Signs of Life in Estabrook Park

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 grosbeaks 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.

Still more fall migrators…

All the rain from yesterday eventually drifted east, and it took most of the clouds with it, too, so we had a pretty nice morning again in Estabrook Park. The trees at the crest of the bluff along the west edge of the soccer fields were abuzz with birds, as I had found them yesterday afternoon, but this time with little birds.

Here’s another young, male rose-breasted grosbeak, on its way south and waiting for the sun to come over the trees to the east.

And here’s our first yellow-rumped warbler of the fall migration.

At the river, I was surprised to find a young green heron still hanging around. Most appear to have moved on already, and the fine folks at ebird.com have started listing them as “infrequent”.

At the pond, I counted over a dozen wood ducks, and you can just see a bit of a mature male in the upper right of this picture, but my intended subjects were the eclipse male and female canoodling in the center.

As I approached the river, I inadvertently spooked this deer, but not so much that it didn’t stop and try to size me up from a safe distance.

I didn’t see any owls or other exciting visitors out on the water today, but this white-throated sparrow sure looked sharp in the warm morning sun.

As I was taking a picture of the sparrow, this mature Cooper’s hawk swooped in and perched just long enough for its own picture.

Back at the pond, the yellow-bellied sapsuckers were thick in the trees, but this youngster is the only one who would sit still for a second. “Rookie move, but thanks!”

Barely a couple of steps from the sapsucker, I found our first white-crowned sparrow of the season, and perhaps it was exhausted from the flight in, because I don’t believe one has ever let me take as nice a portrait.

Out on the pond, right behind the sparrow, the young great blue heron was done with fishing lessons and just hanging out on a log and making pretty reflections.

On my way back home, I checked the river again, but the green heron had moved on, and I haven’t seen a sandpiper in a while, so I figured I was done with birds and headed up to the pollinator garden to check for butterflies. Halfway up the bluff, I heard a familiar chirp, well halfway between a chirp and a croak, and this time I was able to lay eyes on this elusive cutie, our first photographed brown thrasher of the fall migration.

Finally, I didn’t see a single butterfly again this morning, so here’s a clouded sulphur from Saturday to be your butterfly of the day.

I just never know what I’m gonna find…

I waited and waited for the rain to quit this morning, and I finally gave up at 11am and went out anyway. The radar map was showing just light green by then, so I thought I might get lucky and only have to contend with mist. Well, that did not go as planned, and the rain was pretty steady as I traipsed from one end of the park to the other and back. I did manage to see quite a few birds and one medium sized snapping turtle, but I never dared take the rain cover off my camera.

Anyway, as I returned to the southern soccer fields and headed toward the weeds along the west edge, in hopes of maybe finding an interesting bug, the rain suddenly petered out, and I could see the tree line just beyond the weeds was full of birds. There were a couple of cedar waxwings, at least four northern flickers, a few robins, and some blue jays, but as I got closer to try for a picture, they all started to move, and it turns out that they were reacting to this long-legged little cutie, our very first sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus)

I’ve been hoping to spot one of these for years, and I was afraid that this one would take off before I could get a nice picture. It did flit around quite a bit, chasing or being chased by the blue jays, but it kept returning to give me another chance. The dark streaks down its front suggest that it is a youngster and so still learning the ropes.

Here’s one blue jay really pushing its luck and showing just how small these hawks are, and this one kept spreading its tail and wings, probably in an effort to appear bigger.

Here you can see four of the jays in one tree really keeping the pressure on.

Finally, here it is before it took off and left the jays behind for good.

After all that excitement, I had a new pep in my step and still some time on the clock, so I headed down to the river to see who else might still be around, and the first critter to catch my eye was this tiny orchard orbweaver.

Next was this gorgeous rack of chicken of the woods, the mushroom, not the three literal chickens we saw in the woods yesterday.

No other birds gave me a decent shot until this red-tailed hawk swooped north over the southern parking lot and perched atop this light pole.

Since I have only two birds today, here’s the osprey from yesterday standing in the water when I first spotted it.

I definitely did not see any butterflies today, and I thought this was a yellowish cabbage white or a whiteish clouded sulphur, but after a closer look, I suspect it may be a pink-edged sulphur, which we don’t get to see very often, so let’s make that the butterfly of the day.

I don’t see this every day…

Nicer weather has returned, and it was a gorgeous morning in Estabrook Park, with clear skies, still air, and mild temps.

Right out of the gate, as I was crossing the southern parking lot, these three beauties came out to greet me. I suspect they were dropped off in the park by someone who found keeping chickens to be more than they had bargained for. There was also a box, which I had noticed yesterday morning, and that appears to have contained chickens for a bit, if you know what I mean. As I left the park some hours later, there was no sign of the chickens or the box, and I hope that means someone has adopted them.

My next big surprise of the morning was spotting this young yellow-bellied sapsucker above the crest of the bluff north of the beer garden and making its maiden journey south.

Once I made it down the bluff to the river, I heard the Cooper’s hawk and young great horned owl again, so I went to take a look, and this time I found the Cooper’s hawk first.

Then this magnificent creature, who was definitely not the young owl I could still hear crying, swooped in to help sort things out. I left them all there and returned to the water, but all the squawking and crying soon stopped.

When I finally got to my favorite log to take a seat and survey the water between the islands, look who I found there. I got a few pictures of it standing in shallow water, but it soon flew up to a nice low perch of the southern tip off the northern island, where I could get better pictures.

I don’t know if it was because of the osprey or just luck of the draw, but there was nobody else out on the water today besides mallards and geese, so I headed back inland and soon spotted this beauty, a merlin, perched high over the wildflower meadow.

Farther north along the river, this eastern phoebe was actively hunting bugs out of the nice still air.

A bit north of the phoebe, I found this northern waterthrush higher in a tree than I am used to seeing them. I usually find them foraging among the rocks and sticks that litter the riverbank.

On my second visit to the pond, there was another flycatcher hard at work, and I believe this one is an eastern wood-pewee. I don’t hear their calls any more, but it appears that at least one is still around.

Back at the weeds beside the southern soccer fields, there were still a few dragonflies today, and I believe this one is a female blue dasher, which we have seen before.

This one, on the other hand, may be our very first band-winged dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata), as best as I can tell, and subject to confirmation. Heck, I’d never even heard of “dragonlets” until trying to put a name to this face today, but it’ll be our 19th dragonfly species, if I’m correct.

Finally, this monarch appears to be so freshly emerged that its wings are still soft enough to wrinkle along the bottom edge, and that’s gonna be your butterfly of the day.

Lastly, some kind park visitor left me these two 16 oz cans of Natural Ice. Nice!

Good views despite the cloudy skies.

The beautiful weather has finally run its course, and it was cloudy this morning after raining overnight. By the time there was enough light for me to venture into Estabrook, however, the rain was long gone, and the air was mostly still and warm, so plenty good enough for a walk in the park.

I was still on the southern soccer fields when I spotted this little cutie, who looks like an immature male rose-breasted grosbeak, in one of the trees along the west edge.

At the pond, it was still pretty dark, but not too dark to see that one of the male wood ducks had his new suit on for the ladies.

There wasn’t much else to see at the pond, so I headed to the river, where salmon were jumping up the falls again, so I cranked up my shutter speed, and as crazy good luck would have it, that is just when a falcon flew south over the river with breakfast in tow.

Meanwhile, there was a guy fishing just below the falls, and he quickly hooked this giant salmon, which my experts are saying is a chinook.

Above the falls, there was a spotted sandpiper foraging on the far riverbank and a couple of mallards on the water, but today the kingfisher perched on the near shore, just a bit downstream from me.

Between the islands, I was pleased to see this darling pair of immature/female hooded mergansers pausing on their journey south.

As I was taking pictures of the mergansers, I could hear a Cooper’s hawk squawking in the trees behind me, so I thought I might as well backtrack a bit to see if I could spot it. Well, it turns out that there were two of them, and they were both giving this great horned owl a hard time, although the second hawk seemed to be less enthusiastic about the endeavor.

I never got a good shot at the hawks, but after I figured I had a least one presentable owl picture, I headed back to the river and continued north. As I surveyed the water around the northern island, I spotted a dark shape high in the one remaining dead tree over it, and I figured it was the falcon again or maybe one of the hawks. Ha! It turned out to be this merlin, which makes our fourth raptor of the day!

With the hawks preoccupied by the owl, and the falcon and merlin hunting “mostly birds”, this little red squirrel was probably safe enough to enjoy a nice big walnut for breakfast.

Back out on the water, a pair of killdeer showed up, but stayed pretty far away today, so I was checking the far shore in hopes of spotting a snipe or something similarly exotic, when I noticed this little sweetheart napping amongst the plants exposed by the low river water. That’s our first pied-billed grebe of the fall, and the last time I saw one in Estabrook was back in April. Today’s bird lacks the black bill stripe of breeding adults, but the brown feathers that look more like fur than feathers tipped me off.

Back at the pond, a great blue heron had arrived but was not giving fishing lessons today. The crowd on the west lawn appeared to be more enamored with the new wood duck plumage.

Finally, I spotted a monarch again at the pollinator garden, perhaps aided by the warm, still air, so your butterfly of the day is back.