Finally seeing spots again.

I wasn’t seeing much worth photographing in Estabrook Park this morning, despite the continued beautiful weather, until I approached the north end. There, I was off the trail along the bottom of the bluff, and following the riverbank instead, when I spotted this beauty out in the shallow river water.

Better yet, she was heading toward the southern island, even though it was clear she had spotted me on the mainland, so I was able to get another picture in better light. She didn’t just clamber up onto the island, however, and stood still in the water for a while.

When I glanced upstream, I realized why. She was waiting for her little one to keep up.

Unfortunately, it didn’t follow mom’s route exactly and ended up getting into deeper water than it liked.

Despite also probably seeing me, it veered right and pressed on toward the mainland to climb up the riverbank just about twenty feet upstream of me.

Mom waited a bit, and then dutifully followed.

I figured that was the last I would see of them today, but I also waited a bit, to give them a chance to reunite, and then I continued north along the riverbank. They hadn’t bothered going very far, however, and I soon spotted them together about thirty feet inland.

The brush was pretty thick between us, so I didn’t have a clear shot, but I waited a moment, and they eventually put their heads together and both faced the camera. I took this picture, gave them a little wave, and quietly continued on my way.

Meanwhile, in the avian world, the Swainson’s thrushes are still scattered throughout the park, and here’s one of about a dozen I saw.

The house wrens also continue to come through, although not nearly as thickly, and here’s one of the two I saw.

Finally, the young great blue heron on the pond continues with its fishing lessons for the photographers seated on the west lawn, and here it is showing them the fish it just caught.

Lastly, I did see a couple of butterflies today, but the big ones evaded me, and we’ve seen enough of the little skippers, so the butterfly of the day will have to be this European comma (Polygonia c-album) that I spotted outside of Riga, Latvia, last week. As you might expect, it is a cousin of the eastern comma we see in Estabrook Park, but their ranges do not overlap.