Strange bird at Jackson Pond?

Is there an ornithologist in the house?

I think I might have seen a wild turkey this morning. No, not the kind in the bottle. That won't happen before 5.

On my bike ride into work I saw a kind of bird I had never before seen in these parts. I was on the pathway on the west shore of Jackson Pond in Long Reach. Standing in the grass just off the pathway was a dun-colored critter that, from beak to tailfeathers, was three or four feet long.

As I approached, it sauntered behind one of the apartment buildings. I stopped and tried to get a better look at the bird, but couldn't get any closer without spooking it.

It had a small head, and didn't have a wattle that I could see. So now that I think about it, it was probably some sort of pheasant.

In any case, I had never seen a bird like it at the pond, and I go by there all the time. Ducks and geese hang out there, of course, and there used to be a heron living there. But never a pheasant or turkey as far as I know.

Any bird-watchers out there who can shed some light?