A little iffy weather won’t slow them down…

I gotta admit, I felt sorta iffy about visiting Estabrook Park this morning. At sunrise the wind was howling, the clouds were thick, and it was spritzing enough to wet the pavement. But, I always need the walk, and the nature is supposed to be good for my head, so I grabbed my raincoat andContinue reading “A little iffy weather won’t slow them down…”

Grebes, grebes, and more grebes…

The sky was crystal clear at dawn this morning in Estabrook Park, and the winds were nearly calm, so I got in nice and early, despite it being cold enough to frost the grass. At the wide and slow part of the river below the falls, I could see both kingfishers at once, which doesn’tContinue reading “Grebes, grebes, and more grebes…”

A great show, despite the cold…

It was a bit chilly this morning in Estabrook Park, and the flooded area where we’ve been seeing the coot was all frozen over, but the wind was light, and the sky was crystal clear, so it was a good morning for checking on the critters. My first treat was finding this muskrat, whom IContinue reading “A great show, despite the cold…”

A little luck in Estabrook…

Wow! What a morning! The weather was just as forecast; cold, breezy, cloudy, and snowy; so not great, but the birding was amazing, and eight hearty souls came out to join today’s weekly wildlife walk. All together, we identified 40 bird species, which is a high-water mark for the series. Before we all met up,Continue reading “A little luck in Estabrook…”

No pranks today…

My first big treat of the day was finally capturing this darling pied-billed grebe on film, after only catching glimpses of it for the last couple of days. It has been fishing around the upstream island, and once it has spotted me, it has usually disappeared after just its second dive. Happily, it relented todayContinue reading “No pranks today…”

Winter gives it one more try…

Yikes! What a difference 24 hours can make with March weather. Temps reached into the 60s yesterday afternoon, and by 10 am this morning, this was the scene at the pond in Estabrook Park. The snow started around sunrise and came down pretty good for a while. Where it melted the least, as on theContinue reading “Winter gives it one more try…”

Another surprise guest appearance…

It had gotten cold enough overnight for a skin of ice to form on the puddles, but it was back above freezing by this morning. Plus, the wind wasn’t too strong, and the clouds were pretty thin, so it was a fine time for watching wildlife in Estabrook Park. My first treat was catching thisContinue reading “Another surprise guest appearance…”

A morning of several happy returns…

Wow, what a morning to be in Estabrook Park. Temps were in the mid-20s, so the trail mud was nice and firm, winds were nearly calm, so I could hear a bird chirp, and the sun was shining bright, at least for a couple of hours. My first treat didn’t come until I reached theContinue reading “A morning of several happy returns…”

A grey day in March…

I believe it may have been the warmest morning of the year so far in Estabrook Park, with temps starting in the high 30s, and soon warming into the 40s. The cloud cover was thick, however, and so was the mud on the path beside the river, so I struggled a bit to get manyContinue reading “A grey day in March…”

And the wind began to howl…

It was a pretty nice morning in Estabrook Park, if you don’t mind the wind, and I’m happy to report that seven such folks came out to join our weekly wildlife walk. We stopped by the pond first, but all the fancy sparrows must have been hunkered down, because we didn’t see much more thanContinue reading “And the wind began to howl…”