I don’t know if they will technically call this our first frost, but there was frost on the grass in Estabrook Park this morning. I don’t believe the air temperature was actually below freezing, but the sky was clear, and the wind was blocked enough in spots, so that radiant cooling was able to do the rest.
Perhaps the critters were reacting to the cold snap, plenty of whom were experiencing it for the very first time in their little lives, because nobody wanted their picture taken today. This sleeping racoon was about as good as I could get.
I probably was able to sneak this one bird picture, of our first American tree sparrow of the season, because the poor little thing had just arrived and was still getting its bearings.
Well, since we’re all here, let me show you another look at the buck from yesterday. I don’t like this pose quite as much, but it really does show off that massive neck of his. Yikes, right?
Tomorrow is supposed to be just as sunny, but a bit warmer, and with a bit less wind, so let’s hope we can all get back into the recent swing of things.
Not only did it rain again overnight, but it was still raining when the sun tried to come up this morning. Plus, the winds were strong, so I was tempted to skip my visit to Estabrook altogether. But Anne was undaunted and grabbed her umbrella to go for a walk anyway, so when the skies lightened a bit, I went out to give it a try myself.
Well, the lightening sky was just a teaser, and I was sure glad I brought the rain cover for my camera. By the time I reached the pond, however, things were finally drying out, and I was able to capture this image of another red-tailed hawk, in a tree right over where I saw the Cooper’s hawk yesterday.
It soon made a grab for this squirrel in the next tree over, but it just missed.
I was quite surprised to watch the squirrel inch down that trunk toward the hawk. I wondered what kind of strategery was that.
But then the hawk jumped again, came up empty, and ended up back where it started. The squirrel’s crazy ploy worked, this time. Also, how’s that for a red tail?
Then somebody got out of a car, perhaps to go to the dog park, and I’ve learned that birds might tolerate one person watching them, but two are nearly always one too many, so it took off to look for squirrels elsewhere, and I continued on to the river.
When I got to the southern island, I was thrilled to see one of the bucks again, and this time it was in no hurry, so I could get a nice portrait.
Then I noticed something moving in the bushes behind it, and I couldn’t believe it when this much-more-mature buck emerged. They faced off for a moment, and then the youngster eased itself out of sight.
As if that wasn’t already amazing enough, the mature buck then gave me this gorgeous pose. In addition to those antlers, look at the neck on that guy! I was a little glad to have some river between us.
Anyway, once I got the pictures I wanted, I excused myself and continued upstream. Between the islands, I only saw geese, mallards, and a heron on the far shore, so I kept going until I reached the tree where we’ve been seeing the osprey lately. As I searched through the leaves to see if the osprey was in today, I could see a big bird, but it turned out to be a bald eagle instead. I’ll take it!
It was perched in a slightly different spot, so I couldn’t find a clear shot through the leaves, and I eventually ventured out onto the exposed river bottom for a better look.
Finally, on my way back south, this little cutie on the trail kindly held its ground as I brought my camera to my eye, which let me round out today’s collection of mammals and raptors.
Once again, the morning in Estabrook Park was nicer than I expected, given the forecast and the rain overnight. It certainly was cool and breezy, but the clouds soon cleared out for a while, and the sun felt nice and warm if you could enjoy it in a spot out of the breeze.
When I emerged from the woods on my way from the river to the pond, I was just in time to watch this beauty, a Cooper’s hawk, swoop up the little rise and perch on the fence around the dog park. I was probably only 30 feet away, and I know it saw me, but it must have been too intent on catching breakfast to worry about me, because it turned back to check out the squirrels cavorting on the lawn before setting off after one. I was unable to see if it had any luck, unfortunately.
At the north end, the same birds were on the water again, but it was this tiny golden-crowned kinglet that put on the best show as it searched every nook and cranny for something to eat.
This quartet of deer was the first exciting sight I saw this morning, when I saw them back at the southern soccer fields, but I like the symmetry of putting them here in the middle of the story, as I hope you will see. I don’t know if they are the same ones we saw in the river by the islands a week ago, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.
On my second visit to the pond, I found this Nashville warbler energetically foraging amongst the plants they let grow in the northeast corner there, probably only because the lawn is steeper there than is comfortable to mow, but we’ll take it. Anyway, as with the Cooper’s hawk earlier, it seemed far too intent on breakfast to worry about me, and I probably took 100 pictures over 10 minutes, as it flitted from perch to perch, in hopes of having a couple turn out to be presentable. If you look closely, especially if you click on it so you can magnify the image, you can see it has just caught a tasty little morsel.
Finally, just as I approached the soccer fields again from the north, I turned the corner in the nick of time to watch this red-tailed hawk swoop up onto a branch right over the paved path about 50 yards ahead of me. As you can see, it has just had a successful catch, and it soon retired to a more-secluded branch to fill its belly.
I didn’t see any new bugs today, butterflies or otherwise, and we might not again until next spring, so it will probably be just warm-blooded critters until then.
Despite the noisy thunderstorms late yesterday afternoon, it was a very nice morning in Estabrook Park today with mostly clear skies and very still air. Add to that the parkway closure for the farmers market and the light Sunday traffic at all, and conditions were perfect for hearing any unusual peeps.
As I strolled up the center of the parkway for the narrow stretch north of the soccer fields, I heard my first unusual peep, and it came from this little cutie with black speckles on its head and a white bib, my very first Harris’s sparrow in the park. Woo Hoo! What a way to start the morning.
The next unusual peep came at the river where this stunner, another rusty blackbird, was foraging at the water line. Better yet, this bird was far more comfortable with me taking pictures than the sparrow was, so I took at least 50 as it hopped around and faced one way and then the other. The icing on the cake was that golden morning sun, and the cherry on top was the mixing reflections off the water of the blue sky above and the red radio tower over the far riverbank.
At the north end, it’s wooing season for the great blue herons, and here’s one strutting his stuff.
In this mashup, the only duck I’m sure of is the wigeon on the right. The one on the left is probably a second wigeon, but the pale blue speculum feather on the one in the middle is giving me pause. I can’t tell if that color is an artifact of the lighting or its “true” color. We’ll have to see what the experts say.
Upstream of the ducks, another great blue heron was taking a nap in the middle of the river.
Back on shore, this little darling hiding in the weeds is one of the last warblers hanging around, an orange-crowned.
As I was heading south, I contemplated the complete lack of raptors today, compared to the glut we’ve been having recently, and I thought maybe they’re all waiting to dry off before coming out to hunt.
I took one last glance north before my view was blocked, and I spotted the one raptor who probably doesn’t care if its feathers are wet. In fact, the osprey thrashed its wings a bit in the water and appeared to be taking a bath.
Finally, while I was standing out in the middle of the river on the bottom exposed by the low water we’ve been having, I noticed something tiny and on the move. Happily, it didn’t move far, and I was able to get my eyes and then my camera on it.
The forecast cold front did roll through last evening, and it was cool and blustery in Estabrook Park this morning, with winds out of the ESE and clouds slowly thickening.
Thus, the wood ducks huddled against the eastern shore of the pond instead of their usual place in the northwest corner where they can soak up the sun. Sadly, the leaves have only turned a little yellow here instead of the reds some have at the other end.
The owl was in the same spot as yesterday, even though I took this picture from a different angle. In fact, if you check back through the last four days, you can see that little curly branch under its feet is in every picture. Ha! Even better, if you look at the coloration of the face and breast feathers, you can see that the bird from Thursday has a lot more white than the bird from today and Wednesday. At last, I have a way to tell them apart when I see only one. Yay! Here’s hoping I have a lot of opportunities to use that in the coming weeks and months, eh?
Meanwhile, I’m happy to report that our lone wigeon is still around and enjoying our fine Milwaukee River plants.
And here are the two soloists together for a moment. Once again, you can see how tiny the teal is compared to the wigeon, which is itself smaller than a mallard.
That’s all I got this morning, but I still have some recent pictures that I haven’t yet used, and here’s another look at the young red-headed woodpecker from yesterday.
Finally, I didn’t see any dragonflies today, and the few sulphurs I did see were fighting mightily against the wind, so let’s go with the fiery skipper sunning itself on the paved path around the pond yesterday morning. Soon enough, I won’t even be able to find one of these for you.
It was pretty nice in Estabrook Park at sunrise, but you can tell a change in the weather is coming. The sky now has a thin, white overcast, the breeze is picking up, and I hear rain is on the way.
Until then, however, the critters were plentiful, and my first greeter this morning was this darling young red-headed woodpecker. I’ve seen more of them this year than ever before, and I am holding out hope that a pair will take up residence for the coming year.
On my first visit to the river, I spotted another rusty blackbird perched over the water’s edge.
The pond was quiet, so I headed back to the river where I found this heron preening above the falls.
Upstream of the islands, a young bald eagle flew by just as I was arriving, so all the ducks made themselves scarce. Happily, they eventually trickled back in, and I was thrilled that the wigeon came back with the mallards.
So did the three gadwalls, of which this is one.
As I started to make my way south, I could hear the squirrels crying in the big silver maple at the north end of the wildflower meadow, and I looked for the cause. I had already seen a merlin and a Cooper’s hawk, but I couldn’t find who was upsetting the squirrels until I stepped out onto the exposed river bottom. Then I could see the osprey in its new favorite spot, in the dead tree next to the silver maple.
Farther downstream, I found one of the owls again. I had also seen it on my way north, but it must have shifted a bit because I could see more of its gorgeous plumage on my second pass. It never showed its face, and perhaps it was sound asleep, which may be a good sign.
Finally, there are still skippers, whites, and sulphur butterflies around, but I managed at last to capture an image of what will probably be our final dragonfly of the year, so here you go. This is a green darner, and they really seem to prefer perching on the ugliest plant they can find. Oh well.
The stunningly beautiful weather in Estabrook Park just keeps coming, and today was just as clear and just as calm as yesterday, but a smidge warmer. Before we get into today’s sights, however, I still have some from yesterday to show you.
The yellow-bellied sapsuckers have not all passed through yet, and this gorgeous creature was sipping sap from a tree right over the riverbank at the north end.
Almost directly above the sapsucker, an osprey came to check on our fish situation and to make sure we are not overstocked.
Not to let the fox sparrows get ahead, this Lincoln’s sparrow did improve upon the pose of the one from last week. That one was far too backlit, and I had to massage the image quite a bit to salvage it. This one is almost perfect right out of the can.
Alright, that’s it for yesterday, now on to today. There was only one owl this morning, and it was in the same tree as yesterday, but appeared to be sound asleep today.
At the northern island, there was a merlin perched in a tree above it again, but the surprise today was when it soon came down to check out the river water.
As I was taking pictures of the first merlin, a second suddenly appeared back atop the island, and I needed a couple of doubletakes to make sure I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing.
Perhaps feeling the comfort of a lookout above, the first merlin, who clearly knew I was sitting not even 50 yards away, decided it was time for a bath.
Here it is all wetted down and ready to go perch in the sun and preen.
As if that wasn’t enough raptor for any morning, this Cooper’s hawk swooped in and perched right over the paved path just south of where it runs right next to the parkway. I see now, from the comfort of my dining room that it is sporting some jewelry, and we haven’t seen much of that in a while.
At the far south end, this cute little yellow-rumped warbler took a short pause from chasing down bugs to do its best palm warbler imitation, but nobody beats the palms at this game.
Finally, I did see one skipper, but I figured I’d have to feature yet another sulphur or white for butterfly of the day. Then this amazing creature, which looks like a cross between sulphurs and whites, appeared on the sow thistle beside the southern soccer fields. What could it be, I wondered. Perhaps a hybrid? I read that “hybridization runs rampant in these … butterflies,” so it could well be. We may never know.
I had a great morning again in Estabrook Park. The weather was beautiful, and the critters were plentiful, but I just don’t have time right now to tell you all about it. Instead, let me share a couple of highlights.
The owls are back, or perhaps they’ve been here all along, and I just couldn’t find them, but either way, it’s great to see them again. They were pretty close together in the same tree, but only this one showed its gorgeous face.
And the bucks are getting their antlers back. Tom, the vermillion flycatcher spotter, had a different angle, and he said there were actually three of them this morning, but I didn’t dare move or I’d get pictures of none of them.
That’s all I have time for now, but I’ll sure have plenty to show you tomorrow.
The weather in Estabrook Park just keeps getting nicer. Sure, it was appropriately chilly for October this morning, but the sky remains clear, and the breeze keeps getting lighter.
The biggest surprise of the day was catching sight of this elusive little cutie, an immature, orange-crowned warbler. Sure, there are still plenty of yellow-rumps and a few palms around, but I did not expect to be still finding new warblers this late in the season.
At the north end, I was standing way out in the river, on a big patch of exposed riverbed, when this osprey glided over, and I was afraid that it would take one look at me and just keep gliding. Today must be my lucky day, however, because it circled around and took a perch right over our riverbank where I could sneak this picture.
Finally, as I was sneaking around trying to get an osprey picture, yet another raptor glided in, this pretty little merlin, and it took a perch over the northern island, right across from the osprey.
And that’s the whole show for today, folks. I am sure there was plenty more to see, but I just ran out of time. Let’s hope the surprises I missed stick around for another day so I can find them tomorrow.
The wind has finally subsided, and the sky is still clear, so it was a nearly perfect, if chilly, morning for a visit to Estabrook Park. I saw a hungry Cooper’s hawk try for little birds three separate times today, and this picture is at the pond after it came up empty on its second attempt. The third time was the most “fun” to watch, however, because dozens of juncos and sparrows leapt off the ground for their lives as it swooped over.
With the still air, the water on the pond was flat as a mirror.
The big surprise today at the river was this quartet of deer sneaking between the islands.
We have another new bird for the fall migration, and this time it’s this rusty blackbird.
This is my first blue-headed vireo of the season, but they’ve been spotted in Estabrook already this month.
Meanwhile, the wigeon is still with us and has teamed up with the gadwalls. In the image below, the wigeon is on the right, and one of the two gadwalls I saw today is on the left.
As I was trying to get a decent picture of the ducks out on the water, this ruby-crowned kinglet put on such a nice show while foraging through the willow shoots growing out of the riverbank that I just couldn’t resist taking its picture.
This next picture is pretty terrible, I admit. The bird looked like a black silhouette against a backdrop of leaves lit up by the sun, so I really had to over expose it with my camera and then try to clean it up on my laptop, but, if my identification is correct, this might be my best wood thrush picture yet. Sheesh, they are elusive little skulkers.
There were a few phoebes hunting bugs over the river, and I checked every one carefully in hopes that one might be a vermillion flycatcher, but I had no luck with that. Instead, I did get this pretty picture.
Back at the pond, the great blue heron had arrived, and the water was still pretty smooth, so here you go.
On my way back to the river for one more check, I spotted my only sapsucker of the morning, and this might be the last we see of them until they come through again in the spring.
Lastly, I was surprised to find the weeds by the soccer fields nearly empty, given the warm sun, but perhaps the butterflies were still too chilled from the cold overnight. Happily, the situation by the Church House must have been a smidge warmer, so here’s one more sulphur to act as our butterfly of the day.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 