Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

Thank heaven for little birds…

After the wind howled all night long, it had backed off to just 18 mph at sunrise this morning. Add that to an air temperature of a chilly 14°F, and the windchill dipped into negative territory for the first time this year in Estabrook Park. I don’t know if that was the cause, or it was just coincidence, but both the redhead and the common mergansers were nowhere to be found today. I didn’t see a single raptor, either. In fact, the only “large” birds I saw were a few Canada geese and dozens of mallards. Thus, the little birds ruled the day.

I haven’t gotten a picture of one of these since September, but here’s a white-throated sparrow keeping warm in the brush beside the pond. We’re just inside the northern edge of their winter range, so this really shouldn’t be a shocker, but they’ve been hiding pretty good in the meanwhile.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the skies were crystal clear, so it was a perfect time for getting a male northern cardinal picture.

The fox sparrow winter range extends slightly less far north than the white-throats, but we had two of them at the pond today, as well.

We are clearly north of the bluebird’s winter range, by at least a couple hundred miles, so it was a real treat to find this pair of stragglers competing with the robins for berries. Here’s the female, …

and here’s the male. “Safe travels, you two, and keep warm in the meantime!”

Finally, back at the river, this little rascal kept teasing me with fleeting glimpses. Every time I gave up and decided to go on home, it would flit in front of me again. After three or four times, it must have grown tired of the game, so then it chose a nice sunny perch and put on a little show instead. First it posed this way, …

and then it posed that way. It’s a swamp sparrow, which I last showed you back in November, and we’re right on the northern edge of its year-round range.

I see that the forecast calls for a slight increase in temperature and a slight decrease in wind speed at sunrise tomorrow, so maybe the bigger critters will come back out to play. Keep your fingers crossed.

The deep freeze continues to deliver…

It was a wonderfully curious or curiously wonderful morning in Estabrook Park, but I’m still not sure which. The forecast temperature was 29°F, but a strong breeze brought the windchill down into the teens, and it felt even colder than that. I should have worn another layer. Also, as you can see below, the sky was clear when the sun came over the bluff to light up the ice on the river, but that didn’t last long, and a thick grey cloud cover soon moved in.

My first surprise for the morning was this redhead drake dabbling with a few mallards in the open water above the falls. He may be the same bird we saw on Sunday or some new arrival, but I didn’t ask, and he didn’t say, so we’ll never know.

My next surprise was spotting our first common mergansers of the season fishing in the open water between the two islands. Sweet! My plan is working perfectly. Here’s the one drake, …

and here are the two hens accompanying him.

I didn’t see anyone new or begging for a picture at the pond, and I could not see the screech owl today, but as I continued south along the river, I was stunned to spot what will probably be our last warbler of the season. The little stinker probably knew it wasn’t supposed to be here, too, and so it did not want any photographic evidence of its tardiness. This one picture I did manage is terrible, but at least you can see the signature yellow patch on its side.

Finally, before these get too old, here’s a winter wren I saw yesterday just before I spotted the screech owl.

Lastly, here’s a red-breasted woodpecker checking out the spindle berries beside the river yesterday soon after I spotted the screech owl.

December just keeps getting better!

The recent deep freeze in Estabrook Park continues to back off gradually, and the temps this morning were in the high 20s, the breezes were light, and so the wind chill was up into the high teens. Plus, the thick cloud cover that hid the sunrise soon dispersed, and it turned into a nice sunny day.

Even before the sun came out, this muskrat was enjoying the relative warmth by having its breakfast up on the riverbank.

Things were quiet at the north end, and the only interesting picture was one of the great horned owls, whom the crows left alone today, so I headed to the pond, and the clouds were gone by the time I arrived. I could not have asked for a better background for this Cooper’s hawk who swooped in to perch high above the Oak Leaf Trail that runs just to the east of the pond. Perhaps it is the same bird we saw beside the Oak Leaf at the south end on Thanksgiving day.

Meanwhile, this little red squirrel just across the path from the pond, possibly the same one we saw last Friday, was gnawing through the tough outer shell of a black walnut. I’m sure it knows what sort of tasty treat lies inside.

As I searched for who else might make a nice picture beside the pond, I found this cozy little scene of a hole in a hollow log rimmed with ice crystals. The moisture could just be from the log itself, but I prefer to believe that it came from the lungs of a little critter enjoying some protection from the cold and wind.

The huge surprise for the day came as I hiked back to the river from the pond. On the way, I checked a hole in a tree that I had seen a couple of blue jays agitated over a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been trying to check it every day, but there has often not been enough light to see anything inside, or even if there was light, I couldn’t see if anyone was home. Well, today is the day when the sunlight and the occupancy aligned, and look who was there, our first screech owl since all the way back to April 2022! Woo Hoo!

Finally, I continued south along the river with hopes of spotting our redhead or some other new visitor, but I didn’t have any luck with that today. Instead, these mallards were kind enough to squeeze together in the bright sunlight for a nice group portrait. As usual, though, one or two goofballs are looking the other way right when the shutter goes off.

Lastly, just when I thought this morning couldn’t get any better, look what some charitable park goer left for me. I’m not even sure exactly what it is, but I do like the sound of “Island Punch”.

December doubles down!

The weather was just about as forecast in Estabrook Park this morning, with thick cloud cover, temps in the low 20s, light breezes, and windchills back up into the low teens. Four intrepid nature enthusiast came out to join me for our weekly wildlife walk, and this is who we saw.

Everyone wanted to see the redhead, so we went straight to the river and tried going north first. We counted a few geese, dozens of mallards, and a great horned owl was in the usual spot, but we couldn’t find a redhead. Instead, the exciting find was this merlin, whom we haven’t seen in a while, and who was perched high above the northern island and still just pulling the feathers out of its hot and fresh breakfast.

After spotting no odd ducks at the north end, we turned around and headed south. Just before we reached the open water again, across from the two radio towers, we heard another winter wren, and this one let us get a quick look.

We did hike farther south along the open water for a ways, but all we saw was more mallards, and we eventually returned north to check for the Oregon-type dark-eyed junco at the pond, but all we saw were slate-colored juncos, a couple dozen house sparrows, a few dozen house finches, and one bald eagle up high and gliding north. That brought our bird count up to 24 species, which is pretty good for December in southeastern Wisconsin.

By then everyone had to get on with their day, but I hadn’t taken a picture of the owl earlier, and I could hear some crows cawing at the river, so I stopped by one more time to see what was up. Sure enough, three crows were mobbing the owls, of which there were now two. In all the commotion, I did manage to sneak one good picture, but the crows eventually decided they had done their duty, left the owls in peace, and so did I.

I hiked home south along the river, just in case we somehow missed a redhead earlier, and I had no better luck, but I did get this nice portrait of the hermit thrush we had glimpsed before.

Finally, as I approached the far south end, I glimpsed a shape out on the ice that extends from the far riverbank, and I thought for a moment it might be that duck we’ve been searching for, but it turned out to be a muskrat instead. I would have liked to capture its face, but the little stinker only let me have this one shot, and then it slipped out of the cool air and right back into the relatively-balmy 32°F water.

December gets off to a great start!

The recent weather I’ve been enjoying in Estabrook Park just keeps getting better! The wind speed this morning had slowed to just barely into double digits, but temps were low enough to bring the wind chill down to 0°F at sunrise, and the skies were crystal clear. Outstanding!

We still have belted kingfishers, if you can believe it, but they’re now frozen out of the pond and the water around the islands, where we’ve seen them all summer, and so here’s the female fishing over the far riverbank beside the shallow rapids far downstream of the falls.

With all that ice, I didn’t see anything but mallards and one herring gull at the north end today, but at the pond I found this beauty, a dark-eyed junco of the Oregon subspecies (Junco hyemalis oreganus), foraging in the leaves and grass beside the path. For comparison, I had a nice picture of the slate-colored subspecies (Junco hyemalis hyemalis), which is what we usually see around here, back on September 27, when they first arrived from up north.

On my way south along the river, the sun had finally reached down over the bluff, and the reflection of the far riverbank off the water was amazing. Here’s a mallard drake dabbling in it.

Best of all, this cold snap has finally brought us our first fancy visitor, a lone redhead drake (Aythya americana), on its way to its wintering grounds south of Lake Michigan. I haven’t seen one in Estabrook since March of 2021, and I sure was glad for another chance at a nice portrait. “Welcome back, Sweetie! Feel free to stick around as long as you like.”

Finally, the ice continues to thicken on the river, and here’s a fascinating formation that occurs along the rapids when a little lip of ice forms and then keeps growing as water keeps splashing over it.

Lastly, I plan on hosting our weekly wildlife walk again tomorrow morning at 8am, and the wind chill is forecast to be up to a balmy +10°F, so dress appropriately and come on out, if you feel up for it.

The freeze deepens…

The recent weather trend in Estabrook Park continued this morning with air temps now down into the teens and a stiff breeze to chill them all the way down to just +1°F. But the sky was still pretty clear again, so the critters could have a hope of catching a little warmth, if they could find a spot in the sun and sheltered from the wind.

One such spot is the stand of short spindle trees and other brush beside the river and across from the pair of radio towers. It was rife with birds this morning, and here’s a goldfinch taking full advantage of the situation while also nibbling on something it’s finding on the bark of the trees. I had no luck finding the bluebirds again, however.

The closer a perch is to the ground, the slower the breeze is, of course, so this red-bellied woodpecker was just about at eye level for a change.

These mourning doves, on the other hand, must have felt that a little more peace of mind was worth a little more breeze, so they kept to overhead perches.

Finally, the pond is completely frozen over, and the river is really starting to ice up. In some places the ice cover reaches from riverbank to riverbank. I haven’t seen any exotic waterfowl from up north yet, but at this rate, we might not have much longer to wait.

Here’s a look between the two abandoned bridge abutments downstream of the falls. In the foreground, you can see a big pile of ice chunks that has accumulated as the flowing water below keeps pushing ice downstream.

A winter blast arrives at last…

Temps were only in the high 20s this morning in Estabrook Park, but a stiff breeze out of the west brought the windchill down into the single digits. As we like to say, “that’s brisk!” The good news is that this should bring some ice to the river, which I have a hope will finally bring us some exotic winter waterfowl, such as goldeneyes and buffleheads. In the meantime, the partly cloudy skies were letting through plenty of sunlight and that often makes for some pretty pictures.

At the north end, one of our owls was in their usual spot, and less buried in the sticks than the last couple of days, probably in hopes of soaking up some of that sun.

By the pond, the black-capped chickadees were doing their thing, and no, I did not rotate this picture.

Just below the chickadee, this red squirrel seemed frozen by the recent change in the weather, and after this picture, I turned to let it bask in the sun a bit longer.

As I approached the river, across from the pair of radio towers, I could hear the goldfinches foraging among the low spindle trees that grow there, and I spotted one on a branch above the fray, but it seemed bigger than I would expect from a goldfinch. Well, that’s because it was a poofed-up eastern bluebird instead, which really took me by surprise, especially since there were four of them. They’re year-round range just clips the southern tips of Illinois and Indiana, so these little darlings have a few hundred miles yet to go, and they’re running a bit behind schedule.

Finally, ice is forming on the river, mostly along the edges where the water moves slowly, but the dusting of snow it received just before sunrise didn’t make for any sparkly pictures. Instead, here are some ice bells that formed since yesterday and merged into one big one by this morning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As quiet as Estabrook Park was yesterday, it seemed even quieter this morning. The critters appeared to be taking the holiday off, as well, and I didn’t take a picture until I stopped by the pond on my way home from the north end.

When I first saw this little cutie foraging in the lawn with the juncos near the pond, I thought it was one of the tree sparrows I’ve been seeing lately. Once I got the pictures home, however, I could see that it’s an immature white-crowned sparrow, which we haven’t seen since October.

On the path from the pond down to the river, a bunch of robins were raiding berries from a tree, which was probably buckthorn, unfortunately. The sun had cleared the cloud bank to the east by then, which lit up the scene nicely.

Mixed in with the robins was this young European starling, still in its spots.

I did see a great blue heron and a great horned owl, but they weren’t offering particularly good pictures today, and I thought the three above were all I was going to be able to show you. Then, just as I was crossing the Oak Leaf Trail on my way out of the park, look who I glimpsed soaking up some sun down in the ditch between the trail and Wilson Drive. I certainly have seen Cooper’s hawks near the ground before, when they are hunting or playing, but I’ve have not yet found one perched so low just basking. If you appreciate the fine details, this one is worth clicking on so you can zoom in.

The sun was fun while it lasted…

The clouds are back over Estabrook Park today, but the air was a bit warmer than yesterday and a lot less breezy. Add to that a reduction in commuter traffic noise for the holiday, and it was a perfect morning for enjoying some peace and quiet along the Milwaukee River. The icing on the cake was when I managed to reach the wide and slow part of the river beneath the pair of radio towers over the far riverbank before they started their cooling fans. I don’t know if that’s because they crank up their power during the day, or for some other reason, but for a while, I could hear a pin drop, plus a lot of bird songs. It was glorious.

As I approached the water, I could see that someone was making ripples right at the water’s edge, so I kept a little grass between us and my camera in front of my face as I edged into view, and this muskrat was kind, or hungry, enough to go right on enjoying its breakfast of fresh roots.

After a couple of pictures, I left the muskrat in peace and continued upstream just a bit before I found our late season hermit thrush again.

Above the falls and on the southern island, one of the great horned owls was in its usual spot again, though facing the other way today.

The pair of great blue herons continue to stick with us, too, but this picture from yesterday, before the sun reached down over the bluff, was nicer than any I could get today.

While I’m showing pictures from yesterday that didn’t fit with yesterday’s sunny motif, here’s a glimpse of an eastern cottontail hiding in the brush along the river. Compared to the summer, they really start making themselves scarce about this time of year.

Finally, ice has started to form on the pond, and the combination of still air and temps barely below freezing is allowing enormous crystals to form on the surface. These spears of ice were over a foot long.

Some sun and blue sky, at long last…

We finally received our first hard freeze overnight in Estabrook Park, and the ground was crunchy with ice in places this morning. It was also a bit breezy, which pushed the windchill into the teens, but the sky was blue, and the sun was warm, so it was a darn fine morning for taking pictures.

When I got to the pond, I was stunned to find 54 Canada geese floating on the water and eerily quiet. I sat on the bench to soak in the scene, and this bold one came the closest, but I had no food for them, so nobody ventured up onto the lawn.

An owl was back in the usual spot on the southern island in the river, and it appeared to be basking a bit in the sun, so I was able to find a spot with a pretty clear shot.

On my way back south along the river, I found at least a dozen mourning doves foraging in a sunny spot on the side of the bluff.

Farther south, I managed to catch this red-bellied woodpecker when it popped out of the shade for a moment as it worked its way up this tree trunk.

Finally, just as I was about to exit the park, I heard this red-tailed hawk calling from the big TV tower there, almost as if to say, “look up here!” I got a couple of pictures of it on the tower, but then it had a better idea and glided to a tree across the parkway where I could take a nice portrait in a natural setting. “Thanks, Beautiful!”

Lastly, we haven’t had enough cold yet to form ice on the river or even the pond, but the few pools of shallow water beside the river have formed nice patterns of ice crystals on their surface, and here’s a maple leaf stuck in one.