Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

A couple of breaks go my way…

We kept the clear skies and calm air from yesterday, but the temperature dipped enough for radiant cooling to frost the grass again in Estabrook Park. It was a perfect morning for the Hot Cider Hustle 5k and half marathon. Luckily, the big event had little impact on life along the Milwaukee River.

The first big breakthrough of the day came early, when this winter wren, the one that I suspect has been toying with me lately, finally relented and let me take about 50 pictures from about 15 feet away, and one of them came out pretty nice. What an amazing creature, eh?

The second breakthrough came soon after and a bit upstream, when this beaver, who I’ve barely managed to capture swimming down the middle of the river for months, swam right to shore in front of me, looked me straight in the eye, and proceeded to gnaw on its breakfast. Time to check the bottom of my boots.

At the north end, the pair of wigeons is still hanging out with the mallards, and here’s the drake.

And I was able to find a full trio of gadwalls for the first time in a while, here’s just one.

The bigger surprise, however, was this killdeer, quite possibly the last one we’ll see until spring, stopped in and called to see if any others were around, but got no reply that I could hear.

Finally, the great blue heron was in the exact same spot as yesterday, but trying harder to get some shuteye in the warm morning sun. When I tried to move to get that stick out of the picture, I inadvertently woke the heron, but I like the sleeping picture better, so I just slowly backed away to let it go right back to sleep.

A new crowd settles in…

The clouds and breeze stayed away, at least for this morning, and the temperature rose a bit overnight, so we had no frost today in Estabrook Park.

I bet this little cutie that I found at the north end of the soccer fields didn’t mind that a bit.

Beside the river at the north end, I found a smaller cutie, a young, white-crowned sparrow, appearing to be drying off after a dip. Brrr!

One noticeable change in the fauna today was another big infusion of dark-eyed juncos. They were foraging in big groups throughout the park. Luckily, this one paused in a nice sunny spot, also beside the river at the north end, for a moment.

I didn’t see a warbler again today, the grackles have been gone for a while, and the flickers are nearly gone, so I was happy to find a phoebe still rustling up some bugs for breakfast.

The great blue herons continue to come by, and here’s one up in a tree again.

Things got exciting for a moment at the north end when I could see a bald eagle over the far riverbank and a red-tailed and Cooper’s hawk over the northern island all at the same time. I couldn’t really get a picture worth showing of any of them, but when I hiked out on the dry river bottom to get a little closer to the eagle, this belted kingfisher let me get a nicer picture than I’ve managed in a while.

To round out the raptor quartet of the day, an osprey came upriver with a fish in tow and perched to take a couple more bites, which let me get a better picture than the other three birds had.

Finally, as I was checking for sparrows again, in the usual spot, I wasn’t seeing anything new, but I did spot this sweetie trying to get a little shuteye in the tall grass. I snapped a quick picture and backed away to leave her as undisturbed as I could.

The crowd gets tough…

The temperature dropped, the clouds cleared out, and the breeze died down, so the frost was back again this morning in Estabrook Park.

My visit got off to a nice enough start when I spotted this American tree sparrow foraging in the lawn beside the pond. We don’t get to see them nearly as much as the white-throated, swamp, song, and even Lincoln’s, so I was happy to get one picture to turn out.

At the river, the wigeons were still with us, but far from shore, so I took a picture of this American herring gull instead. There has been an interesting situation with them recently, because the ebird app I use to keep track of the birds I see has changed this gull’s name from “herring gull (Larus argentatus)” to “American herring gull (Larus smithsonianus)”, and it took several days for that change to ripple through all the systems, which caused a bit of consternation, at least on my part. You can read about the reason behind the change here.

Anyway, I didn’t see a single warbler today, which makes the first time since they first arrived back in August. I did see a pair of Cooper’s hawks, but they were over the old Schlitz candy factory across the river. As I was wishing in vain that the hawks would come my way, a big flock of geese flew in, and I managed to sneak this picture of four of them.

That’s the whole show for today, I’m afraid. Let’s hope for better luck tomorrow.

The crowd starts to thin…

It sure felt like autumn this morning in Estabrook Park: cool, breezy, and cloudy. Definitely sweater weather.

My first treat of the day was this gray catbird lurking in the bushes above the river. They’ve been scarce lately, and I wasn’t sure if I’d get to see one again until spring.

Farther north and back along the river, I checked up and downstream for great blue herons, but didn’t see any, and then thought to myself, “better check in the trees,” but immediately chuckled because “no heron’s gonna be standing on a branch high in a tree in this wind.’ Happily, I looked up anyway, and look who I found, even standing on one leg, as if to show me just how wrong my assumption was. “Thanks for the reality check!”

At the far north end, I was pleasantly surprised to find a few orange-crowned warblers that haven’t flown south yet.

Out on the water, the pair of wigeons appear to be learning from the mallards and just kept on foraging as I took my best pictures of them yet. Here’s the hen, with the drake behind her.

And here’s the drake really showing off its hint of a green eye stripe.

Finally, as I made my way back south, this female cardinal called from the bushes on the side of the bluff below the beer garden, as if to say, “soon enough, it’ll be just you, me, and some chickadees.” Oof. Anyway, if you click on the image so you can zoom in to full resolution, you can see that she has pretty dark brown eyes.

Old friends show their faces again…

It wasn’t as warm nor as sunny this morning in Estabrook Park as it’s been lately, but it was still a perfectly nice time for a visit.

My first thrill of the morning was spotting this muskrat up near our riverbank and munching on its breakfast. They sure made themselves scarce over the summer, but here’s hoping we get to see more of them now.

Another critter that hasn’t let me get close lately is the kingfisher, but this one chased away the flicker I was aiming for, so I took its picture instead.

The gadwalls we had earlier in the month had orange on their bills, so were females, but the gadwall today has an all-black bill and more-distinctive plumage, which mark it as a male.

Speaking of males, I believe the wigeon hen we’ve been seeing lately has been joined by a young or eclipse drake today. Females only have a “dark smudge around the eye“, as the bird on the right has, and males have “a wide green stripe behind the eye and a white cap“, hints of which the bird on the left appears to have.

On my way back south, the raccoon we saw last week showed its cute little masked face today. Yay!

On my way to the pond, I spotted this gorgeous red-tailed hawk eyeing the rodents on the disc golf course. There was also a second hawk, and I suspect they were already acquainted because when the second flew by, this one merely watched it go.

Finally. as I was checking for butterflies at the southern soccer fields, I found yet one more last dragonfly of the season, and this one also appears to be cherry-faced meadowhawk, but I have since learned that “veins in leading edge of wing are orange, stigmas orange, [and] legs not completely black,” all mean that it is our very first saffron-winged meadowhawk (Sympetrum costiferum). Woo Hoo!

A pause on fall…

I know it can’t last, nor should it, but in the meantime, this warm, dry spell sure is easy to take. We had clear skies, nearly still air, and about 60 °F at sunrise in Estabrook Park this morning.

I spotted this darling little eastern phoebe beside the river just as the sun started reaching down over the bluff, and it seemed more interested in the sun’s progress than in worrying about me taking pictures.

At the pond, I noticed a light shape in the bushes, and I excitedly snapped this picture. When I realized that it was a goldfinch in its drab winter coat, I actually thought to myself, “oh, it’s you,” which reminded me of that old song. If you’ve been searching for a good earworm today, you’re welcome.

There are still plenty of wood ducks on the pond, but I liked the lighting for this little cutie, the first one I’ve seen on the river in a while.

Farther north, I was pleasantly surprised to find a yellow-bellied sap sucker still kicking around. They were hot and heavy for a moment, closer to the first of the month, but it appears that some are still trickling through. Yay!

Meanwhile, the orange-crowned warblers remain a pretty regular find.

Out on the water, another bird I rarely get to see any more is this dapper-looking killdeer.

The wigeon is still with us, …

and this morning it looked like it had a new friend. I’m not quite sure who it is yet, but it looks a tad shorter than the wigeon, which is already smaller than mallards, so maybe it is a blue-winged teal. Hopefully, the experts will weigh in soon.

Finally, on my way south, there were plenty of sparrows foraging in the grass beside the river, and here’s a sharp-looking Lincoln’s sparrow. It turns out that some folks did see and photograph a grasshopper sparrow yesterday at Lakeshore State Park, and I got all excited once or twice when I spotted a lightly-colored bird today, but none were light enough, yet.

Lastly, with weather like this, the skippers and sulphurs were busy getting their last sips in, and here’s yet one more of the latter.

Lake Front State Park, 2024

Our incredible streak of wonderful weather this fall continued today, and I joined the Milwaukee Birders at Milwaukee’s fabulous Lakeshore State Park this morning to give the critters in Estabrook a break. I even managed to arrive in time to watch the sun rise.

The water was full of mallards and geese, but there were also a few double-crested cormorants, who have stopped in at Estabrook, from time to time, but not yet this year, although we have had some fly-overs.

I was thrilled to spot shovelers, who also visit Estabrook, but even less often.

There were dozens of coots, both in the lagoon, and out in the outer harbor. They also come by Estabrook once in a while, and we had one visit us just last spring.

Back on land, a red-winged blackbird flew in and immediately started calling. Perhaps it is wondering where all the others have gone, but we’re right on the cusp between their breeding and year-round ranges, so probably not too far.

Even a kestrel showed up, and it spooked all the starlings.

The rocky shoreline was mostly full was sparrows. Here’s a song, ….

a young white-crowned, …

a white-throated, …

a dark-eyed junco, which are considered “neat, even flashy little sparrows“, …

and this beauty, which had us all excited. Some thought it might be a vesper sparrow, which I’ve only seen in Waterford so far, or even a grasshopper sparrow, which I have never seen before. Instead, it turns out to be a good ol’ savannah sparrow, which we have even seen in Estabrook Park. Ha!

Finally, in the fruit trees near the entrance, this orange-crowned warbler was rustling up some bugs.

Three-peats…

The weather was amazing again this morning in Estabrook Park, with clear skies, nearly still air, and seasonably cool temps.

Things got off to an exciting start when, just as I was about to reach the river for my first visit, this Cooper’s hawk swooped in, came up empty, and looked around for whatever prey had attracted it in the first place. The picture is so grainy because it was still quite dark down in the river valley, and I was surprised my autofocus was even able to lock onto the bird at all.

As crazy luck would have it, I soon had another chance when a Cooper’s hawk, quite possibly the same one, swooped over the pond, and then made a try for one of the wood ducks there, but had no luck again.

At the north end and back at the river, I didn’t see any owls, eagles, osprey, red-tails, merlins, or kestrels today, but, you guessed it, a Cooper’s hawk swooped in and perched low over the northern island. I ended up seeing a Cooper’s hawk five separate times in five separate locations, but I never saw one have any success this morning. Well, you know what they say, “practice makes perfect,” right?

Closer to shore, I found one last palm warbler, who looks like it might have just taken a dip, so it was not in the usual mood for pictures.

Hopping around on the rocks with the palm were a couple of yellow-rumped warblers.

Back at the pond, there is still quite a contingent of wood ducks, and here’s a sharp looking pair.

On my last visit to the river, where we’ve seen song, tree, and Lincoln’s sparrows recently, all I saw today were swamp sparrows: puffy, round ones, …

slim, sleek ones, …

and excited as all get-out ones. I didn’t even know they could do this, until today, and I even had a hope that this might be a new bird for us. Well, you know what they say, “live and learn,” right?

Less frost and more deer…

It was a super nice morning in Estabrook Park, with clear skies and still air, similar to yesterday, but warmer, so no sign of frost for a change.

I got my first nice picture at the north end when this doe crossed between the two islands. She had a fawn in tow, but it was lagging behind, and then it had to go potty, after which it hustled to catch up, so I never had a good shot.

As I watched those two wade up the west side of the northern island, I could hear a snort from the southern island, and here’s the buck who took exception to my presence. In this picture, he’s just about to stomp that left front hoof to accentuate his displeasure. After this picture, I continued north to leave him alone and check on the owls, who were not in today.

On my way back south from counting the pigeons on the Port Washington Road bridge, I was thrilled to spot a kestrel high above the northern island. Before I could get south enough for a decent picture, this merlin showed up, and the kestrel immediately chased it away. By the time I was south enough, however, the merlin returned and perched nice and low over the river.

And the kestrel chased it right back off again. This act repeated several times at various perches over the river, and it was a fun show to watch, although I’m sure the fierce little birds were taking it very seriously.

I eventually continued south, and stayed along the water again, in hopes that maybe an owl had arrived while I was away. I had no luck with that, but as I rounded a corner, look who was grazing right in the middle of the path. It’s a second buck with a slightly less-developed rack, so that makes three different bucks in the park for sure. We both froze, I apologized and assured him everything was okay, he returned to grazing and didn’t snort or stamp at me, I snuck a couple of pictures, and then he moseyed deeper into the brush. Be still my heart.

Much farther south, were I saw the rusty blackbird and all the sparrows yesterday, I checked again, and this time, I found this gorgeous Lincoln’s sparrow.

And another winter wren teased me.

Finally, back at the southern soccer fields, I was stunned to find a dragonfly, a cherry-faced meadowhawk, I believe, and it appeared to be working hard at soaking up some of that sun, so I was able to get nice and close for what might be our last dragonfly picture of the year.

Even more frost…

The air temperature might have been a smidge warmer at dawn, but the air was a bit stiller, and the sky was just as clear, so there was even more frost this morning in Estabrook Park than yesterday.

I saw four deer in three locations, but it wasn’t until this buck paused in the river between the islands and in a bit of sun that I was finally able to get a nice picture. I wonder if that’s the young buck from Tuesday who has now been informed, or otherwise discovered, that the island just isn’t big enough for him and his muscly elder. Either way, it appears that he is off to visit the Westabrook MATC Trail. “Best of luck, Buddy! The last time I saw a bunch of does, they were at the southern soccer fields.”

Speaking of the last time we saw someone, we haven’t seen an owl since Saturday, so I was thrilled to find one back with us again this morning.

I also found the rusty blackbird again, and it was foraging within 20 yards of where we saw it Sunday.

Just a few steps on shore, this song sparrow was preening in the sun, perhaps after a recent dip.

Between those two birds, this swamp sparrow was really earning its name.

A bit farther inland of the song sparrow, this tree sparrow gave me another chance at a decent tree sparrow picture, and I think this is a step in the right direction, but I hope I still get more chances.

The winter wrens continue to be as elusive as ever, and this little stinker seemed to be making a game of it.

While the golden-crowned kinglets seem to have resorted to foraging on the grass to make things easier for me.

Finally, at the far south end, river conditions must be just right to cause an accumulation of salmon carcasses, and that has been attracting a flock of herring gulls to feast on them.

Lastly, this clouded sulphur perched so nicely in the sun on this sow thistle blossom, that I just couldn’t help myself. Oh, and for the eagle-eyes, I believe that is a spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) sharing the blossom.