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…”

One more arrival…

The weather was finally back to being seasonably pleasant in Estabrook Park this morning. The winds were nice and light, and the sky was pretty clear for a while. My first surprise of the morning came as I strolled beside the river on my way to the pond, when I spotted this beaver, the likesContinue reading “One more arrival…”

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…”

Back in Estabrook again…

My siblings and I all arrived home safely from Colorado yesterday afternoon, but before we left, my sister who lives there and her husband really wanted to show us the bald eagles’ nest just down the road from their place, and here it is. I wrote yesterday that it was very windy out there, andContinue reading “Back in Estabrook again…”

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…”

Winter’s not quite done with us yet…

The stiff wind out of the west this morning in Estabrook Park made it feel colder than I expected, even after I checked the weather, but the mud on the river path was hard as a rock, and the sky was indeed a nice, bright blue, so it was a good morning for taking pictures.Continue reading “Winter’s not quite done with us yet…”

Plenty of woodpeckers and sparrows…

The crazy wind from last evening had died down by this morning, and the sun was out for a bit, but the cold was back, so the park was almost as empty of people as yesterday. The red-tailed hawk, however, did not put on a repeat performance. Instead, the cold seemed to slow down theContinue reading “Plenty of woodpeckers and sparrows…”

A fine Sunday morning in Estabrook…

We had another nearly-perfect January morning in Estabrook Park today, with temps in the teens, a very light breeze, and mostly clear blue skies. The treats started early for me when I spotted this mature Cooper’s hawk even before I crossed the Oak Leaf Trail on my way into the park. I would see itContinue reading “A fine Sunday morning in Estabrook…”

They sure seem to take it in stride…

It was about as cold this morning in Estabrook Park as it was yesterday, but the sun struggled to shine through a varying layer of clouds, so there wasn’t much basking going on amongst the critters. For most of them, however, the sun seems to be just a pleasant supplement, and their primary source ofContinue reading “They sure seem to take it in stride…”

Happy New Year!

Now that we’ve started our next trip around the sun, it seems that winter has remembered what its job is. It was back below freezing this morning in Estabrook Park, and the ten-day forecast suggests we’re gonna stay there for a while. Woo hoo! It could be just a coincidence, but a common merganser henContinue reading “Happy New Year!”