I lead wildlife walks through the park on Monday mornings at 7:00 and again at 8:00. My area code is 607. If you’d like to join me, just look for me at the northern parking lot, by the beer garden, at 7 or 8 a.m. sharp. My exchange is 279. I’ll be the guy with a camera and binoculars. My number is 0037. Dress for hiking along paved and unpaved trails through the woods and beside the river in the weather forecast for that day, and we’ll try to keep it to just 2 hours, though we have been going long during migration season, but you can easily bail out whenever you need or want. Bring binoculars and/or a camera, if you have them.
I’ve grown lazy since the spring, and I haven’t been keeping up this log, but we have been meeting regularly through the summer, and now into the fall, on Monday mornings, and I will usually mention what we saw in my daily post for that day.
25. On Monday, April 21, the weather was cool, windy, and rainy, there were nine of us all together, and we identified 34 bird species, including a pair of Cooper’s hawks, a second grebe, and our first black-and-white warbler of the year, which the fine folks at ebird consider to be “rare” for this date.
24. On Monday, April 14, the temps were mild, the skies were partly cloudy, and it was breezy. There were eleven of us, and we observed 40 bird species, including a few first-of-the-year tree swallows mixed in with a few bank swallows over the river and the upstream island.
23. On Monday, April 7, the weather was cold, breezy, cloudy, and snowy, there were nine of us all together, and we identified 40 bird species.
22. On Monday, March 31, 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 we identified 32 bird species.
21. On Monday, March 24, I was away, but John Kasper graciously lead the walk, there were three folks total, and they saw 28 bird species, including a woodcock.
20. On Monday, March 17, it was 22°F, but the sun was mostly out, and the breeze was very light. There were eleven of us all together, and we identified 25 bird species.
19. On Monday, March 10, the weather was as nice as forecast, and the sun had dried out the river trail mud quite a bit. There were thirteen of us all together, and we saw 28 bird species, including a first-of-the-year northern flicker.
18. On Monday, March 3, it was in the low 30s by sunrise, but it also clouded up, so the river trail mud was nice and firm. There were eight of us, all together, and we managed to spot 25 bird species, including a trio of hooded mergansers, a red-breasted merganser, and a pair of bluebirds.
17. On Monday, February 24, I was still in Guatemala, but John Kasper was kind enough to lead a walk, and the group reported seeing 21 bird species, including a Cooper’s hawk and a peregrine falcon.
16. On Monday, February 17, it was +1° at sunrise, but winds were a little lighter than forecast, at 11 mph, and the sky was crystal clear. One other birder was hardy or foolhardy enough, as the case may be, to come out and join me, and we saw 17 bird species.
15. On Monday, February 10, temps were in the mid-teens, a very light breeze blew out of the west, and a crystal blue sky was overhead. Four hardy souls came out to join me, and we observed 21 bird species.
14. On Monday, February 3, temps were in the upper 30s, and the winds weren’t bad, but the clouds were thick and a bit leaky. There were eight of us altogether, and we counted 22 bird species.
13. On Monday, January 27, temps were in the low 20s, and the sky was mostly clear, but the wind was howling. There were eight of us altogether, and we counted 23 bird species, including one great horned owl, plus two muskrats.
12. On Monday, January 20, it was -3°F, but two intrepid birders came out to join me, and we counted 20 bird species.
10. On Monday, January 6, there were five of us in all, despite the snow and we saw or heard 22 bird species, including a couple of tree sparrows, a white-throated sparrow, a common merganser hen, a song sparrow, a hermit thrush, and a red-tailed hawk.
9. On Monday, December 30, there 13 of us in all, but the critters did not respond in kind, and we only saw 18 bird species.
8. On Monday, December 23, there were eight of us, all together, and we spotted or heard 26 bird species, including a now-confirmed American black duck and one muskrat.
7. On Monday, December 16, I was out of town, but one regular attendee did swing by to count 20 bird species.
6. On Monday, December 9, there were eight of us, though I failed to get a picture, the weather was warm and sunny but a little breezy, and we saw 19–20 bird species, including a peregrine falcon and a belted kingfisher.
5. On Monday, December 2, there were five of us, the weather was cloudy and cold but not very breezy, and we saw 24 bird species, including a merlin, a great horned owl, a winter wren, and a hermit thrush.
4. On Monday, November 25, there were twelve of us, the weather was cloudy and still, but dry and not very cool, and we saw 21 bird species, including a great horned owl and a raccoon.
3. On Monday, November 18, there were twelve of us, the weather was cloudy and still, but cool and dry, and we saw 19 bird species, including 2 great horned owls, plus a raccoon and a buck.
2. On Monday, November 11, there were twelve of us, the weather was cloudy and windy, but warm and dry, and we saw 21 bird species, including 5 raptors, plus a muskrat.
1. On Monday, November 4, there were five of us, the weather was warm, cloudy, still, but mostly dry, and we saw 31 bird species.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 