A slow mid-August Monday…

There has indeed been a break in the weather, and I saw real blue sky this morning for the first time in a week or so. Yay! As I was waiting for the 7am wildlife walkers to arrive, there was one crow on the parking lot and one on a pole beside it. Then twoContinue reading “A slow mid-August Monday…”

A wet wrap-up at Kohler-Andrae…

The rain didn’t start until 6:30 this morning, but I thought I had a little more time than that, so our tent is now hanging in the basement to dry. Oh well. Getting your gear washed for free is just one of the many benefits of camping. Right? Anyway, before the rain arrived, I didContinue reading “A wet wrap-up at Kohler-Andrae…”

The extra eyes really helped today…

Well, the rain is back, but at least it held off until the end of our wildlife walk this morning, so that’s something. We had a good turnout today, with four 7-am-ers, and five 8-am-ers. Our first stop was the pond, but we didn’t see much, so we headed for the river in search ofContinue reading “The extra eyes really helped today…”

Enjoying the feel of a freshly-cleaned park…

Sorry about missing yesterday. I did visit Estabrook, but only for a couple of hours, during which time I didn’t see much, and then I had to ditch my camera and grab my gripper for the Milwaukee Riverkeeper Cleanup, which apparently set some kind of record. My buddy Mike joined me again, and we hauledContinue reading “Enjoying the feel of a freshly-cleaned park…”

One more returnee and many more to go…

The rain and wind did arrive, but the rain moved out by sunrise, and we didn’t get any of the snow that was threatened, so it wasn’t too bad a morning to go looking for wildlife in Estabrook Park. The river ice is really starting to disappear, and the geese, mallards, and common mergansers areContinue reading “One more returnee and many more to go…”

A ruckus over the far shore…

The weather in Estabrook Park this morning, if anything, was even nicer than forecast. The air seemed nearly still for a while, so I was even able to hear a warbling vireo calling from across the river. The first interesting scene came at the river and across from the two radio towers. There is aContinue reading “A ruckus over the far shore…”

More rain and less heat…

It was rainy and cool this morning in Estabrook Park: rainy enough to push back my start time by over an hour, but not cool enough to slow down the mosquitoes much. Oh well. At the pond, it appears that our little celebrity guest has finally moved on. Darn. I didn’t catch a glimpse ofContinue reading “More rain and less heat…”

Rain, rain, go away…

Sheesh, it’s been raining pretty steadily all day, so far, but there was a little gap just after sunrise, during which I did try to sneak into Estabrook Park. Needless to say, I only captured a couple of very dark, very grainy pictures, and I got soaked, too boot. Oof! Luckily for you, however, theContinue reading “Rain, rain, go away…”

Plenty of warblers, despite the weather

It was cool, cloudy, and breezy this morning in Estabrook Park, but at least the rain never amounted to more than spritzing. Also, the gray sky provides a less-than-ideal background, of course, but the wind forces the bugs to stay closer to the ground, and the birds follow them, so the sky might not evenContinue reading “Plenty of warblers, despite the weather”

Spring hits pause…

There was a stiff breeze out of the northeast this morning, which reminded me, and anyone else out in it, just how cold the waters of Lake Michigan still are. The windchill temperature was supposed to be 31°F at sunrise. Yikes! Luckily for our resident eastern screech-owl, the opening of its nook faces the southwest,Continue reading “Spring hits pause…”