It rained and then the sun shone; the wind blew and then the air was still. There was no graupel, so it wasn’t April crazy, but the weather was pretty crazy this morning in Estabrook Park nevertheless. I made it to the pond before the first showers started, and our yellow-crowned night heron appeared toContinue reading “A few regulars, a few first of the years, and one more first ever…”
Tag Archives: Hooded merganser
Birds come, and birds go…
The first pleasant surprise this morning in Estabrook Park was finding the yellow-crowned night heron back on the pond. I wasn’t the only one who looked in vain for it yesterday, and we all figured it had finally moved on, but there it was today as if it had never left. The second pleasant surpriseContinue reading “Birds come, and birds go…”
A break in the heat, at last…
Well, the heat wave is starting to break, at least here in Estabrook Park, and it is still only 75°F outside as I write this. The bigger break for me, however, was that the howling wind we’ve had for the past three days has finally subsided, so I can hear myself think out there, forContinue reading “A break in the heat, at last…”
A dark and stormy morning…
The forecast suggested that I had about a two-hour window between sunrise and thunderstorms, so I snuck into Estabrook to see who I could see, but I didn’t even need light for the first observation. There had been a big influx of white-throated sparrows since yesterday morning, and they were singing their songs throughout theContinue reading “A dark and stormy morning…”
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 rainy day in March…
Well, just as they predicted, it was quite rainy in Estabrook Park this morning. On the radar, however, it looked as though there would be some gaps in the rain, so I grabbed an umbrella and ventured out. On my way from the river to the pond, I saw the screech-owl in its nook again,Continue reading “A rainy day in March…”
A couple more new arrivals…
It seemed pretty nice out at sunrise this morning in Estabrook Park, even with the thick cloud cover. Temps were in the low 50s, winds were light, and it wasn’t raining. What I failed to realize is that the winds were blowing off of Lake Michigan, and the temps were on their way to theContinue reading “A couple more new arrivals…”
Happy Spring!
Despite the crazy weather that rolled in yesterday afternoon, with pouring rain, hail, howling winds, and even some snow, spring arrived anyway, and it was a pretty nice morning in Estabrook Park. My first treat of the day came early when I spotted my first golden-crowned kinglets of the year. This picture is actually fromContinue reading “Happy Spring!”
March settles back down…
After the crazy weather lately, it was nice to have some normal March conditions for a change. Temps were seasonably cool, and it was partly cloudy, but the winds were light, and it definitely was not precipitating. The critters seemed to be enjoying the return to normalcy as much as I was, and here’s theContinue reading “March settles back down…”
Spring makes a quick comeback…
Sure, at 22°F, it was a bit chilly this morning for the middle of March, but the sun was mostly out, and the breeze was very light, so it was quite a nice morning for our Weekly Wildlife Walk in Estabrook Park. There were eleven of us all together, and we identified 25 bird species.Continue reading “Spring makes a quick comeback…”
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 