The soap opera continues…

It was cool, cloudy, and very breezy this morning in Estabrook, so I didn’t really expect to see much. By the time I got to the pond, Mom had already taken off to run her errands, and the ducklings are just chillin’ by themselves.

As I continued around the pond in pursuit of a green heron, who eluded me, I walked right past this sweetheart minding her own business and quietly munch on the bushes.

Even the rabbit, who witnessed the whole thing says, “Come on, man. Open your eyes!”

I finally gave up on the heron and headed down to the river, and look who I spotted at the falls, for the first time this year that I can recall.

It seemed pretty comfortable with me on the opposite shore, so I settled in with the hope of getting a nice shot if and when it caught a fish.

As I’m staring through the viewfinder, however, suddenly there’s a commotion in the foreground.

I honestly don’t know if they were trying to get up the falls or floated too close to the top and got caught in the current, but there was a slew of them.

About half managed to make it into the calm water above the falls.

And the other half were stuck below the falls.

So the adult tried to take the back way around, but the heron said “no”. What goes around, comes around, eh?

Eventually, the heron went back to fishing, and the geese were able to tiptoe up the path behind it.

Soon, there was a jubilant reunion, and they all lived happily ever after.

I left the heron to fish in piece and continued on to the north end, where I found our three mallard ducklings from the drama yesterday, still contentedly foraging with their real mom.

As I waited for them to assemble into the perfect group pose, I noticed a belted kingfisher, whom we haven’t seen much of lately, on a low branch over the river.

Sure enough, in she went.

And came up with this little morsel.

By then, three of the mallards got with the program, and I just cropped out the laggard.

Back at the pond, the mallard hen who’s been there a for a few days now, was ready for her portrait. At least I think she’s a mallard, but she sure looks darker than her counterpart on the river, immediately above, and maybe she’s an American black duck. Boy, it’s hard to tell them apart.

And the wood duck mom was back from her little excursion.

Lastly, the mulberries are starting to drop, and the robins are doing their part to keep the park looking neat.