It pays to get up early, it seems. Who could have known?
As I approached the pond from the south, I spotted the geese and goslings on the lawn just to the west of the south end, so I headed in that direction, merely to say hi. Then, as absolutely amazing blind luck would have it, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, this guy, through the brush, right on the southern shore.
I froze, slowly got out my camera, and used the gimmicky little feature that lets me rotate the image display semi-independently of where the lens is pointing. Without even looking in his direction, I was able to capture this nice little closeup through the sticks.
Then I slowly backed away, while still avoiding eye contact, and headed up the east shore until I found I path through the brush down to the water that let me take this unobstructed shot.
I stayed there for a while, watched him scratch his ear, step up out of the water, step back down into the water, and just as I looked away, I heard the splash of him grabbing a fish. Luck giveth, and boredom taketh away, I guess.
So the geese and goslings were still doing fine, the turtles were already climbing out of the water into the sun, and I hear there are warblers everywhere.
I’ve uploaded these images and a few others to https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewdressel/albums/72157713703616688
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 