Well, the Canadian wildfire smoke is back and thicker than ever, so it was not a great day for taking pictures outdoors. It was a little fun, however, to take a picture directly at the sun a full hour after sunrise, although it did take a couple of tries to convince my autofocus that I really did mean to focus on that glowing orb 94.5 million miles away.

Nevertheless, I did squeeze off a couple of shots, and here’s the wood duck hen on the pond with her five remaining ducklings. It has been a tough spring on the pond for the wood ducks.

Here’s another wood pewee just chillin’ on a branch over the river.

And here’s a mallard hen with her eight, nearly-grown ducklings on the lower river and not waiting around to find out if I’m friend or foe. Can you tell which one is the hen?

And that’s it for today, I’m afraid. Let’s hope this smoke dissipates a bit by tomorrow.

The heavy, wet clouds made it a great morning for sleeping in, but I went to bed nice and early last evening, so there wasn’t much hope for that, and so back to Estabrook Park I went.

Just before I spotted this great blue heron on the river, a mink came hopping up the riverbank towards me, and I thought for a moment it would go right over my toes. I didn’t dare move, but it eventually noticed me anyway and scampered into the water. It was a thrilling couple of seconds, but all I have to show for it is this great blue heron picture. Maybe next time!

On the pond, a commotion in the water attracted this wood duck drake in eclipse plumage, but he ended up not catching anything.

Back at the river, this green heron was more successful and did catch some little morsel.

The big surprise, however, was spotting this peregrine falcon perched in the same tree were we often see osprey, eagles, herons, or even a merlin. I think I’ve only ever seen a falcon perched in the park twice before.

Then the rain resumed, and I didn’t see much to photograph anyway. Instead, here’s a nice family portrait of a wood duck hen and her ducklings on the river from Saturday.

Here’s our first mourning cloak butterfly of the season, also from Saturday. In past years, they’ve often been the first butterfly I see in the spring because they hibernate instead of migrate, but Mother Nature or Lady Luck changed things up this year.

Here’s a young rabbit from Saturday.

Here’s a young robin from Sunday.

Finally, here’s another look at the muskrat from Sunday, but with its tail down this time.

It looked wet and windy outside this morning, so I took my time with breakfast and the newspaper. Then I remembered that Donna, who had shown us the great horned owlet a few weeks ago, had invited me to tag along with her Sunday morning birding group anytime, and today they were going to the Mequon Nature Preserve, which is just a few miles northwest of Estabrook, so I decided to give it a try. Well, what a treat it was.

I arrived a little early and was greeted by this spectacle: a muskrat in a little pond and holding its tail in the air. I figured I’d be able to find an explanation of this behavior online, but all I’ve found so far is other bloggers wondering the same thing, such as Mike and Sue.

Then I heard an odd little chirp, and soon found it was coming from this fancy-looking bird, who happens to be the very first eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) that I have ever seen. What a way to start the morning!

Then Donna and her birding group arrived, we set out across the prairie, and it didn’t take the group long to find another striking bird perched in a young oak tree, the very first dickcissel (Spiza americana) I have ever seen. Talk about being on a roll!

As we approached one of the “hardwood mesic forests” in the preserve, this amazing creature fluttered into view and landed nearly in front of me. It is a Virginia ctenucha moth (Ctenucha virginica), and it is the first one I have ever seen! I read that it is pronounced “ten-OOCH-ah”, and the name was coined by William Kirby from the Greek meaning “having a comb”, a reference to the showy antennae of some species. Will wonders never cease?

A few paces from the moth, we found a small frog, and I read that the little ridge of skin that runs from the back of the eye all the way to its rump indicates that it is a northern green frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota). I can’t say for sure that I’ve never seen one before, but I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever seen bullfrogs in Estabrook Park. Sweet!

Then, before I could even take a step, someone in the group had already spotted this cutie, the very first clay-colored sparrow (Spizella pallida) I have ever seen. I’ve had dreams that go like this!

There were a lot of familiar voices in the forest, but nothing I could get a picture of, and we were soon through it and back out into a big field being slowly converted from farm to prairie. We hadn’t gotten very far before this stunner flitted into view and stopped to soak up a little sun or moisture from the soil. It didn’t stay long, but I did manage to get this picture which is enough to identify it as a great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele). I’ve seen a silver-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene) in Craters of the Moon National Monument and a variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) in Yellowstone, but this is my very first great spangled.

I did finally get some pictures of familiar faces. Here’s an eastern bluebird, …

and here’s a yellow warbler.

We eventually had to hike back to the parking lot, and Donna asked about where I had seen the meadowlark, so I pointed out the spot, but the bird was nowhere to be found, of course. Then, as we were all chatting about upcoming events, look who showed up to make an honest man out of me. In fact, there were two of them, and one ducked right down into the grass while this one waited nearby in a little tree with a beak full of bugs. After it let me get this picture, it joined its mate in the tall grass and probably stuffed all those bugs into hungry little beaks.

Finally, as we all began preparing to leave, the young killdeer I had seen earlier also reappeared, and you can see that it is half-sized, at best, compared to its blurry parent keeping an eye on things in the background.

Now that’s what I would call a successful outing, wouldn’t you?

I did go to the park yesterday and even took a few pictures, but the rest of the day got away from me, and I never had time to send you a post. Then I went back again this morning, so now I have a lot of pictures to choose from, and there should be something for everyone.

We saw a ring-billed gull with a crayfish a couple of weeks ago, but here’s a herring gull with a real fish just above the falls.

We’ve seen plenty of great blue herons with fish, but here’s one without a fish and all puffed up, also just above the falls. Maybe the herring gull swiped its fish before I got there, and this is its annoyed look.

Here’s the osprey perched over the island right at the moment when it spotted me, and that probably is its annoyed look.

Here’s a red squirrel pausing from eating a maple tree seed, and doesn’t that look like contentment?

Here’s a cedar waxwing giving me grief with the lighting and looking a bit smug about it.

Here’s a song sparrow perched nicely at eye-level, right below the waxwing, but in much better light. “Thanks, Sweetie!”

The pair of nearly-grownup wood duck ducklings and their mom on the pond are really starting to act like they’re comfortable there, and if you behave and sit still….

they might let you take a closeup.

Back at the river, this is the tiniest toad I may have ever seen, and it could have sat neatly on my pinky nail. Watch where you step!

Finally, I’m starting to have some luck with the butterflies, and here’s a painted lady, close cousin of the American lady we saw back in April, sipping nectar from a bird’s-foot trefoil blossom beside the river.

We had an overnight guest and a train set that needed assembling, so I gave the park a rest this morning. Luckily, yesterday was so chock full that I’ve still got some pictures to show you.

I didn’t see the young buck, and maybe I was just looking the other way when he snuck across the road, but this looks like the doe that we’ve seen with him.

There are a lot of recent fledglings among the morning foragers, and many continue to beg their parents for treats, but here’s a young robin, still sporting its baby spots, who managed to catch itself something for breakfast. “Good job, Kiddo!”

A great blue heron was on break above the falls, and here it is scratching an itch.

Ah, that feels better.

Here’s another result from my quest for butterflies, and this one appears to be a least (but not last!) skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor).

The water lilies are beginning to open on the river,…

and I asked this bullfrog if it didn’t want to get off that nasty ol’ rock and swim out to a nice, cushy lily pad by that pretty blossom to make a better picture, and it just said, “croak.” Kinda rude, if you ask me.

So back to the butterflies, and here’s everyone’s favorite, the cabbage white.

Finally, I haven’t found a park beer in a while, but someone did leave me a park soda below the falls, and it made a nice bootleg brandy old fashioned, so thanks for that!

As if such fine weather on the longest day of the year wasn’t good news enough, I am happy to report that I have even better news, great news, outstanding news, and stupendous news, all from Estabrook Park!

First, the better news, at least for photography, is that the haze was almost gone this morning, and the skies were a nice blue for a change, which might have inspired the kingbird who sat for a portrait yesterday, to try again today. I know I would, and wouldn’t you?

Then it started to get a little greedy and wanted me to get both sides, but we’ll allow it!

The great news is that the batch of seven wood duck ducklings on the river is still looking hale and hearty. All that white stuff floating on the water around them is just a splendid blend of cottonwood seeds and foam from the falls upstream.

The outstanding news is that the two wood duck ducklings that went missing on the pond have reappeared! I don’t know where those little stinkers were hiding, but hip, hip, hurray for their return!

Finally, the stupendous news is that there is now a second and brand-spanking-new batch of ten (10!) wood duck ducklings on the pond. I can only count nine in this image, which was the best looking one, but there are clearly ten in a couple of the less-pretty images. That’s a total nineteen wood duck ducklings in the park. Noice!

In other duckling news, the two mallard hens that we saw squabbling on the river a week ago appear to have reached a detente, and I spotted them both napping with their ducklings on the same sandbar between the two islands. Here are the older ones, …

and here are the younger ones. Yay!

In non-duckling, but related, news, a fresh-looking batch of red squirrels was wrastling up and down a tree trunk, and this one paused for a moment to see what I was up to.

I continued my quest for butterflies this morning, and while this is not strictly a butterfly, I did manage to spot a monarch caterpillar on a milkweed leaf. That’s at least a step in the right direction.

And lastly, one butterfly I did spot is this shy little wood satyr (Megisto cymela) hiding under some leaves. We’ve seen them before but in better light.

There are even more pictures from this morning, but I’d better stop here and save them for a rainy day.

It looks like the haze we’ve been enjoying for days is starting to fade, and some blue sky is returning to Estabrook Park. Things were quiet at the pond with no herons or kingfishers, that I could see, and the same four wood ducks as yesterday.

On my hike back over to the river, I came across this curious scene, a female, red-bellied woodpecker on the side of a tree but close to the ground and looking around to see if the coast was clear.

Then she flew down to the paved path to feast on something in the edge of the grass along with a slew of grackles. I have not seen that before. I wonder what she found there. I hope it was delicious.

At the edge of the bluff, very near where I had seen the kingbird yesterday, a goldfinch in all his breeding plumage finery was oddly perched where we could get a nice, good look at him for a change. “Thanks, Buddy!”

Down the bluff a great blue heron was fishing at the falls again, but I didn’t see it catch anything.

At the north end, there was the usual cast of dozens of geese and mallards, a couple of killdeer, a couple of sandpipers, and a couple of herons in the tree, but no eagles or osprey, so I headed back south. Along the way, I could hear a few bullfrogs singing, and this might have been one of them, but he was silent while I could see him.

At the far south end, I was hoping to find some butterflies, but all I could find was this damselfly instead. I believe it is a female American rubyspot (Hetaerina americana), and if so, it is supposed to be “the most widespread of the North American rubyspots, …  reported from all of the lower 48 US states except Washington and Idaho.” I believe we’ve seen one before, and it was a male that time.

Finally, this rabbit was hiding in the shade pretty well except for just a couple of details.

Ebird, the website and phone app I use to log the birds I see, has recently changed the status of wood ducks to “infrequent”, but that must be for Milwaukee County or all of Wisconsin, ’cause they’re still plentiful in Estabrook Park, and I was greeted at the pond this morning by this trio. The one laying down in the middle is clearly a drake still in his breeding plumage, if slightly bedraggled, and the other two are also drakes but in full eclipse.

There was also a great blue heron hunting for breakfast just a bit down the shore of the pond from the three amigos above.

Meanwhile, there may have been further tragedy since I showed you the two ducklings on Friday because there was just a lone hen but no ducklings today. ☹

Anyway, on my hike over to the river, I found a pair of eastern kingbirds perched at the edge of the bluff, and one was willing to let me get a picture.

Finally, not all hope is lost because this wood duck hen has seven healthy-looking ducklings on the river, so let’s wish her luck.

Things were pretty quiet in Estabrook Park this morning. Perhaps everyone was laying low in anticipation of the Shorewood Farmers Market grand opening today, but who knows.

At least this great blue heron was still willing to strike a pose over the river.

I did manage to spot a female hairy woodpecker, whom I used to hear often in the winter, but who have been awfully quiet lately.

On the riverbank at the north end, I stumbled across this odd juxtaposition of a female flicker and a male red-winged blackbird.

Best of all, though, was when this mallard hen led her eight ducklings right past where I was kneeling to take the picture above.

As you may have noticed, I very rarely get to be this close.

To complete the trifecta, the sun was even shining to light them up with a gorgeous golden glow. Who was I kidding yesterday about “taking a break from the ducklings,” right?

Finally, here’s another look at the chipmunk enjoying its breakfast yesterday.

The sky was clear of clouds, but it was a bit hazy this morning, and I don’t know if it was moisture or Canada wildfire smoke. In any case, it didn’t seem to bother the critters, and here are the pair of deer, a young buck and doe, crossing the soccer fields with the Benjamin Church House in the background.

I usually hear the wood pewees, instead of seeing them, so it was a treat to see one again soaking up some morning sun at the north end by the river.

On my way back south, this young-looking rabbit was parked on a picturesque part of the trail below the falls.

Meanwhile this green heron found itself a nice high perch across the river from the rabbit, and you can just see a bit of its right foot poking out through its belly feathers.

This belted kingfisher was checking the sky for threats just south of the heron.

Finally, here’s a chipmunk enjoying its breakfast.