Ahhhh. That’s what I like to see…

The breeze was lighter and the clouds thinner in Estabrook Park this morning than the forecast had led me to fear, so nice images were a lot easier to find than yesterday. Warblers get most of the press, for a variety of reasons, but they are far from the only pretty birds in the migrationContinue reading “Ahhhh. That’s what I like to see…”

What a difference a couple weeks can make…

The influx of migrating warblers, which was merely a trickle in Estabrook Park by the end of April, is now a flood. The bushes and trees were just crawling with them in spots, and I counted 18 species. I sure hope I get a nice sunny day to take pictures of them before they moveContinue reading “What a difference a couple weeks can make…”

Greetings from Namibia!

We flew from Johannesburg, South Africa to Windhoek, Namibia today, and when we got to our lodging at the Trans Kalahari Inn, there was still plenty of daylight, so we strolled around the grounds to see who else might be here. Things were quiet at first, but eventually this character popped up to sing usContinue reading “Greetings from Namibia!”

Greetings from South Africa!

After 27 hours of travel, including stops at JFK and Nairobi, we finally arrived at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa this afternoon. Woo hoo! Even better, the area between the terminal and the shuttlebus zone was quite nicely landscaped with trees, plants, and a bit of lawn, so there was plenty toContinue reading “Greetings from South Africa!”

A soggy April makes a valiant effort to redeem itself…

It was a perfect morning in Estabrook Park. Sure, it was a little cool, a few degrees below the average low for this date, but the sky was crystal clear, and the air was nearly calm, so the sun warmed things up pretty quickly, and it was just a fabulous time to go looking forContinue reading “A soggy April makes a valiant effort to redeem itself…”

One last April shower, or so we can hope…

Let’s try something new. Here’s a link directly to this post on my WordPress website, in case the images are not coming through correctly in your email client:signsoflifeinestabrookpark.net/2026/04/29/one-last-april-shower-or-so-we-can-hope It was cool, cloudy, and rainy this morning in Estabrook Park, but at least it wasn’t too windy. The main story today is that we have ourContinue reading “One last April shower, or so we can hope…”

I learned a lot today…

It was cloudy and breezy in Estabrook Park this morning, but it felt a little warmer than yesterday, and it didn’t rain on me, so it was not a bad morning for April. My first treat of the day was hearing and then finally seeing a brown thrasher again. This time it was by theContinue reading “I learned a lot today…”

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…”

What a difference a few months can make…

The last time I was in Portage County, in hopes of spotting greater prairie chickens, it was a frozen snowscape, and we caught glimpses of the birds at a great distance. This morning, on the other hand, it was much warmer, the snow was long gone, the grass was greening up, and we got toContinue reading “What a difference a few months can make…”