We really got a mouthful of winter weather in Estabrook Park this morning, at least temperature wise, and the thermometer said 14°F, -10°C for our international subscribers. Add in a nice breeze out of the northwest, and it felt as though it was below zero. The sky was clear, however, so there was plenty of sunlight and blue skies to make the pictures look nice, and my camera is literally rated to -10°C.

The pond was totally frozen over, so even the mink and muskrat were keeping to their burrows this morning, and I continued on to the river. There, at the far bank, I caught a bald eagle on the ground for the very first time. They are notorious scavengers, and there is some carcass protruding through the ice over there that it is working on. One reason that I haven’t caught them doing this before could be that they spend a lot more time looking than actually scavenging.

Another is probably that they are very skittish about being caught on the ground, and soon after this one spotted me, it retreated to the same tree in which we saw it yesterday.

Anyway, I was thrilled to find a great blue heron on such a cold morning, even if it was the only one, and it appeared to be soaking up some calories from the sun before trying to fish some more out of the river. Good idea.

Farther ashore, this white-breasted nuthatch was foraging on the ground, which I very seldom see them do, but which sounds like a really good idea when the windchill is -1°F. Clever bird.

This goldfinch was getting the best of both worlds, chowing down on seeds close to the ground and out of the wind while simultaneously soaking up warmth from the sun. Genius!

This male downy woodpecker seemed to be going about business as usual without making any special accommodation for the weather. Just a tough little guy, I guess.

Finally, this black-capped chickadee appeared to be just showing off by doing pullups while eating seeds.

See, it could still get them when just perched there, if it wanted.

With clear skies overnight and the sunrise temperature at 21°F this morning, the pond was frozen over for the first time this season. There was no sign of either the wood duck drake or the mallard hen with no tail feathers that I’ve been seeing all fall. We can hope that they both managed to hike down to the river along the path the goslings take every spring, but in the grand scheme of things, we should admit that an equally good outcome is that they are now warming some predator’s belly this cold morning.

Speaking of predators, here is yet another tantalizing glimpse of the energetic mink, this time prancing across the ice from the island to the far shore.

Less predaceous, but probably just as hungry, here’s the muskrat perched on the ice and munching on probably a root for breakfast.

At the north end, here’s the male belted kingfisher again perched high over the northern island.

And here’s the only great blue heron I saw this morning, warming up in the sun on the riverbank

Farther inland, here’s a feisty red squirrel posing for a portrait after vanquishing one of its much-larger gray cousins.

On my way back south, I was thrilled to see this mature bald eagle sporting some jewelry and cleaning its beak against a branch over the southern island.

Farther downstream and just before I turned left to swing by the pond again, I spotted this hermit thrush perched in the snow and looking as if it was just about to say something.

Finally, back at the pond, there was still no sign of either duck, but I was lucky enough to see this gray catbird lurking amongst the house finches in the berry bushes on the island.

I spent some time with family this weekend, as I hope you were able to, and I left the woods to others for a bit. Meanwhile, our second snow of November has arrived in Estabrook Park, and this morning I ventured back to see who might still be around.

The wood duck drake, who by now seems likely to have some disability preventing him from flying south, was still looking healthy, if less than pleased with the weather, on the pond this morning.

I saw a couple of great blue herons on the river, who do stick around for the winter even when healthy, and this one looked about as thrilled with the precipitation as the wood duck.

At the north end, I heard that I had just missed a pair of mature eagles, and there was no sign of the osprey today, but this house finch made a pretty nice consolation picture.

Perhaps because the eagles had moved on, the male belted kingfisher was back in his semi-regular spot high over the northern island.

Back below the falls, I was happy to see a hermit thrush that still hadn’t amscrayed yet.

The first big surprise of the day was watching a huge raptor glide through the woods south of the dog park. As I tried to ID it, I noticed its head looked rounder than the raptors I usually see in flight, and when I caught up to where it had perched, I found out why. It was a great horned owl, but I don’t know if it was the one we often see on the southern island, who wasn’t in this morning, or another bird. Either way, what an amazing sight, right?

The second big surprise of the day, when I returned to the pond, was finally being able to capture an image, good enough for identification purposes anyway, if nowhere near a portrait, of a mink scampering along the far shore. The white snow sure helped!

The third big surprise of the day was spotting a plump-looking muskrat up on the ice already forming on the water.

Finally, the wood duck was still there and looking a little more contented, if only because it was probably asleep.

The beautiful weather continued this morning in Estabrook Park, and we only have a short drive to the in-laws for dinner, so I had a few minutes to slip in and take a look around.

The hoodie was not on the pond again, and may have finally taken off for the season, but the woodie was still there, so here he is.

I spotted a doe, but she had no time for me, so I continued on to the river.

The great horned owl was in this morning but in a slightly different spot, and I couldn’t get it to look our way today.

The belted kingfisher was back and busy at fishing. He kept switching directions on that perch, so I had my choice of poses today.

The gadwalls were back, and here’s the drake catching a bit of sunlight while the mallards around him stayed in the shade.

The big surprise this morning was when I heard the osprey calling, and just when I found it perched over the far riverbank, it took flight in reaction to a bald eagle gliding south over the river. The two chased each other a bit over the northern island, which was very exciting to see, and then the osprey took off, and the eagle perched near where the osprey had been.

Finally, here’s a little red squirrel enjoying an early start to its Thanksgiving feast.

It was still cloudy in Estabrook Park at sunrise this morning, but at least the clouds weren’t leaking any more, and within an hour or so most of them blew away. Thus, when I heard some chatter high above and looked up to find a huge v-formation of swans flying south, they were lit by the sun and against a nice blue sky. Sweet.

At the north end, our on-again-off-again great horned owl was on again, which is always great to see.

The great blue heron was fishing at the falls, and I wonder if it doesn’t have some kind of ASMR situation going on with the rushing water, but this heron farther south and on our side of the river made a nicer picture.

Finally, the hooded merganser was nowhere to be found on the pond, but the wood duck drake came out to put on a show for us in the warm morning glow.

Welp, it’s raining pretty good this morning, and the forecast suggests that it will continue through lunch. Now, I know I’m not made of sugar, and my camera isn’t exactly either, but it works better if I keep it dry, so we’re just gonna have to dig into the archives for today’s post.

Let’s start with another look at the muskrat at the pond yesterday. Here it is just before it slipped back into the water to dig up another root to eat and showed us its cute little half-namesake tail.

Here’s another look at the nuthatch hatching nuts beside the river on Saturday.

Here’s another look at the great blue heron, just before it caught the little fish out of the river on Saturday.

Finally, here’s another look at the red-tailed hawk in Lincoln Park on Saturday, when the sun was up and the sky was blue, just before it took off to buzz the two bald eagles perched nearby.

Lastly, the forecast is dry for tomorrow morning in Estabrook Park, so keep your fingers crossed!

It appears that our recent run of beautiful weather has finally ended, and today we have gray skies and a bit of a breeze, but at least the temps aren’t too cold yet.

Things were pretty quiet in Estabrook Park this morning, and I didn’t see much until I got to the pond, where I found our hoodie and woodie just hanging out together like old pals. There were also three mallards dabbling around, and then the six Canada geese dropped in to make a full house of it.

The fun sight, however, at least for me, was this muskrat at the far water’s edge munching away on something.

At the river, I was surprised to find the osprey only a dozen yards or so upstream from the falls, above the far shore, and nearly at eye level.

The owl was out, and the gadwalls have moved on, I’m sorry to say, and so there was almost nothing to see at the far north end. Instead, on my way back south I took yet another picture of the great blue heron fishing at the falls.

Back at the pond, I could hardly believe all the mourning doves I found foraging on the path. I counted fifteen, and these are the seven kind enough to squeeze together for a picture.

As I was trying to line up as many doves as I could, this male downy woodpecker flew right over my head and perched in this tree behind me for just a moment, perhaps until it realized how close to me it ended up. “Gotta pay attention, little buddy.”

And that’s it for Estabrook Park today, so since I have the time and we’ve got the space, here are a couple more pictures from Saturday in Lincoln Park. First, when the red-tailed hawk took off, it glided right over the two eagles, as if to say, “you may be big, but you don’t scare me.”

Finally, here’s one more look at that slightly-off-track Ross’s goose.

I gotta be quick today. I’ve got a lot to do, but not so much that I couldn’t sneak into Estabrook Park nice and early. I stopped by the pond first, and everyone was there: the hoodie, the woodie, a few mallards, and the same six Canada geese that have been dropping in all month. It was still early, however, and the sun hadn’t come over the trees, so I left them to their breakfasts and continued to the river.

The north end, which has been pretty quiet lately, was really hopping for a change. First, the great horned owl was back, and even looked my way.

The osprey was back, and perched over the far shore this time looking for a fish to catch.

The heron at the falls was also on the far side, but this one by the northern island was right in front of me.

The big surprise for this morning was this pair of new arrivals: a gadwall drake and hen. I saw them a lot in South Holland, but they are not very common here, and it is always a treat when they stop by.

Finally, by the time I took those two pictures, the osprey had already caught a fish and was devouring it in a new perch.

Let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? As I neared the north end of Estabrook Park this morning, the alarm went out again that a Ross’s goose (Anser rossii) was just seen in Lincoln Park. Well, it was another nice day for a long walk, and now I knew the way well, so I trekked on up the river. This time, I found it right away feeding amongst the Canada geese, and here it is. Ta da!

The reason for all the hoopla, besides the fact that it is a handsome goose, is that their migration range does not quite stretch to Milwaukee, so we don’t get to see them here often.

Anyway, with that taken care of, here is who else I saw on this cool but beautiful morning in Estabrook and Lincoln Parks. The hoodie was on the pond again, and hardly looks up any more when I arrive.

The woodie is still shy, but perhaps the Canada geese lend him courage.

Great blue herons are still here, and I counted three again this morning. For a small change of pace, the second of the three caught a little something for breakfast.

The male belted kingfisher continues to rule over the northern island and its surrounding waters, with bravado if not size.

Back on shore, the squirrels were all in a tizzy, and I was sure there must be a raptor lurking above them somewhere, but I never could find it, and took this picture instead.

Just a bit upstream from the squirrels, I was happy to find a hermit thrush still scrounging up enough to eat.

And today, for the very first time, I watched a white-breasted nuthatch perform their name-sake maneuver: stuffing nuts into tree bark crevices in order to crack them open with their sharp little beaks and thus hatching out the kernel from the nut. Here it is with a seed before stuffing it into one of the crevices in that bark to which it is clinging.

Then I went to go see a goose in Lincoln Park, and while I was there, I also spotted this pair of mature bald eagles across the river.

Plus a red-tailed hawk, for good measure.

On my way back south, I came across another four wild turkeys.

But before I could get a nice portrait, somebody woke up this sleepy-looking buck, either me or the turkeys, and then they all mosied away from me.

Finally, when I made it back into Estabrook, look who I found fishing over our riverbank! The osprey is still here, and it granted us a well-lit portrait with a pretty background today. Woo hoo! What a morning, eh?

It was a weird morning in Estabrook Park. The weather was nice enough, seasonably-cool and with blue skies eventually showing up as the morning wore on, but I misjudged the windchill and so was a little underdressed. Also, I saw a lot of birds, more than usual, but not a single raptor, and nobody wanted to make a portrait with me today. Oh well. The show must go on, and this is what I’ve got.

The first surprise was finding yet another late-season catbird lurking in the bushes at the north end of the pond. It never showed itself more than this, and I’m surprised this picture even came out as well as it did.

After the catbird bolted, I spent a few minutes scouring the bushes with my binoculars, in hopes of a better shot, but I had no luck, although I did spot this busy white-throated sparrow instead.

At the river, there was hardly anyone around, although I have heard that someone who stopped by after me saw an osprey and an eagle. Instead, the only picture I took was of the heron that seems to really like fishing in the falls.

South of the falls and beside the river, I did come across this white-breasted nuthatch who was busily hopping around this branch, and I was able to sneak one presentable image.

I stopped back by the pond again and arrived just in time to catch this muskrat steaming towards the island.

I also saw the hooded merganser but didn’t take the picture when I had the chance, and then the little stinker went into hiding. Luckily, I didn’t make that same mistake with the wood duck drake.

Finally, the second surprise of the day, also at the pond, was this bird that I’ve glimpsed a couple of times before but have never managed to photograph until now. This certainly isn’t a portrait, it kept to the top of a tree over the island, but it is enough to positively ID our very first pine siskin (Spinus pinus), with its “sharp, pointed bill” and “subtle yellow edgings on wings and tail.” I read that one reason which could explain why we haven’t seen them till now is that “this nomadic finch ranges widely and erratically across the continent each winter in response to seed crops.“