The air was a smidge warmer and a lot calmer this morning in Estabrook Park, and it would have been a perfect day except for a high, thin overcast that gave the sky a bright white color. The birds didn’t seem to mind, however, and they put on quite a show.

The great blue heron was already on the pond when I arrived, and it grabbed a quick snack before the regular crowd assembled for their fishing lessons.

At the river, there was a pair of female blue-winged teals, …

and here they are flashing us that namesake wing.

The far bigger surprise, if my identification is correct, would be this molting male cinnamon teal far out on the water. It’s got a nice cinnamony color and a red eye, as far as I can tell. It would be the first such teal spotted in Estabrook, but not the first in Milwaukee. Curiously, there was also a young or female hooded merganser with it, and that’s the bird with its back to us just under the tail of the teal and about to nudge the teal off that rock so it can have a turn at preening in the sun.

While I was taking countless pictures of the teal, in hopes that one would come out, check out the action I noticed over the Barnabas Business Center across the river. That’s a Cooper’s hawk, the smaller bird on top, fighting with an American crow, the larger, black bird beneath it.

Anyway, back on our side of the river, the little migrant birds were thick in the trees, and here’s a black-and-white warbler, …

a red-eyed vireo flashing its red eye, …

a young or female chestnut sided warbler, pictured for the first time this fall, …

a Tennessee warbler wondering if maybe somebody’s trying to hide inside that curled up leaf, …

and yet another black-throated green warbler. I took all these pictures while barely taking a step.

Finally, there were a few monarchs out and about, now that the wind has died down, and here’s your butterfly of the day.

Wow, it was chilly out this morning! I read 48°F, plus there was a nice breeze out of the north, so I had to layer up for the first time of the season. The cold might have kept some folks home for a bit, so I had the pond to myself when I arrived, and that enabled me to spot our first green heron of the month, probably a youngster by the looks of those light marks on the wings.

As I was looking to see who else might be around, the great blue heron flew in to provide fishing lessons again, but nobody was on the west lawn yet.

At the river, I had just plunked myself down on my favorite log, when I heard a familiar squawking from above from a pair of Cooper’s hawks with a lot to talk about.

At the far north end, as I scanned the bridge for pigeons and the power lines for starlings, I spotted this pair of crows who were up to something.

They repeated this act a few times, and the one on the right didn’t budge, but they were too far away for me to see what the one on the left was looking for.

Anyway, back at the pond, a couple of catbirds were meowing, and here’s the one I could get eyes on.

The tall trees around the pond were providing a nice windbreak, so the lower branches were full of little birds. Here’s a young bay-breasted warbler, another species we haven’t seen since May.

If my identification is correct, this is a Philadelphia vireo, which the fine folks at ebird have been flagging as “rare” for the last week or so.

Grackles are still around, though not in their usual haunts beside the river, so it was fun to catch this one over the pond.

Back out of the wind, here’s another black-throated green warbler.

The pond didn’t have a monopoly, however, and here’s a shy magnolia warbler lurking deeper in the leaves beside the river. We did see one of these just last month.

The breeze was pretty stiff at the pollinator garden, so my expectations were met when I didn’t find anyone there. Instead, this American rubyspot damselfly was perched in the sun right beside the walking path just north of the soccer fields.

Finally, there were a couple of intrepid, if tiny, fiery skippers on the thistle blossoms beside the soccer fields, so this will be your butterfly of the day.

We did get that forecast change in the weather, so it was cool, breezy, and sometimes cloudy in Estabrook Park this morning, but the breeze was out of the north, so much of the river valley was pretty still, and the sun had plenty of opportunities to poke through the clouds, so it was a nice change of pace.

The paths along the river and around the pond were unusually busy this morning, so I didn’t see any critters to photograph until I reached the north end, where this chickadee just kept posing for me, as if daring me to take its picture.

The park is full of robins these days, I counted 58 this morning, so it would be surprising if there wasn’t also a robin, a young one in this case, posing in that same tree.

I didn’t see anybody out on the water that we haven’t already seen plenty of, so I headed back to the pond where I found this blackpoll warbler foraging in the trees at the north end. They haven’t all flown south yet. Yay!

Right next to the blackpoll, this chipmunk might take the record for the highest chipmunk I’ve seen so far, and by “highest” I mean “highest in a tree,” in case some other meaning popped into your head.

A bit farther east, a Swainson’s thrush posed perfectly, and got photobombed by a much larger robin, of course.

The great blue heron on the pond was giving lessons again, but I liked this one on the river better, working without an audience.

As I approached the weeds along the west edge of the southern soccer fields, I caught movement overhead out of the corner of my eye, and look who it turned out to be: our first black-throated green warbler of the fall migration! Fantastic! We haven’t seen one since May.

When I finally did reach the weeds, I found the breeze too stiff for butterflies, but these goldfinches were undeterred. Here’s a male, in all his finery.

And here’s a juvenile.

Finally, I did spot one interesting critter in the river, and it was this giant common carp, but I couldn’t get a better picture than this, so I didn’t want to lead with it. It did turn nicely to give us a side view, but my camera kept focusing on the reflection of the trees across the river. Anyway, I’d bet the thing was 18 inches long, or longer, and 5 to 6 inches in diameter, at its widest.

Lastly, I did find one butterfly, on the goldenrod along the edge of the meadow at the north end, and that’s gonna be your butterfly of the day.

PS. So that you don’t have to search for it, in case you’re looking for it, here’s the link to North Shore School for Seniors again.

I see that our string of nice weather is forecast to peter out soon, but not before we had one more beautiful morning in Estabrook Park.

The big surprise for today was that the young spotted sandpiper was still foraging on the same lily pads. I didn’t take a picture yesterday, but I saw it there, so that makes three days in a row. It even stayed long enough for the sun to come over the trees and light up the scene. Outstanding!

Not every lily pad was up to the task, however, but the bird simply flapped its wings and hopped to the next one.

And that’s all I’ve got for birds, I’m afraid. Luckily, there were plenty of bugs to pick up the slack. Here’s a spotted orbweaver who builds its web across the path I take along the riverbank to see the deer, owls, and even sandpipers. It has been there for the past three mornings, and it pains me to damage the web, but the brush is really thick there, so my only real alternative would be to turn around, and then we’d miss those amazing sights. I can only hope that if the repairs were too onerous, it would have moved on by now. In any case, “Sorry, Sweetie!”

In happier news, I just read that “an international team of researchers has revealed an unexpected genetic process that shapes the intricate and colorful patterns on butterfly wings,” so let’s celebrate with some of the butterflies I saw today, starting with this monarch.

Then this acrobatic silver-spotted skipper.

A few dozen yards south, the thistle blossoms change from purple to yellow, and that’s where I found this orange sulphur.

But the butterfly of the day should be this gorgeous common buckeye, the likes of which we haven’t seen in a while.

Finally, there was an article in yesterday’s paper about swarms of dragonflies at the lakefront, and it explains that “the insects are making their yearly migration south,” including common green darners, which probably explains why I’m seeing fewer and fewer of them in Estabrook Park these days. The last picture I captured of one was back on August 31, 2024, when I used a blue dasher picture instead.

Lastly, if you’ve been thinking to yourself, “these posts are all well and good,” and I sure hope you have, but then you continue, “if only there were a way for him to show me these pictures and tell me these stories in person,” then today is your lucky day. Well, I’ve already written today’s post, and you’ve already read most of it, so let’s not do it today. Instead, how about Tuesday, November 5 from 2:30 to 3:30 when I’ll be presenting for North Shore School for Seniors. They do charge a small fee, to cover expenses of their brick and mortar operation, but I hope that won’t be a deal breaker. Anyway, you can check out all the details, and sign up, if you are so inclined, at their website: Nss4s.org. I hope to see you there.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Someone left me another park beer, and it looks like a fresh one, so thanks for that!

I wasn’t seeing much worth photographing in Estabrook Park this morning, despite the continued beautiful weather, until I approached the north end. There, I was off the trail along the bottom of the bluff, and following the riverbank instead, when I spotted this beauty out in the shallow river water.

Better yet, she was heading toward the southern island, even though it was clear she had spotted me on the mainland, so I was able to get another picture in better light. She didn’t just clamber up onto the island, however, and stood still in the water for a while.

When I glanced upstream, I realized why. She was waiting for her little one to keep up.

Unfortunately, it didn’t follow mom’s route exactly and ended up getting into deeper water than it liked.

Despite also probably seeing me, it veered right and pressed on toward the mainland to climb up the riverbank just about twenty feet upstream of me.

Mom waited a bit, and then dutifully followed.

I figured that was the last I would see of them today, but I also waited a bit, to give them a chance to reunite, and then I continued north along the riverbank. They hadn’t bothered going very far, however, and I soon spotted them together about thirty feet inland.

The brush was pretty thick between us, so I didn’t have a clear shot, but I waited a moment, and they eventually put their heads together and both faced the camera. I took this picture, gave them a little wave, and quietly continued on my way.

Meanwhile, in the avian world, the Swainson’s thrushes are still scattered throughout the park, and here’s one of about a dozen I saw.

The house wrens also continue to come through, although not nearly as thickly, and here’s one of the two I saw.

Finally, the young great blue heron on the pond continues with its fishing lessons for the photographers seated on the west lawn, and here it is showing them the fish it just caught.

Lastly, I did see a couple of butterflies today, but the big ones evaded me, and we’ve seen enough of the little skippers, so the butterfly of the day will have to be this European comma (Polygonia c-album) that I spotted outside of Riga, Latvia, last week. As you might expect, it is a cousin of the eastern comma we see in Estabrook Park, but their ranges do not overlap.

I wish I knew what I stepped in, because it sure has brought a nice long streak of beautiful weather to Estabrook Park. It was cooler this morning, closer to 50 than 60, which created some low fog over the soccer fields and the river, but the air was still again, and the skies were clear, so it was just perfect for a walk in the park.

I stopped by the river again before the pond, and I arrived just in time to watch this Cooper’s hawk make an unsuccessful try for a belted kingfisher, after which it perched nearly over my head to see what else might be on the menu.

Oddly, it seemed not to notice, or care for, the young spotted sandpiper foraging atop the lily pads on the water almost right below it. Perhaps it was just as amazed as I was to learn that sandpipers could even do that.

The kingfisher went by again, and the hawk gave it one more try, without success, and perched overhead again to contemplate the error of its ways. But this time, it faced the camera and hid behind fewer branches, so hurray for us.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement enough already, then a beaver steamed down the river, …

and a couple of mallards came up river to greet it. I mentioned the fog already, right?

Anyway, the party eventually subsided at the river, I checked the pond, which was quiet again, and returned to the river at the north end. I was sad to find the teals had moved on, but a family of indigo buntings, dad with two hungry and noisy offspring, made up for that.

By the time of my second pass at the pond, a great blue heron had arrived and was giving fishing lessons to a gaggle of photographers on the west lawn.

Since I had a few minutes left on the clock, I stopped by the river one last time, and I was thrilled to find the sandpiper still foraging on the lily pads, but now with a nice warm sun lighting up the scene.

From there, it was a quick walk up to the pollinator garden, where I did spot a monarch, but it stayed away from the flowers. Instead, this red-belted bumblebee (Bombus rufocinctus) was nearly climbing into the obedient plant blossoms.

On my way out of the park, I swung by the Benjamin Church House, and look who I found lurking in a lilac bush there: perhaps our last house wren of the season.

Finally, the warblers appear to be thinning out, so I was extra happy to spot this Cape May in the evergreen right next to the Church House.

Lastly, your butterfly of the day is this magnificent monarch tanking up on thistle nectar beside the soccer fields to fuel its long journey south.

There were a few clouds this morning, especially to the east, so it took a while for the sky to light up, but when it did, wow, what a gorgeous morning it became in Estabrook Park. The clouds eventually drifted away, and the air was cool, crisp, and nearly still. Plus, there was hardly any traffic noise, so it was perfect for listening to the birds.

I stopped by the river on my way to the pond, for a change, and it was pretty quiet, but this female belted kingfisher did perch over the far riverbank for a moment.

The pond was also pretty quiet and hosting nobody new, so I went back to the river and soon found this merlin high above the southern island.

After the merlin moved on to the northern island, a pair of spotted sandpipers swooped in, and this one perched on a rock in the river just north of the southern island.

The big surprise at the river, however, was spotting a quintet of blue-winged teals, in non-breeding plumage, and our first for the season.

Here they are again, in the lower left, along with two, much larger mallards, a ginormous Canada goose, a similarly sized wood duck, and a huge herring gull. There are also three to four more mallards in the far background. See if you can spot them all.

Closer to our shore, here’s an American rubyspot damselfly that looks so fresh, it may have just emerged from the water this morning.

Back up on the bluff, here’s one of the eastern wood-pewees still kicking around. I even heard one still singing.

I did stop by the pond again, and there was more light, but otherwise the situation hadn’t changed much, so I headed back to the river. On the nice path through the forest just south of the dog park, I found this orchard orbweaver whose web caught a ray of sunlight just right.

Meanwhile, there was a steady chorus of squirrels and blue jays crying in the trees above, and look who I found attracting all that attention, our first Cooper’s hawk of the month.

Goldenrod appears to be the main source of nectar right now, and here’s a Mexican grass-carrying wasp (Isodontia mexicana), if my sources are correct, still south of the northern extent of their range.

Finally, this tiny summer azure, one of at least four on the pollinator garden, is our butterfly of the day. I haven’t seen one in a while, so I’d bet that they all are freshly emerged from their chrysalides.

Lastly, I went out around sunset last evening in hopes of photographing one of the several nighthawks Anne and I had seen hunting over the southern soccer fields just the night before, but I didn’t see a single one, and they may have all flown south already. Instead, I did see this darling red-eyed vireo busily hunting for bugs in a tree on the western edge of the fields.

The beautiful weather in Estabrook Park continued this morning, if a little warmer and a little breezier than yesterday. Plus, my adjustment to this time zone continues to take its sweet time, so I was up nice and early again, and my visit got off to another nice and early start.

The pond continues to host belted kingfishers, mallards, this one great blue heron, and …

a slew of sleepy wood ducks.

The river still hosts dozens of mallards, a few Canada geese, a couple of wood ducks, and a couple of great blue herons, but nobody uncommon today. Instead, the uncommon birds were back onshore, and here’s an incognito blackpoll warbler.

I did catch a glimpse of one male American redstart, but he was super shy. The females, on the other hand, were far more plentiful and lot bolder.

I thought this next bird was another yellow warbler, at first, but closer inspection from the comfort of my dining room table suggests that it is a Wilson’s warbler instead with just a sliver of its distinct black cap visible above its eye.

Finally, on my way home, I spotted another autumn meadowhawk.

That’s all I’ve got for today, but there were still a lot of Swainson’s thrushes around, and here’s another picture from yesterday.

By the time I reached the weeds beside the southern soccer fields this morning, the breeze was up enough to keep the butterflies down, but there were so many taking advantage of the still air yesterday that I have this American lady to show you.

Back to the Baltics, the only “crow” I saw for most of the trip was the black-and-grey hooded crow, as we first saw in Ljubljana. Thus, I was excited to see a pair of large, all-black birds when we got to Vilnius, and I figured they were carrion crows, as we saw in South Holland, or ravens, as we’ve seen in the American west. Instead, that pale face is not merely a molt gone awry, and it makes them the very first rooks (Corvus frugilegus) I have ever identified. I am sure that you will be as stunned to learn as I just was that the word “rookery” was first coined to describe their collective tree-top nests and then later used to describe similar nesting colonies by other species.

In that same Vilnius park, there are three small ponds with mallards, Eurasian coots, and moorhens, and I found this beauty, the first water rail (Rallus aquaticus) I’ve ever managed to photograph, skulking among the reeds along the edge of one of them in the dim morning light.

Lastly, that American lady above sure is pretty, but I was so happy yesterday to spend some quality time with that eastern tailed-blue, that I’m gonna make it the butterfly of the day for a second day in a row.

Anne and I arrived home, safe and sound, just around midnight last night, and I had gotten some sleep on the flight, so I was awake again by 4 am. Luckily, it was a perfect morning in Estabrook Park, and I only had to wait until 6 am to have enough light to see who might be home.

Better yet, there were also plenty of critters up getting a jump on the holiday weekend, and here’s a wide-awake osprey perched high above the northern island.

I was a little nervous when we left that I might have seen my last warbler of the year, but I needn’t have worried because it didn’t take me long to spot this pretty little magnolia warbler, my first for the fall migration.

There were also quite a few Swainson’s thrushes, which we haven’t seen since the spring, tanking up along the river to fuel their journeys south to Central and South America.

Meanwhile, this red squirrel was busily shucking a walnut, perhaps to store up for the Wisconsin winter ahead.

Back by the pond, I was thrilled to learn that monarch butterflies are still here.

Out on the water, this green heron struck quite a pose as it stretched one wing at a time.

The weeds beside the southern soccer fields are still full of blossoms and bugs, and here’s a handsome Peck’s skipper on a thistle.

We still have dragonflies, too, and here’s a dashing blue dasher.

Finally, I found this tiny and pristine, eastern tailed-blue butterfly (Cupido comyntas) enjoying some goldenrod in the pollinator garden, and that’s gonna be our butterfly of the day.

Lastly, I do have a few pictures from our trip, despite our focus on savoring the mostly-urban sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of the Baltics.

I came across this Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), my very first, while strolling along the top of an earthen portion of the ancient city wall of Tallinn, Estonia. There were a bunch feeding on the seeds of weeds, and I first thought they were house sparrows, but that dark patch on their cheek gives them away.

A couple of days later, we were in Riga, Latvia, and I found my first hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes), a juvenile, in a park just outside town.

Finally, I found my very first black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), an eastern morph female, in a city park in Vilnius, Lithuania. The males look a lot more like the American redstart males we get to see in Estabrook Park.

See ya next month!

The weather continues to get better in Estabrook Park, and I enjoyed plenty of sun and blue skies this morning, despite the occasional cloud. My visit got off to another great start when I spotted this osprey high over the river and just about at eye level with the paved path where it runs right beside the top of the bluff.

A big surprise for the day was finding an American kestrel flying over the baseball field and perching over the beer garden. It sure made the blue jays go crazy. I even saw one give chase for a bit. The last time I got a picture of a kestrel was last September, and it was with a blue jay on one of the radio towers across the river.

I only found one owl this morning, and it was having a close encounter with an eastern gray squirrel. It was not clear who was more afraid of whom.

There was a new flycatcher visiting this morning, and it was this alder flycatcher, on its way to South America for the winter. “Safe travels, sweetie!”

Under the bridge at the far north end, the pigeon chicks appear to be almost all grown up.

The eastern wood-pewees must have had a bumper crop this year, because I’ve been seeing them everywhere lately, and here’s one with a fly.

This chipmunk looks like it is giving its tail the “smell test” to see if it can go another day without washing it.

The trees are starting to fill up with warblers, also making their ways south, and here’s one that I believe is a female Cape May.

Closer to the ground, this gorgeous orchard orbweaver (Leucauge venusta) was working on its own breakfast.

In the thistles beside the southern soccer fields, I found a striking new bee for us, this broad-handed leafcutter bee (Megachile latimanus).

Finally, there were not many butterflies out and about to choose from, so our butterfly of the day will be this clouded sulpher.

Lastly, Anne and I are heading off on another adventure this afternoon, and I am bringing my camera, but it might take a day or two before I have anything to show you.