Despite the forecast for a wet morning, the rain still has not yet arrived, and I had a great walk in Estabrook Park.

The big treat for me today was spotting this Cooper’s hawk with the chipmunk it had just caught. Nature in action!

At the pond, this downy woodpecker posed perfectly on what’s left of the sumac seeds from last year. Too bad it didn’t have yesterday’s bright sun and blue sky.

The red-breasted merganser was still there, but I left him alone in the low light, and let me show you another picture from yesterday, when the skies were a lot brighter, instead.

It was probably just me noticing it more, but the rest of the chipmunks appeared to be on higher alert than usual.

Finally, the first of many violets has begun to blossom by the pond.

It was cloudy when dawn broke this morning, and it is cloudy again now as noon approaches, but in between there were a couple of hours of glorious sunshine in Estabrook Park.

Cooper’s hawks were very active today, and I saw a pair hunting together at the pond, possibly a third bird hunting on its own by the river, and then a pair again at the south end, probably the same pair from earlier. The one by the river let me have the best picture, so here it is.

The red-breasted merganser drake on the pond seems to be getting used to the attention he draws, and he let me get some more great shots, but I like the look on his face in this one. Between his spiky mohawk, the shadow across half his bright red eye, and the serrated edges of his bill, he looks pretty fierce, and I bet that is exactly how his prey sees him.

At the river, the most interesting sight was this chipmunk appearing to be captivated by the geese jostling for position on the water below. I don’t see them off the ground often, and this may be the first time I’ve ever seen one out on a little branch like that.

Farther south, this downy woodpecker seemed somehow to not notice I was standing not even eight feet away.

Finally, I was all excited when I saw this next scene because I thought it was some shrub beginning to blossom. Now that I’ve had a chance to research it, however, I have learned that the plant is American witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginian), and those aren’t blossoms. Instead they’re “persistent calyces” left over from when it blossomed late last fall. Oh well. Live and learn, right?

A muskrat was up having its breakfast where the high river has flooded into a bottom, and it appeared to ignore the mallards trying to do the same while they returned the favor.

I was asked yesterday how the elaborately colored males of some species manage to survive, and here’s the red-breasted merganser, who has been hanging out on the pond recently, demonstrating one technique: vigilance. There are no fish up there, but there could be a hawk.

One of the fox sparrows, whom I’ve been glimpsing by the pond for a few weeks now, finally started singing this morning, and what a song it is.

Nearby, this white-throated sparrow, whom I have heard singing recently, was keeping quiet this morning.

Finally, the winter wren is still here and still just chirping, but I hope I get to hear its amazing song before I leaves and heads north.

After the thunderstorms rolled through last evening, I didn’t have high hopes for this morning, and it was indeed cloudy and windy in Estabrook Park, but, as Anne pointed out, at least it wasn’t raining.

Things were pretty quiet at the pond, with just a few mallards for a change, and the geese probably off mowing the lawn somewhere, so catching one of the muskrats up enjoying its breakfast was an unexpected treat.

The wood duck drake was also gone, but the red-breasted merganser was in his usual spot and looking as regal as ever, even without the warm morning sun.

Once again, there was not much to see on the river, but back on shore there was a quartet of chipmunks running around and all excited about something. Here are the two I managed to capture in one shot. You might wonder why I focused on the one in back instead of the one in the foreground, and the reason is that the one in back was frozen, and I was just about to take its portrait, when the other ran up and photobombed the whole shot, but who could stay mad at these little cutie pies, right?

I see it has clouded up now and may even rain later, but earlier this morning we had nearly perfect weather in Estabrook Park, with clear skies, mild temps, and still air.

When I arrived at the pond, I was thrilled to spot our first wood duck hen of the season and a second drake, but they disappeared before I could get a picture. Instead, the drake who has already been there for days was happy to oblige.

The red-breasted merganser drake soon dropped in again, and instead of fishing right away, spent some time just relaxing.

Meanwhile, there was a quintet of blue jays making a ruckus overhead, …

and one eventually perched in the clear for a moment.

Red squirrels were active all through the park, and here’s one by the river in the middle of a heated argument with a compatriot.

I spotted a pair of Cooper’s hawks on my short walk yesterday, but I failed to get a picture for you. Happily, here’s one from this morning, instead.

Sure, it’s buried deep in the sticks, so it’s not a great shot, but what makes it picture-worthy, in my opinion, is that it appears to have caught itself a good sized mammal to work on, and I don’t see that every day.

Finally, I also met this white-breasted nuthatch yesterday, and it seemed to be so enthralled by this hole in a tree that it let me take this portrait.

Here it even seems to be inviting me inside for a tour.

Our recent string of beautiful weather seems to have run its course, and it is cloudy and windy this morning in Estabrook Park. Oh, sure, I’ll go take a look, but I don’t have high expectations, so let me show you a couple more images from Zion National Park.

First, there were several canyon wrens about, and here’s one that had caught a nice big fly and was hopping around and calling in apparent hopes that someone, probably not me, would notice.

The one hermit thrush I saw seemed to be searching for something or someone, and after posing on the branch I already showed you, it hopped up to a higher perch for a better look. The pink background is caused by the colorful sandstone of the canyon wall.

Finally, here’s one more canyon wren who just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

If I do see anything today, I’ll be sure to show you tomorrow.

As nice as yesterday was, today is on track to be even nicer. Temps started out about the same, but the wind was lighter, and highway noise is usually noticeably quieter early on weekend mornings. Thus, it was a fabulous morning for a walk in Estabrook Park.

I thought I’d change things up a bit and visit the pond before the north end, in case I’ve been missing something by waiting until a bit later. So, as I approached the pond, I could hear a bird calling loudly, but I didn’t recognize it right away, and it took me a moment to spot the source, this Cooper’s hawk, who seemed to be searching for something or someone.

Here it is making the call and letting me sneak an unobstructed view through the branches.

I eventually did move on to the north end, where I didn’t see more than mallards and geese, as has been the norm lately, so I stopped back by the pond. As I sat on the bench searching in vain for the wood duck or the red-breasted merganser we saw yesterday, the merganser suddenly flew in for a landing.

Then he quickly set to fishing, …

and it only took him a few minutes to catch something tasty looking.

Finally, he relaxed for a bit, and I headed home.

The clear skies continue, the temps are starting to warm, and the breeze has picked up just a bit, so it was another beautiful morning in Estabrook Park.

The big surprise for me today was finding this pair of Canada geese atop the abandoned bridge abutment at the far riverbank and a bit below the falls, as though they are Egyptian geese in South Holland or something. They seemed to be conversing with another pair on the water in the blue hole right behind them, but I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.

Just a little farther upstream, this white breasted nuthatch was busily foraging for breakfast, and I was happy that one in a dozen pictures was presentable.

As usual lately, there was not much to report from the north end, so I proceeded to the pond, where I found our wood duck drake still waiting for the hens to arrive.

Instead of hooded mergansers, he was joined this morning by a solo red-breasted merganser drake, who also managed to catch a fish, but not a goldfish this time.

Once he succeeded in choking it down, he enjoyed a quick, celebratory bath.

Finally, the dark-eyed juncos may have begun moving north because I didn’t see a single one at the pond, and only stumbled upon this single bird on my way home. According to ebird, we usually see them well into April, but with the red-winged blackbirds and common grackles showing up nearly a month early, perhaps the juncos are also changing their schedule.

I hope you’re able to make the most out of your bonus day. In Estabrook Park, the recent cold snap lasted through the night, and it was even colder this morning than yesterday, but the sky was still clear as a bell, and the wind is even lighter, so it was very nice. I was able to count a lot of birds, but most seemed too busy for pictures today. Perhaps they are all trying to make the most of their bonus day, too.

There were a few outliers, thankfully, and this cardinal by the pond was one. He parked so close that I had to zoom out to fit him all in the frame. Plus, he stayed put for a beat even after looking me right in the eye. Maybe it was an “I meant to do that” moment for him.

The grackles were still at the pond, as well, and this one put on quite a show with his splayed tail feathers and iridescent blue head feathers.

The solo wood duck drake was still there, too, and his head feathers were popping a nice iridescent green with just a splash of pink behind the eye.

Finally, the cold wasn’t enough to form much ice on the pond nor keep this muskrat in its burrow, and here it is showing just how waterproof its fur is. Notice the little pool of water on its back.

See you in March!

Holy Moly, what a weather roller coaster we are on! Temps reached the high 60s yesterday afternoon, or even setting a record high of 74°F at the airport, then we had lightning and thunder last evening, snow overnight, and temps are in the low 20s this morning. Yikes! The sun is peeking through the clouds now, and the temps don’t bother me, but the 20+ mph wind will keep most critters hunkered down, so I’m staying home for now.

Luckily, I went out for a bike ride yesterday afternoon and stopped by the pond on my way home, where I found two young nature enthusiasts taking pictures, one with binoculars, acting as the spotter, and the other with a camera nearly as big as he is. Good for them!

Anyway, when I asked them what they were seeing, they told me that there was a pair of hooded mergansers and even a turtle out enjoying the warm sun, so I hustled home to get my own camera, and this is what I managed to capture.

First the turtle, a red-eared slider, and surely setting the record for earliest Chelonian emergence in Estabrook.

Then the pair of hooded mergansers. You may recall we had a female/immature on the pond for a while late last fall, but I’m not sure when was the last time I saw a drake there.

They were snoozing against the east show when I returned with my gear, so I started with the turtle, but they soon headed out for some fishing, and it didn’t take the hen long to land a nice big goldfish.

It took her a couple of tries, but she eventually got it lined up just right and into her belly.

Meanwhile, the drake was diving, but coming up empty, as far as I saw, but he did make a nice swim-by with the wood duck, whom we had already seen earlier in the day.

Finally, the pair docked off the tip of the island and appeared to settle in for another nap.

As I reluctantly headed back home to do the work work that I had been putting off, I couldn’t help but notice that the big patch of snowdrops on the north side of the maintenance building was in full bloom. Better yet, as I tried to line up my best artsy shot, they even had a customer come visit. Yay!