Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

October keeps up the pace…

The beautiful weather continues, and it was another wonderful morning in Estabrook Park.

My first greeter today was this beaver on its way home after a night upriver chewing on bark.

From the river, I headed to the pond and was thrilled to get one more chance to photograph a red-breasted nuthatch. They are stunners, eh?

At the pond, the trees were full of kinglets and yellow-rumped warblers. Here’s one of the latter.

The flickers have been quite busy lately, flocking up before heading south for the winter, but this guy, atop the bluff north of the beer garden, seemed to be just watching the sun rise.

Down the bluff and beside the river again, I could hear a winter wren or two, and when I took this picture, I thought I had captured one. It turns out, however, that this is a female common yellowthroat, of similar size, shape, and foraging habits, and only related at the level of “order”, but this might be the nicest yellowthroat portrait I’ve managed to date.

Farther north, this hermit thrush put on a nice little show, posing one way and then another, and I believe this is its best side.

I did see two of the gadwalls again, but they were even farther away than yesterday, and I didn’t see anyone else interesting, no eagles, merlins, or kestrels, so I headed back south. On the way, I kept my eyes peeled for an owl or a winter wren, but look who I saw instead.

Sure enough, an osprey was flying upriver, so I hustled after it in hopes of finding where it parked, and here it is.

After the osprey, I gave another shot at getting back to the pond, but on my way, look who flew over. They might resemble Canada geese at this distance, but they are actually double-crested cormorants. I sure hope one will stop in the river to sample the fish before they’ve all gone south.

As I approached the baseball field, I noticed a large bird swoop by, and I spotted it perched in the hedge of tall tree between the field and the dog park. It looked big, and I thought it was the young, dark eagle from yesterday, again. Once I got closer, however, it turned out to be this gorgeous red-tailed hawk. It looks similar to the one we saw last month, but I can’t say for sure that it is the same.

When I finally made it to the pond, I found the great blue heron perched on the same branch as yesterday, but today it had one heck of an itch to scratch.

The wood ducks did not appear to be excited about anything today, and they were just quietly going about their business. I found this pair up on the lawn foraging for fallen cherries or crab apples.

Finally, I didn’t see any damselflies today, but I did see a few dragonflies, and I didn’t see any monarchs, but I did see this fiery skipper on a dandelion, so this is gonna have to be our butterfly of the day. Best to enjoy it while we still have it, right?

All kinds of fun sights…

After the breezy start yesterday, the still air this morning was a very welcome change. That, plus the crystal blue sky, more than made up for temps in the 40s, and it was a perfect morning for visiting Estabrook Park.

I found my first fun sight, beside the river at the north end, with the help of three crows who were trying to convince this young bald eagle, hiding in plain sight, to move along. The eagle didn’t budge, however, and the crows eventually gave up and moved along themselves. I wonder if this youngster is related to the adult we saw just yesterday.

Below the eagle, the river was full of geese, mallards, a great blue heron, and three of these little cuties. They wouldn’t get close to a mallard for a clear comparison, but I don’t believe they were anywhere near as small as the green-winged teal yesterday. Instead, the little white patch on the wing makes me think they are female or molting male gadwalls. Sweet!

As I was working on eagle and gadwall pictures, another beauty dropped in for a quick visit, our first male American kestrel in a while.

Almost right below the kestrel, this belted kingfisher also paused for a moment.

I had searched for an owl on my way north and again on my way back south, but I had no luck. Then as I traipsed farther south on the river path, the little birds in the canopy high above were making more of a racket than usual, and when I looked up, I found out why. This owl is about as sound asleep as I have ever found one, and I never saw it look towards or react to me in any way, although it did turn its head once when a crow called nearby. “Sleep tight, sweetie!”

At the pond, the wood ducks were all excited about something, but I never managed to find what it might be. Meanwhile, this great blue heron, standing on the branch that the wood ducks often use, looked as if it could not possibly care less. Maybe the wood ducks were just annoyed that the heron was using their branch.

On my last swing by the river, I was happily surprised to find that they are still making damselflies, and this one, with its regular black and blue dot-dash pattern, appears to be a familiar bluet.

Once I turned around from taking the bluet picture, I spotted this sparrow, which looks a bit like one of the dozens of white-throated I’ve been seeing lately, but not exactly. That’s because it’s a Lincoln’s sparrow, which we only get to see once in a while.

Finally, as I crossed the soccer fields at the south end, I found our first yellow-rumped warbler that was willing to show off its yellow rump. “Thanks, Cutie!”

Lastly, for the first time I’ve seen in Estabrook Park, here’s a monarch butterfly sampling the nectar of one of the sunflowers planted out in front of the pollinator garden. I know the goldfinch love them, but it is good to know that the monarchs will tank up there, too. So, yet again, we manage to eke out one more “butterfly of the day.” Woo Hoo!

As always, the images are embedded from flickr, so you can click on them to see the full resolution version.

A blustery start to October

In addition to the wind, it was quite cloudy at sunrise, and it even sprinkled on me for a bit. But then the breeze blew the clouds away, the sun came out, and the day warmed up quickly.

The first big surprise of the morning came in this little package beside the northern island. It looks a lot like the mallard hen behind it but is easily only half the size. That, along with the dark bill and creamy feathers below the tail suggest that it is a female or immature male green-winged teal. I believe I’ve only seen them in Estabrook once before, so what a way to start the new month, eh?

Back on shore and a bit farther upstream, I managed to capture this ruby-crowned kinglet just before it leapt after the bug it has its sights on.

On my way back south, the squirrels were all crying, so I looked up and saw a large dark shape right over the riverbank and nearly in line with the sun. I thought it might be the osprey again, so I did my best to sneak forward to get away from the sun and covered my face with my camera as I came out from behind some leaves, but this is all it would let me take before launching back into the air. It turned out not to be the osprey, and if you can’t quite make it out, check the next picture.

Sure enough, it’s our first bald eagle in a while, and here it is now comfortably perched over the far riverbank. Wow, October is really getting off to a great start!

With all the wind this morning, I didn’t imagine that I’d find many butterflies at the pollinator garden or the weeds beside the soccer fields, so I was anticipating that I’d be explaining right now that we’re probably done with “the butterfly of the day”, at least until they return next year, and then I spotted this beauty in the lawn between the pond and the parkway.

In case you don’t recognize the out/bottom side of those wings, here are the in/top sides, which mark it as an American lady.

Back at the far south end, just as I was about to exit the park, I noticed a commotion in the old fruit trees between the radio tower fence and the parkway, and this was one the little birds contributing to the hubbub. The image is quite over exposed, and that big white patch is an artifact of that, but when I clean that image up with my recollection, I make it to be of a young Tennessee warbler. We saw a slightly more colorful one just last month.

Another little bird in those trees was this young-looking, white-crowned sparrow.

Finally, to round out the trio, this young yellow-rumped warbler joined the fray.

Back to the basics…

It was another beautiful morning, with much less of a breeze than recently, and a great way to end September. I struggled to get much to show you, however, so thank goodness for the regulars on the pond.

This first scene took me by surprise. I’ve seen wood ducks in trees before, and I’ve seen wood ducks eating just about everything, but I have not yet seen a wood duck standing in a bush and eating berries. They are just full of surprises.

The great blue heron that fishes on the pond every morning was there again, and it has really gotten used to people.

The asters are still in bloom, and this beauty is feeding what appears to be a spurred ceratina (Ceratina calcarata), a “small carpenter bee in the family Apidae.”

Finally, all the monarchs have not yet flown south, and here’s one more intermittently sticking its tongue into that sow thistle blossom.

September winds down…

It was just as warm, just as breezy, but a lot less cloudy this morning in Estabrook Park, compared to yesterday, so a wonderful early autumn day for a visit. Even better, the parkway was closed for the Shorewood Farmers Market, so it felt like I had the place and its critters to myself at times.

I didn’t see anyone to take a picture of, however, until I came across this red squirrel beside the river above the falls. It was quite upset with me, so I took a few, while it made its case, and then I continued north.

Farther upstream, I came across the doe with her fawn again, but they were on land this time, and after they trotted a few yards off the trail, I could only get eyes on her in the thick underbrush.

The owl(s) and the Cooper’s hawk(s) were absent today, but the osprey was back to fishing from its new favorite tree, right next to the Holiday Inn. Boy, some lucky visitor sure got an eyeful if they looked out the window just then.

Back on our side of the river, this brown creeper made things easy for me by giving me notice and then creeping up that trunk right into a ray of sunshine out in the open.

At the islands, this merlin swooped in and took a perch high above the northern one.

At the pond, the wood ducks and great blue heron continue to draw a crowd, but I was more interested in what might be our last turtle of the year, a red-eared slider in this case. Soon enough they’ll be burrowing into the mud for a long winter’s nap.

I didn’t get another presentable picture until the weeds to the east of the southern parking lot, when I found this male goldfinch feasting on thistle seeds and halfway between its summer finery and its winter coat.

I glimpsed the palm warblers again, but I couldn’t quite get them on film today. In fact, they were about the only warblers I saw, and I suspect all the rest caught a favorable wind last night. Luckily, I had much better luck yesterday, so here’s another look at the palm warbler, …

and here’s another look at the Nashville.

Finally, the butterfly selection was the same as yesterday, so here’s another bicolored striped sweat bee but this time on about as big an aster blossom as I’ve seen.

Lots of fall colors…

It was a little breezier but warmer and less cloudy this morning in Estabrook Park. Plus, there were plenty of birds around, so it was a great day for late September.

The wood ducks and one great blue heron on the pond continue to attract a crowd, especially on such a nice weekend morning, so I continued straight on to the river at the north end.

A great horned owl, I suspect the little one of the two, which is probably a male, was being harassed by a large Cooper’s hawk, which probably makes her a female. Here he is keeping eyes on her.

And here she is in-between squawking fits.

I left them to resolve their differences on their own and continued farther north, where I came upon this stunner, a male black-throated blue warbler. I’ve only ever managed to show you a picture of one once before, back in May of 2023, so I was thrilled to have another chance.

I hiked up to the bridge to count the pigeons and starlings that congregate there, and on my way back south, I spotted this beauty, an osprey, fishing from a tree beside the Holiday Inn.

Farther south, across from the northern island, this eastern phoebe might look like it was basking in the sun, but it was busy watching for birds so that it could swoop out and grab them.

Meanwhile, in the underbrush below the phoebe, this hermit thrush waited for me to keep on moving. It looks like the Swainson’s thrushes we’ve been seeing lately, but I’ve been reminded that the tinge of cinnamon on its wings and tail, compared to its head and back, make it a hermit

Back at the pond, the crowd had grown, so I skirted around the east side and found this yellow-bellied sapsucker trying to stay out of sight.

Above the sapsucker, on the other hand, this common grackle was putting on quite the light show with its iridescent feathers. Under most conditions, they look jet black.

South of the pond, where the paved path runs right between the parkway and the edge of the bluff, this red-bellied woodpecker was really chowing down on what it was finding in the hole in the trunk it was on.

There was a big soccer match going on, so I didn’t try to visit the weeds west of the soccer fields, and I headed straight to the Church House instead, where I found a darling pair of palm warblers foraging in the herb garden.

Finally, I found a pair of Nashville warblers foraging in the weeds growing east of the southern parking lot.

Lastly, the only butterfly I saw today was a fiery skipper, of which we’ve seen plenty, so here’s a bicolored striped sweat bee on a tiny aster blossom in the pollinator garden.

A couple more familiar faces arrive…

The far leading edge of hurricane Helene drifted in from the south this morning just as the sun rose in the east, so the weather was a bit unsettled this morning, a bit cloudy and breezy, but at least it was dry.

My first exciting greeter in Estabrook Park was this young red-headed woodpecker high in a tree just west of the soccer fields. You may recall that we had one visit us a few times last spring, and I’m thrilled to see another one giving us a look.

At the pond, the bushes along the banks are really starting to show some color, and I think it goes well with the wood duck plumage, don’t you?

Meanwhile, a young Cooper’s hawk surveyed the scene from above.

At the river, I was showing a fellow naturalist, whom I had just met, some of the good viewing spots in Estabrook, and as we stepped down to the water, we inadvertently spooked a great horned owl, who then silently glided over the water to the island. As I was trying to confirm that it was indeed a great horned owl, my new best friend had the presence of mind to check out from where the owl had just come, and look who he found right above us. Big sister, that’s who, and she was not budging, so we both took a couple of quick shots and then slowly backed away.

My comrade eventually had to go to work, poor guy, and I climbed back up on the bluff to get my first dark-eyed junco picture of this fall. “Welcome to Estabrook, Sweetie, and we look forward to seeing you all winter.”

Back at the pond, I had another chance for a ruby-crowned kinglet portrait, and got a little closer, but I believe there is still room for improvement.

Just below the kinglet, this brown creeper also gave me a second chance, with similar results.

At the other end of the pond, I found another yellow-bellied sapsucker, which I can never resist.

Finally, I don’t believe I saw any butterflies today, so this stunning little oblique streaktail
(Allograpta obliqua), “a common North American species of hoverfly”, on one of the last bull thistle blossoms beside the soccer fields and in a timely ray of sunshine, will just have to do.

All discombobulated…

Today’s date is even, but it didn’t rain, in fact the weather has been gorgeous all day, and perhaps that is what has goofed me up.

Things started out pretty good with an image, good enough for a positive ID, of the first winter wren spotted this fall in Estabrook Park. It was still so dark that I didn’t dare zoom in at all so that my autofocus stood a chance.

At the north end, there were still a few warblers around, but the only one who would even allow me this back-of-the-head image was this black-throated green.

I didn’t see the sharpy or any owls, and I did see a Cooper’s hawk across the river, but the only image worth showing is of this merlin high over the northern island.

On my way back south, this sparrow, which looks like a young white-throated who has just taken a bath, took some pity on me and held still on this side of the river for a second.

Finally, back at the weeds beside the soccer fields, I watched a monarch and a mourning cloak flutter by without stopping, and I started to take pictures of sulphurs and whites, out of desperation, but then I stumbled upon this beauty. I thought we were done with buckeyes for the year, but I guess not, and it sure is nice to have something we haven’t seen in a while for a butterfly of the day.

Today’s date is odd, so the sun is out…

The weather has been a little bit of a rollercoaster lately, and today was an “up” day. Yay!

The red-breasted nuthatch was in the same tree as yesterday, at the north end of the southern soccer fields, and I was able to get a picture today, although it isn’t as nice as the first one. You sure can see its “red breast” though.

As I approached the pond from the river, I caught a glimpse of a small raptor, and I hoped it might be our sharpy again, so I followed it back west across the baseball field, only to find that it is one of the young Cooper’s hawks we’ve been seeing lately. It is still a pretty bird, but just not as rare.

At the river again, I found this great blue heron on break from fishing and perched in the sun high above the southern island.

Farther upstream, I found a young yellow-bellied sapsucker who is starting to show a bit of red on its head.

There are still plenty of warblers around, and I saw black-and-whites, palms, and redstarts, but this bright yellow one stumps me because it had a black tail like redstarts, but redstarts aren’t all yellow on the underside. Hmmm. It sure is a pretty bird, though.

On my way to the pond again, I inadvertently startled another deer. Actually, I bet it startled me more because it came bounding out of the woods and ran right past me. Happily, it wasn’t too scared, because it also stopped not too far away to see what I might do next. “Naturally, I’ll try to take your picture, Silly.”

I had almost reached the pond, for the first time, when a couple of crows started making a ruckus, and I saw a third one fly in to join the fray, so I hustled back toward the beer garden to see what they were all excited about. It turned out to be a Cooper’s hawk, perhaps the one I had just seen earlier in the morning, and I couldn’t get a good shot, but I did manage to capture the crow looking all shiny.

When I finally did reach the pond, it was the same old crew, a bunch of wood ducks, a couple of mallards, and a great blue heron, so I headed back to the river, and on my way, I finally got a picture of one of the brown tree creepers I’d been hearing lately.

There was no sign of the young green heron today, but there were a slew of little birds busily foraging, and this acrobatic black-capped chickadee made the pretty picture.

Finally, the skippers and sulphurs were back, but the pretties butterfly today was this monarch. Gotta enjoy them while we can, right?

PS. If you’ve been wondering if the Cooper’s hawks and the great horned owls we’ve been seeing ever do more than perch and squawk or cry, as the case may be, then head on over to instagram to see the amazing picture young Mr Ehlers has posted: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAL6mTHxi02/

Another rainy day…

Well, now that the seal is broken, I shouldn’t be surprised by another rainy day, eh? Anyway, the radar suggested a gap in the rain starting at 8 am, so I gave it a try, and did not get as wet as Sunday. Plus, I didn’t have to wait until the end of my hike to find the sharp-shinned hawk, which was chasing, and being chased by, the blue jays in the trees just to the west of the soccer fields again. Just look at those skinny shins!

After “investing” a lot of film in getting a better sharpy portrait, I moved on and at the north end of those same fields I heard my first red-breasted nuthatch of the season, in the same trees where I photographed my first one last year, saw my first dark-eyed juncos of the season, and found this cutie, a merlin, perched high above and surveying the scene. Check out that rakish white eyebrow!

On my first visit to the river, I heard this little red squirrel’s distress call before I saw it. Perhaps all the raptors up on the bluff had it worried.

At the north end, I thought I could hear a young great horned owl again, so I ventured into the woods to see if I could get eyes on it. On the way, I encountered this beauty, which may be a common stretch spider (Tetragnatha extensa).

I did spot the owl and heard a Cooper’s hawk squawking at it, but by then it was raining too hard to point my lens at the sky, and as I waited out the rain, the owl silently flew off. A short while later, I did find a young Cooper’s hawk, which may have been the same one after the owl, but not the mature one from yesterday. Anyway, I’d guess it’s about twice the size of the sharpy, and it has neat brown teardrops down its breast instead of the sharpy’s long brown streaks.

Four species of raptors would be enough to make any squirrel cry, but today we had five. Yup, here’s a peregrine falcon high above the northern tip of the southern island.

On my second visit to the pond, I was thrilled to spot a pair of young, male rose-breasted grossbeaks picking seeds from the sumac, and I kept hoping I could get a nice picture with some dark red seeds or bright red leaves, but the little stinkers would not cooperate.

This wood duck drake, on the other hand, kept perfectly still for me against some nice green pond water.

I took one more swing by the river on my way home, and I inadvertently spooked this young green heron, perhaps the same bird we saw near there just yesterday, at the stream that runs from the pond to the river. It took off towards the river, so I carefully followed it, and given the second chance, I was able to get a nice portrait of it.

Finally, I did see plenty of tiny moths flitting about and swooping up to the underside of leaves today but not a single butterfly. Luckily, the weather was so nice Saturday that I haven’t used up all the butterfly pictures I took then, so this fiery skipper can be our butterfly of the day.