First things first, I gotta apologize for misidentifying yesterdays newcomer to the pond.
After I gave it what I thought was my best shot and pressed the “publish” button, the decision still gnawed at me, and I dug even deeper, which led me to a nice page published by “The Wildlife Trusts” on “How to Identify Dabbling Ducks“. That’s where I found a match for the missing detail of “the small white speculum on the wing”, which makes her a female gadwall (Mareca strepera), not a female American black duck, which I now read has a purple speculum. Live and learn, we hope, right?
Anyway, she’s just got just a little further north to go along the lake shore to the eastern Wisconsin patch of her breeding grounds.
While I was trying so hard to get a better picture of our elusive little guest, the Canada geese came over, perhaps to see if I had anything to eat.
I read that we should not feed the waterfowl because it is bad for them, but I see signs from time-to-time of folks who just can help themselves, and I think the geese have been conditioned to expect a treat when someone approaches the shore with a bag in their hand.
There was nothing new on the river that I could see. I spotted the grebe again, but my picture was even worse than last time, so I’ll spare you.
On my way back up the bluff, I spotted our deer quartet, whom we haven’t seen in weeks, in the very spot where I first stumbled upon park deer almost a year ago. They were pretty deep in the brush, so I only have presentable images of one of them, who clearly found me so threatening, that she had to lie down.
She was able to continuing chewing, thankfully.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 
