The wildfire smoke didn’t clear out overnight as much as I had hoped, but the air quality index was back down into the 300s by sunrise this morning, and it was light enough to venture out about 15 minutes earlier than yesterday, so that’s some progress anyway. My reward for those extra 15 minutes wasContinue reading “Some pretty sights despite the smoke…”
Tag Archives: birding
Nearly smoked out…
The Canadian wildfire smoke sure did arrive overnight, and it was so thick by sunrise that I wondered if it would ever get light out, but the streetlights did eventually shut off, and the air quality index was still below 300, so I ventured into Estabrook to see who might be out and about. IContinue reading “Nearly smoked out…”
A mothy morning…
Despite the heat, we had a pretty nice turnout for the Friends of Estabrook picnic yesterday, and the surprise guest was a turkey that hung out by the beer garden for quite a while. I can’t tell for sure if this is the same bird, but I found it on the paved path at theContinue reading “A mothy morning…”
It’s sure starting to feel like peak summer…
The heat dome is back, with temps well into the 90s this afternoon, and it was already warm enough during our weekly wildlife walk this morning, for this great blue heron on the river to be demonstrating its gular fluttering to keep cool. The recent high water from heavy rains up north, which was justContinue reading “It’s sure starting to feel like peak summer…”
Back after a day of playing hooky…
I never did manage to write something for you yesterday, as I had promised, and I apologize for that. I had gone to the dragon boat races in the Lakeshore State Park inlet, as part of the Friends of Lakeshore State Park team, “Fishful Thinking”, and it ended up taking up most of the day,Continue reading “Back after a day of playing hooky…”
Several nice surprises…
It was a dark morning in Estabrook Park, but the predicted storms never materialized, though it did sprinkle a bit, and the air stayed pretty still, so it was a nice enough time to look for wildlife. My first surprise was finding this young-looking great blue heron with a crayfish just below the falls, andContinue reading “Several nice surprises…”
A shorebird bonanza!
The day has gotten pretty warm out by now, but conditions were quite pleasant in Estabrook Park right after sunrise. We still have a few broods of ducklings on the river, although they mostly look like teenagers these days, and here’s a sextet of mallards just above the falls. The second one from the leftContinue reading “A shorebird bonanza!”
Point Beach State Forest!
We did break camp today and safely delivered the grandson to his mom early this afternoon, with only a few “mystery” bites under his shirt. We speculated at length about who might have caused them, but Anne was sure that it was none of my suggestions, and the best we could surmise is that itContinue reading “Point Beach State Forest!”
Manitowoc!
Yes, that’s the same Manitowoc as in Charlie Berens’ “Manitowoc Minute”. Ya see, Anne promised the grandson an overnight camping trip, she opted to host it this week at Point Beach State Forest, in Two Rivers, and I got to go with. Then, when I was looking for where I might find some interesting wildlifeContinue reading “Manitowoc!”
A few holiday surprises…
The first fun surprise today was finding a quartet of least sandpipers on the exposed river bottom around the upstream island. We haven’t seen them since last spring, and they must have been quite hungry because they were hustling around much more than the spotted sandpipers or killdeer usually do. Luckily, I was able toContinue reading “A few holiday surprises…”
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 