Lots of little beauties…

The weather this morning in Estabrook Park was similar to yesterday, but a little colder and a little less windy, which is a trade I’ll make any day, especially when the sky is clear. My hike upstream along the river was pleasant but uneventful, and when I climbed up onto the bluff at the beerContinue reading “Lots of little beauties…”

April fools with us, but good!

Yikes! This month sure started out with a cold snap. It wasn’t raining, and the actual air temperature was only down to freezing, but the clouds were thick and the whipping wind out of the north pushed the wind chill down to 20°F. Brrrr! Good thing I hadn’t yet thrown away all my winter clothes!Continue reading “April fools with us, but good!”

March goes out…

The rain that was forecast for this morning in Estabrook Park held off until after lunch, so I had a far nicer visit today than I had anticipated. Better yet, the pied-billed grebe, who hasn’t let me take its picture since last Thursday, allowed me to take this portrait. Not only did the rain holdContinue reading “March goes out…”

Nice weather brought almost everyone out of the woodwork…

It was a gorgeous morning in Estabrook Park, and on my way upstream along the river to the beer garden parking lot, I finally saw my first great blue heron of the year that was not merely flying over. “Welcome back, Beautiful!” I’m not sure which was the bigger draw, the weather or the promiseContinue reading “Nice weather brought almost everyone out of the woodwork…”

A fine “welcome back” to the Nutmeg State…

Anne and I arrived safely in Connecticut last evening, but I didn’t have a chance to go out looking for wildlife until after lunch today. I didn’t expect to see much that late in the day, so I was quite pleasantly surprised when the critters put on a nice mid-day show. Here’s a trio ofContinue reading “A fine “welcome back” to the Nutmeg State…”

They just keep on arriving…

Despite the wind and partly cloudy skies, the mild temps made it a very pleasant morning for a stroll through Estabrook Park. Ten folks came out to join me for our weekly wildlife walk, and I recorded us seeing 40 bird species, including a few first-of-the-year tree swallows mixed in with a few bank swallowsContinue reading “They just keep on arriving…”

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…”

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…”

Closer to a lamb than a lion, I’d say…

We had a great morning for the last weekly wildlife walk of March in Estabrook Park. Sure, it was cool, cloudy, and breezy, but I didn’t feel a drop for a change, we were often able to hide from the wind, and the sun slowly emerged. Ten folks came out to join me, and weContinue reading “Closer to a lamb than a lion, I’d say…”