It was a strange morning in Estabrook Park. The air was warmer than it’s been in a while, and the skies were nice and clear at sunrise, but then a thick fog rolled in from off the lake, and I could barely make out the far riverbank. Then, as randomly as it came, the fog rolled away again, and the sun came back out. Weird.

Anyway, before the fog came, I found a newer-looking family of geese and goslings in nearly the same place as we saw the teenagers yesterday.

I just barely beat the fog to the north end, and I was surprised to find a pair of brown-headed cowbirds willing to let me get close enough for pictures. Here’s the female, and …

here’s the male, with his namesake brown head. He got all poofy a couple of times, but she was not interested, so they both just kept foraging.

On the water, there were more geese than I’ve seen in a while, including about a couple dozen goslings, and the air was full of swifts and swallows, but the fog was so thick I didn’t even bother trying to take pictures. I headed back south instead and soon came across this white-crowned sparrow filling up on dandelion seeds.

By the time I reached the beer garden, the fog was just about gone, so I dropped back down to the river and soon found the red-headed woodpecker again. I had heard him earlier, but I could not get eyes on him.

Back at the pond, I found the mallard hen and her gosling down for their mid-morning nap.

This warmup is bringing out the bullfrogs, and I was startled by a huge one parked on the riverbank, but this one on a log in the pond made a better picture.

On my first visit to the pond, I couldn’t find any wood ducks, but on my second try, I found this drake also down for a nap, but with at least one eye open.

On the path through the woods back to the river, I believe I spotted our first Alder flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum). It doesn’t appear to have the olive-green back of an Acadian flycatcher, the peaked head feathers of a wood pewee, the dark head of a phoebe, the eye-ring of a least flycatcher, but I didn’t hear it sing, so I suppose it could be a willow flycatcher. As usual, we’ll see what the experts say.

This next bird gave me no identification trouble, but crows seem to prefer not to have their picture taken. This one was excited about something, however, and was too busy calling other crows to worry about me.

Finally, on my way back home, this chipmunk froze on the path, and I might have skipped taking its picture on the asphalt like that, but I was amazed at how straight it was holding its tail, and who knows when, if ever, I’ll get to see that again.

Lastly, the mayapples are in bloom, under their tent umbrella leaves. I read that you can eat the “apples” once they ripen to a nice yellow, but all the rest of the plan is poisonous, even the fruit while it is still green, in case you are hungry now.

The sky is a bit hazy today, but the breeze has died down, which makes listening for birds all the easier, so it was another perfectly fine morning to be in Estabrook Park. When I arrived at the pond, I could hear a wood duck calling, and it only took me a moment to find this cutie perched atop the big old trunk at the southern tip.

The bigger surprise was finding a great blue heron in a tree at the other end of the pond. We’ve seen them on the river a couple of times, but I think this is the first time this season that I’ve seen one at the pond.

The biggest surprise was finding a second great blue heron fishing in the pond along the east shore. What a way to make an entrance!

I didn’t see anyone else there at the time, so I continued on to the north end, and found the bluebirds again along the way. I believe this one is the male, based on the vibrancy of his colors.

There are still redstarts singing and foraging everywhere, and here’s a female.

This male wasn’t far away.

The chestnut-sided warblers are almost as ubiquitous as the redstarts, and the jet-black mask on the face of this one marks him as a male.

I didn’t see a kingbird until later, and I wasn’t able to get a picture, but here’s another look at the one from yesterday.

On my way back by the pond, the mother duck and duckling had come out from wherever they were hiding, and they seem to be getting comfortable with life in their little fishbowl because they are making it easier for me to get nice pictures.

Finally, I stopped back by the river one more time, and the geese with seven goslings, who are really starting to look like teenagers now, were settling in for their mid-morning naps.

There is still a cool breeze out of the northeast, but the sun was out, and the sky was blue, so it was another beautiful morning to be in Estabrook Park. There are still plenty of warblers around, especially redstarts, of which I counted at least two dozen, but we’ve seen a lot of warblers lately, so let’s give them a break today.

Instead, check out this blue jay gathering nesting material off the ground beside the pond. They are normally much shyer than their aggressive reputation at the birdfeeder would suggest, but when you just gotta have that stick, you’re willing to put up with a few stares, I guess.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a few rose-breasted grosbeaks today, and here’s one, also by the pond, catching the morning sun just right.

On my way from the pond to the river, I spotted a pair of blue birds foraging bugs out of the grass from perches overhead, and here’s the male sizing me up.

I arrived at the river just in time to watch this kingfisher dive in to grab this little fish.

Farther north, the grounded common merganser drake is still looking otherwise healthy and perhaps getting a little used to me trying to get a picture of him.

Back on shore, this grackle was posing so nicely and glistening in the sun, and then …

it turned its high beams on. Wow, what a flex! I did not know it could do that with its chest feathers.

Right below the grackle, the kingbird was on break from flying sorties out over the river to catch bugs.

Just a bit farther inland from those two, the indigo buntings are back in one of their favorite locations in the park, and this one was announcing that he was now open for business.

I didn’t see any scarlet tanagers today, so they may all have already moved on, but happily, we’ve got our own, native, bright-red bird to fall back on when we need a dose.

Finally, the mallard duckling and its mom continue to graze on the pond, and today the duckling seemed a lot less frantic, so I was able sneak this nice portrait of the two of them together.

The forecast for this morning in Estabrook was wet, and the heavy clouds did come on schedule, but the precipitation delivery was delayed, so I had a little time to sneak into the park to see who was around.

As luck would have it, this was the day that I was able to get a not-bad-portrait of our very first adult male blackpoll warbler (Setophaga striata) in his finest “goin’ courtin’” plumage.

There were plenty of other birds out and about, too, but the lighting was terrible, we’ve seen most of them before, and I had to cut my walk short anyway. Happily, yesterday was so fruitful that I’ve still got plenty more pictures to show you. At the north end, where I found the chestnut-sided, Cape May, and bay-breasted warblers, there were also a few black-and-white warblers, with similarly-colored, but differently-patterned plumage, and here’s one looking high and low for its next bite.

Here’s a male magnolia warbler foraging while he warbles, and …

here’s another look at the male chestnut-sided warbler.

They weren’t all dudes, either. Here’s a female Cape May warbler, and…

a female American redstart.

They weren’t even all warblers. Here’s a Philadelphia vireo (Vireo philadelphicus), with a nice yellow throat, similar to the yellow-throated vireo we just saw, but with a grey cap and a dainty, warbler-like beak.

Finally, the indigo bunting who posed so nicely yesterday was even willing to give us a couple angles to choose from.

The wood pewee who first arrived on Sunday, also gave us a couple of nice poses.

Lastly, the little red squirrel from yesterday seemed quite fascinated by me, and gave me a real good looking over.

The warm wind out of the southwest must have continued through the night because it was nice and warm in Estabrook Park this morning, despite being pretty cloudy. This is the moment the toads have been waiting for, because they were singing like crazy at the pond and all along the river, and here are two on a log in the pond who are fixin’ to make polliwogs. Yay!

The warm breeze has not yet blown all the tanagers away, and here’s one of the three I found singing from the tops of tall trees. We’re supposed to be in their breeding range, but I have yet to see one after their initial arrival in the spring. Maybe this year we’ll get lucky.

The warm breeze, however, did blow in a ton of warblers! They were everywhere, and I counted individuals from 19 species this morning. Here’s our first bay-breasted warbler of the season.

And here’s my first ever Cape May warbler (Setophaga tigrina), freshly arrived from the Caribbean.

While I was busy taking pictures, this little red squirrel stopped by to see what I was up to.

Back in the trees, here’s our first chestnut-sided warbler of the season.

Finally, here’s a member of the warbler species for which I counted the most individuals today, an American redstart. We are actually in their breeding range, so we might get to enjoy seeing them from time to time all summer.

While I was busy capturing warbler images, I couldn’t help but notice this male house sparrow methodically stripping bark off a branch, presumably for nesting materials. Fun.

Back at the pond, this female goldfinch was trying to pick seeds from a few stems of last year’s grass that are hanging over the water, and a huge bullfrog leapt at least a foot-and-a-half into the air to almost catch it. Yikes!

By the river, this indigo bunting let us have a much nicer look than the tanager did.

At the end of a stick out over the water, this rough-winged swallow was taking a short break from catching bugs out of the air.

Finally, Ol’ Spiny was back up on the mud again, now that the river has subsided a bit, and trying to soak up what meager warmth from the sun was getting through the clouds.

I have led off today’s post in the past with a picture of Mother Goose sheltering her goslings on the west lawn by the pond, but spring is so ahead of schedule this year, that they have already hiked down to the river. Thus, the only mom on the pond today is the mallard hen with one duckling we first saw just yesterday.

The duckling is a real rapscallion and was continuously darting off somewhere while Mom drifted after it. At one point, she started scanning the sky intently, and…

at first I thought she was just being vigilant, but when she kept it up, I finally followed her gaze, and I needed binoculars to identify the two red-tailed hawks circling high above and off to the east. “Good job, Mom.”

The new bird for today is our first eastern wood pewee of the season, who alerted me to its arrival with its signature song.

I’ve been hearing great crested flycatchers for a few days now, but they are usually quite high in a tree, and this is the first one to put in an eye-level appearance.

I did not find the birds to be quite as thick in the trees today compared to yesterday, so here are a few day-old pictures to round things out. Here’s a black-throated green warbler, …

a northern parula, …

and a black-and-white warbler.

I did see the common merganser drake on the river today, but he was closer to shore yesterday.

Finally, here’s a mallard hen up in a tree by the pond this morning, and perhaps she was seeking the peace and quiet that she apparently yearns for.

We have ducklings at last! What a wonderful development, and here’s one mallard hen with her four on the river. She might actually be the hen we first saw at the pond Thursday morning seeming to shelter someone or something under her wings.

And here’s another hen with a single duckling on the pond.

The green heron we saw collecting sticks just yesterday, or its partner, was also at the pond again this morning.

There were two least flycatchers, and they seemed to spend nearly as much time chasing each other around as they did chasing flies. I couldn’t tell if love was in the air, or they were rival males.

Speaking of love in the air, on my way back to the river, I spotted these two northern flickers just as they wrapped up doing their best to make more flickers.

A bit north of the flickers was our first scarlet tanager of the season.

That area of the park, the tall trees along the top of the bluff north of the beer garden, was also a hot bed of warblers this morning. Besides black-and-whites, parulas, and black-throated-greens, all of which we’ve already seen this year, here’s our first blackburnian picture of the season.

On my second visit to the pond, this grackle seemed transfixed by something I couldn’t see, and it let me take what might be my best grackle portrait yet.

Finally, back at the river, the muddy “lawn” on which we saw this character last Sunday, was submerged today, so our spiny softshell turtle had to resort to a log to sun itself on.

All that finger crossing must have worked, thank you very much, because it was a stunningly beautiful morning in Estabrook Park, and with nice clear skies, I was able to get in the door at 5:40am. Noice! Plus, such an early start allowed me to catch the last of the deer heading to bed. “Sweet dreams, Cutie.”

Our newly arrived bachelor was in the same spot along the river and making the same call again this morning. Man-oh-man, it would be so awesome if he could find someone to raise some chicks with here. We would finally have resident red-headed woodpeckers.

A bit farther north, the family of Canada geese, which I suspect started at the pond, were also in their recent regular spot right at the river’s edge.

I had a hope of finding mallard ducklings at the pond, but today was not the day. Instead, I was serenaded by this shy blue-winged warbler. Such a lovely voice.

If you’re having trouble spotting those blue wings, give the wings of this eastern bluebird a try.

Back at the river, on my way to the north end, I spotted this mink swimming to the southern island.

Finally at the north end, I couldn’t find the merganser again today, but this Wilson’s warbler let me catch a glimpse of its little black cap.

A bit farther inland, I finally got our first picture of a Tennessee warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina). I could hear its distinctive call yesterday, but I couldn’t lay eyes on it, and the lighting was much better today anyway.

Back up on the bluff, and on my way back to the pond for another try at the ducklings, I heard what sounded like a red-eyed vireo with a scratchy throat. Happily, it didn’t take me long to find that the singer was a yellow-throated vireo instead.

Finally, back at the pond, I still couldn’t find the ducklings, but our old friend Tom, the mink whisperer, tipped me off to green herons building a nest. Woo hoo! Here’s one of them collecting sticks for it.

Lastly, it appears that a second set of geese are hoping to make a go at raising some goslings on the pond of their own. Here they are psyching themselves up.

Here he is getting into position.

Making the magic happen.

And a bit of celebration at the end.

PS. There’s a new blossom opening up.

It was a dark and dreary morning in Estabrook Park, but the clouds were never as leaky as the big green blob on the radar suggested they were, so I was still able to take a couple of pictures.

This first one is not much of a portrait, what with me having to over-expose it so much just to see the bird that the sky becomes nearly white, but it is a picture of a rare and coveted visitor: the red-headed woodpecker. I believe I’ve only captured images of one in the park twice before: here and here. This time, I was alerted by its call, which I don’t believe I’ve ever heard before.

My next stop was at the pond, and the surprise waiting for me this time was this very sleepy mallard hen who looked for all the world like she was sheltering something or someone. I didn’t want to wake her, so I never got to see what or who it was, but I bet it rhymes with “ducklings.” Outstanding!

Back at the river, the fresh batch of goslings were almost in the same spot as yesterday, but just a bit closer to shore so we can get a stronger does of that cuteness.

There were a ton of warblers in the trees, especially at the river, but it was sprinkling enough that I didn’t dare aim my camera that high. Instead, here are a couple more sights closer to the ground. The Virginia waterleaf is starting to blossom.

And so are the wild strawberries. Yum!

Since I’ve got the room, let me show you a few more pictures from yesterday. Here’s a Baltimore oriole playing all coy with the camera.

Here’s that palm warbler again from a different angle.

Here’s a blue-headed vireo who might be wishing it could catch a nice big and juicy dragonfly but hasn’t yet this morning.

Finally, here’s a fairly uncommon Lincoln’s sparrow, whom I’ve only ever been able to show you three times before: here, here, and here.

The sun is currently forecast to reappear tomorrow morning, meteorologically speaking at least, so keep your fingers crossed!

After a few lines of thunderstorms rolled through yesterday, the river is at least a foot higher today, but the drop-dead gorgeous weather has returned, and it was a perfect morning in Estabrook Park.

First off, I am happy to report that the scene of Canada geese and goslings downriver that I ended with on Monday is not the last we’ll see of them, because they were back again this morning. Man, those goslings are really starting to look like tweens.

On my way up to the pond from the river, the red squirrel that used to greet me along the way, but whom we haven’t seen in three weeks, was back in its regular spot. “Howdy, Pardner!”

The pond was quiet again today, so I continued on to the north end, and look who I found showing its face: our ginormous river snapping turtle.

Just a bit north of there, a young colleague of mine had spotted a second, much newer, batch of goslings.

The warblers are still thick throughout the park, I counted individuals from 12 species this morning, and here’s one of the best posers, a palm warbler. They often forage at eye level or below, and kindly arrange for the sun to be at my back as it lights them up. “Thanks, Li’l Buddy!”

As I continued north, to the Port Washington Road bridge, this darling female Baltimore oriole took a cue from the palm warbler, but sweetened the deal with some blue background. “Nice job, Sweetie!”

At the bridge, I found a barn swallow perching for a moment on the bottom flange of a concrete I-beam, …

And its partner, who had been on this nearby nest installed on the bottom flange of a galvanized steel I-beam used for cross bracing, took off as soon as I noticed it. I waited a while in hopes that it would return, but then I skedaddled in case it was avoiding me. If you click on the image so you can zoom in, you can see the individual beak-fulls of mud used to build up the nest. “Yum!”

On my way back south, I stayed up on the bluff in hopes of spotting some of the singers I heard on my way north, but this time not quite so high overhead and with better lighting. My first reward for my efforts was spotting this little American toad. I’ve heard the toads singing near the river once already this spring, and one of these days they should start singing in earnest. I suspect this little one is too young, but maybe it feels the pull of the water at this time of year anyway.

The white-crowned sparrows, easily confused with the white throated sparrows, have been energetically singing a very different song lately, and here’s one, lit up just the way I’d hoped.

Meanwhile, right overhead, our first olive-sided flycatcher of the season was busy flying sorties off this branch to catch flies.

Back down by the river, this black-throated green warbler made me work a lot harder for a picture than the palm warbler did.

Lastly, for you floraphiles out there, here’s a newly blooming eastern shooting star (Primula meadia).