beach on my way back home. At least there is still hope that one might pop in to Estabrook to sample the fine “aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, and mollusks” of the Milwaukee River.

Finally, since it was such a nice day, and it was right on my way, I stopped in at the Shorewood Nature Preserve. By then, however, it was already quite late in the morning, so the place was pretty quiet, but this white-breasted nuthatch was kind enough to dust off its favorite pose for us.

That’s it for sights along the lake for today, so here’s a look at a quartet of common mergansers on the Milwaukee River yesterday.

The forecast is for beautiful weather tomorrow morning, with mild temps, still air, and clear skies, so come on out for our weekly wildlife walk if you’ve got the time. Ebird reports that a belted kingfisher, pine siskin, and a yellow-rumped warbler have been spotted this weekend, so Estabrook Park is firmly atop the leader board of species spotted in Milwaukee County this month. We’ll still meet at 8 am, which is now inexplicably an hour closer to sunrise, so the critters should still be plenty active by then. Keep your fingers crossed that the warm sun today has managed to dry up some of the mud along the river by then.

A morning of several happy returns…

Wow, what a morning to be in Estabrook Park. Temps were in the mid-20s, so the trail mud was nice and firm, winds were nearly calm, so I could hear a bird chirp, and the sun was shining bright, at least for a couple of hours.

My first treat didn’t come until I reached the islands above the falls, where I found this goldeneye drake floating in icy water that was reflecting the old brick candy factory across the river and lit up by the golden morning sun.

Just a bit upstream, I found the sole remaining hooded merganser, a hen, in the company of a mallard pair and perhaps emboldened by their calming presence.

The first big surprise of the morning came when I was counting the mallards resting and preening along the shore of the upstream island, and I came across this darling little pair: our first wood ducks of the year. They’re back, baby! Woo Hoo!

The second big surprise of the morning was finding a great horned owl again and close enough to make a pretty portrait for a change.

Meanwhile, three goldeneye drakes out on the water began a heated competition for the attention of one hen. Here’s one of the drakes striking his “come and get it” pose, while the hen appears to be looking elsewhere.

The third big surprise came when this mature and dry bald eagle drifted in and perched above the upstream island to see what was on the menu.

I found it unusual when this red-winged blackbird let me get so close, but then I saw another one perched similarly just twenty feet upriver, and I remembered that when the females arrive in a few weeks, the last thing the males will want to hear is, “you had ONE job.” That job, of course, is to stake out the best territory and defend it against other males, so no wonder neither one was willing to budge.

Finally, the fourth and biggest surprise of the day came as I was already on my way south from the pond, and I found this little darling peeking out of its cavity to see who was strolling up the path. You may recall that we saw a “red-morph” screech-owl back in December, and the one today is a “gray morph“. I wonder if they’ve met.

I see that this gorgeous weather is scheduled to continue through tomorrow morning, so here’s hoping that my luck with the critters does too.

A few pictures before the snow flies…

The temps in Estabrook Park this morning were mild, at just around freezing, the winds were light, but the clouds had thickened up again. Two out of three ain’t bad, right? Plus, the snow that is sifting down now, as I write this, hadn’t started yet.

The biggest surprise of the day came early, on my way north along the river. I heard the familiar chirp of a winter wren, and it took me a while to find the little rascal, but it eventually came out for a nice portrait. After all this time, I doubt it’s the same one who stayed with us for much of the winter, but it was in just about the same spot, so who knows? Well, the wren does, of course, but it kept quiet about that.

The recent usual crowd of common mergansers, hooded mergansers, and common goldeneyes, along with a slew of mallards and geese, was still on the water around the upstream island, but nobody wanted their picture taken today, so I headed to the pond, where I found our little red squirrel looking a lot more comfortable than the last time we saw it.

Finally, the ice on the pond had frozen back up overnight, so I didn’t see anyone else there and continued back to the river. There, I found one of the recently arrived swamp sparrows clinging to straw the way we often see American tree sparrows do. I did not know that they knew that trick.

Lastly, in addition to the pond icing up overnight, here’s a puddle by the river that took its sweet time growing some nice big ice crystals.

The current forecast for tomorrow morning looks perfect, with temps in the mid 20s, mostly still air, and clear skies, so let’s hope some critters come out to enjoy it.

Winter’s not quite done with us yet…

The stiff wind out of the west this morning in Estabrook Park made it feel colder than I expected, even after I checked the weather, but the mud on the river path was hard as a rock, and the sky was indeed a nice, bright blue, so it was a good morning for taking pictures.

The common grackles, whom I’ve been glimpsing all week, finally deigned to sit still for a second, and here’s one showing off its iridescent feathers in the bright morning sun. Unlike the rusty blackbirds of yesterday, who looked rusty even under thick clouds, grackles look jet black or dark blue on a cloudy day, and only flash these golden colors when the sun hits them just right.

Out on the water, the hooded mergansers are still here, and I found this dashing trio lined up beside the upstream island.

I was thrilled still to find a pair of common mergansers, as well, and this handsome couple were in the wake of the downstream island.

Here’s the drake again because it’s not often that I can catch them with their head looking so green, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one holding his tail feathers up like that.

At the pond, I was happy to find one of the white-throated sparrows still kicking around. Soon enough they’ll all be off to their breeding grounds, which start just a bit north of here and extend all the way to the shores of Hudson Bay.

Back at the river, there were a couple of downy woodpeckers flitting about, and here’s the male holding still for a second.

Finally, here’s a male, red-bellied woodpecker letting me take advantage of that pretty blue sky.

Sewing silk purses…

It was a very soggy morning in Estabrook Park, but temps were in the 40s, the winds were light, and critters are on the move, so I eventually dragged myself out to take a look.

The ice on the pond is starting to melt, and here’s the first critter I found taking advantage of the newly opened water around the edges: a muskrat. I bet whatever green stuff it’s nibbling on sure tastes a lot better than whatever it had stored in its burrow for the past couple of months.

I’ve been seeing these guys on-and-off all winter, but today was the first day in a while that a mature bald eagle let me make a portrait.

Despite the bald eagle perched over the upstream island, there were plenty of waterfowl on the water below. Here’s a red-breasted merganser drake, perhaps the same one we saw below the falls on Monday.

Here’s a pair of hooded mergansers floating between the rain drops.

The common mergansers appear to have moved on already, but there were plenty of common goldeneyes still on the river, and here’s a drake.

By the time I got back to the pond, this quartet of mallards had already arrived to sample the freshly opened water.

Back at the river, there were a pair of blackbirds, but they didn’t sound like red-wings, and they didn’t have long tails as grackles do. Instead, they were rusty blackbirds on their way back north. We saw them last, on their way south, back in October. Here’s the one that posed the nicest, and you can just see a little rust on its upper back and breast.

Finally, in the tall grass where I’d been seeing a song sparrow all winter, there was a new bird today, our first swamp sparrow of the year.

Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny, if cold and windy, so here’s hoping that creates some pretty pictures for us.

A grey day in March…

I believe it may have been the warmest morning of the year so far in Estabrook Park, with temps starting in the high 30s, and soon warming into the 40s. The cloud cover was thick, however, and so was the mud on the path beside the river, so I struggled a bit to get many pictures.

Thankfully, the river ice continues to recede, so the ducks are spreading out to forage in areas newly opened to them, and here’s one of two common goldeneye drakes checking to see how the “mollusks and crustaceans” taste in the water just above the falls.

Similarly, the water around the islands above the falls is opening up, and here’s a common merganser drake checking on the fish situation there.

The big surprise of the morning, however, came when a healthy murder of crows, six individuals eventually, did their best to persuade a great horned owl to move on to another forest. The action all took place above the far riverbank behind the downstream island, so I was thrilled even to see the owl at all, but right in the middle of this picture, you can make out the right edge of its facial disc, a smidgeon of its big, yellow left eye, and its huge left foot.

Well, since I’m out of pictures for today, and you’re already all here, let me fill you in on your next opportunity to see me show pictures and tell the stories behind them live and in person. The North Shore School for Seniors has inexplicably invited me back for the spring term, and my class will be on Tuesday, March 25 at 2:15. Besides just me, there is a whole catalog of courses to choose from, including the esteemed Chuck Hagner discussing “Wisconsin’s Birds of Spring”, and Andy Holman describing his adventures “In Search of Rare and Unusual Animals.” You can register for these and many other classes online here.