Now that’s more like it! The skies were not crystal clear in Estabrook Park this morning, by any means, but they sure were clear enough to let some sun shine in and let some blue reflect off the river water. For these pictures, that makes all the difference in the world.

The critters were not necessarily any more obliging than yesterday, but my camera and lens worked a heck of a lot better today. Here’s a red-breasted merganser drake, probably the same one who’s been hanging around for days, and looking gorgeous against that backdrop of blue and gold.

This picture is more for documentarian purposes than pretty. Today is the first day I’ve seen a bunch of geese up on the northern island in the river, and I was a little surprised that they weren’t all honking at each other. That’ll come soon enough.

Meanwhile, back on the water, here’s a pair of common goldeneyes, and it appears that the drake has caught himself something big to eat. Those legs sticking out of his bill make it look like a crayfish, which I read is right in their diet. Good for him!

Another first for the season is this pair of mallards on the pond, which is still mostly covered in ice, but is now starting to show little slices of open water around its edges.

Finally, how could I resist this face?

The recent grey weather continued in Estabrook Park this morning. I did manage to hear plenty of birds on my walk, and I even saw some out on the river, but I didn’t see a single picture worth taking today. Oof.

Instead, let me show you a fun flashback from almost exactly one year ago today in South Holland. I had just returned to Delft from visiting Slovenia with Anne, and on my walk home for lunch, there were brand-new goslings out on the lawn. In early February!

There were four of them, and here they are with their mom, an Egyptian goose.

Finally, here’s one more look from a little further away to get Dad in the frame, too.

Canada geese have begun scoping out nesting territories here already, but we’re probably still a couple of months away from goslings, and I thought you wouldn’t mind a preview.

It’s another grey day in Estabrook Park, but the show must go on, so here’s who was out and about this morning.

The buck with just one antler, who we last saw on the northern island back in October, was up and on the move.

And today he had a doe with him. Yay!

The eight-or-so common mergansers on the river must be getting a little comfortable with their celebrity status because this hen hopped up on a log, gave me a glance, and went right on with her grooming.

Finally, it’s been a while since I found any park money, but today was my lucky day. Woo Hoo! There was even some park food, too, but it wasn’t nearly as photogenic.

Jeepers! February just won’t give me a break. The skies are as grey as ever, and the critters won’t come out to play, but here are a couple that I managed to capture on film anyway.

The red-tailed hawk, which we saw appearing to dry itself off beside the river last Thursday, was still dry but perhaps contemplating getting wet again as it gazed upon about a couple dozen mallards on the river below. It eventually opted to skip the bath this morning and took a swing instead at a flock of starlings making a racket high in a tree across the river.

I only took this next picture because crows seldom let me get this close. This one must have really like the taste of whatever it was digging up from the bottom of that puddle.

Finally, I’ve been hearing and spotting winter wrens recently, as they begin pushing their way back north already, but they’ve been eluding my camera so far. Instead, here’s a feisty one from April 25, 2022 who was a bit more willing to let us have a good look.

Once again, the forecast clear skies didn’t arrive until this afternoon, and with all the snow and ice just about gone now, it was a bit dreary in Estabrook Park this morning. Not all the winter exotics have fled yet, however, and I counted eight common mergansers on the water around the northern island: two drakes and six hens. Luckily, I even have a picture left over from Thursday, when we did have a bit of morning sun, which shows a drake in some nice light.

As for today, I didn’t take a picture until I was on my way back south from the north end, and this red squirrel was being all bold on a branch with a big nut, the way grey squirrels commonly do.

Finally, at the pond, a pair of Canada geese seemed to be checking on the ice situation to see if it was time already to be staking out a nesting spot on the island. The fact that they hiked all the way across the ice from the northeast bay to the west lawn to see if I had anything for them to eat, once I took a seat on the bench, lends credence to my theory that they are the pair that have been regularly nesting there. Talk about a more-likely “sign of spring,” eh?

With the pond ice still pretty thick, almost no open water, and me empty-handed, they soon flew the coop, but I expect they’ll be back to stay soon enough. For perspective, back in 2022, the first time I saw geese on the ice was March 4, and she didn’t start sitting on her nest until March 28. For a fascinating discussion of the various strategies that “northern” geese employ to time their egg laying, check out this paper by Dennis G. Raveling on the topic.

In other news, this happens to be my 1000th post. I might have hoped that the critters would have been more photogenic for such an occasion, but they’ve all got their own agendas, of course, and I’m just happy that I get to see them when I do.

This morning got off to such a nice start. As the sun approached the horizon, and dawn began to break, I could see that the skies were clear, and there was none of the expected fog. Plus, the air was still, and it was a bit colder than forecast, at 31°F, so the muddy path along the river was nice and firm.

In keeping with such a great start, I soon spotted a muskrat amongst the mallards foraging on the flooded bottom down the bluff from the middle parking lot. We haven’t seen one since before the deep freeze.

Before the sun had a chance to light everything up with a golden glow, however, the clouds rolled in, and I didn’t get another picture until the north end, where the red-breasted merganser drake is still hanging around. There were also some common mergansers and a goldeneye hen, but they all kept farther away from shore.

The pond was quiet, and as I swung by the river one last time, this raccoon was kind enough to give me a peek.

Finally, since I have only one bird picture today, here’s one more look at the hermit thrush from yesterday to even things out.

I didn’t get to see either of our two, that I know about, resident groundhogs this morning in Estabrook Park, but if they did poke their heads out they sure would not have seen their shadows here today, which means spring is on its way, and that sure tracks with the weather we’ve been having lately.

Despite the heavy overcast, I did get to continue our wrap-up of visiting winter waterfowl, and here’s a red-breasted merganser drake by the northern island, …

and here’s a common goldeneye hen who was hanging out with him. There was no sign of the drake from yesterday.

Other than that, my visit to the park was pretty uneventful until my walk home along the Oak Leaf Trail. There, not five feet off the pavement, I spotted this darling hermit thrush foraging in the leaf litter. The last time I was able to show you one of these cuties was back in mid-December.

The thaw that began in January continues, but it was cool enough last night, and skies were clear enough to add radiant cooling, so that much of the river trail mud had refrozen, and I could walk on it again this morning.

There are still a few common mergansers around on the river, but who knows for how long, now that most of the ice is gone, so here’s a handsome drake just in case this is our last chance.

Ditto for this common goldeneye drake, even though he refused to let me see the sun light up his face.

I haven’t seen the owls this week, and someone has suggested that they might be tending a nest somewhere nearby, which would be fantastic, so keep your fingers crossed. In their stead, here’s a Cooper’s hawk watching over the meadow beside the river at the north end.

Finally, as I approached the river from the pond, for one last look, I spotted this red-tailed hawk appearing to be drying itself off in the sun. I was lucky enough to find a path around to its south that gave it a nice wide berth so that I could get this picture with the sun at my back to light up its beautiful plumage.

Boy, if the rest of February turns out like today, I’ll wish it lasted for more than just 28 days. 😉

I’m back in Milwaukee, safe and sound, after a great trip out west to visit with my siblings. I saw my first Townsend’s solitaire, but I hadn’t brought my camera along, so there are no pictures to prove it. Maybe next time.

I did visit Estabrook Park with my camera yesterday, but I was so surprised to come home completely empty handed, that I couldn’t even think of anything to post. Sorry about that. I’m not sure what is up with the critters there, but my visit today was going similarly until I encountered a small flock of robins foraging in the leaves beside the Oak Leaf Trail.

Despite the common misconception, not all robins head south for the winter, but they do adjust their diet to the local conditions. Perhaps this group had found a spot just too productive to abandon, and so they let me get a couple of nice pictures, even with the low light. Here’s one on the ground…

and here’s another on a nearby branch.

Here’s hoping that February brings us some nice sights to see.

I’m not due back home until this afternoon, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get into Estabrook Park today or not, so here’s an Eastern bluebird from a sunny day last April to tide you over until I can.