diff --git a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/driver/driver.go b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/driver/driver.go
index 57020bf0e9..69ef89cc6c 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/driver/driver.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/driver/driver.go
@@ -181,6 +181,12 @@ func (d *defaultDriver) Reconcile(ctx context.Context) *reconciler.Results {
 	if min == nil {
 		min = &d.Version
 	}
+
+	isServiceReady, err := services.IsServiceReady(d.Client, *internalService)
+	if err != nil {
+		return results.WithError(err)
+	}
+
 	observedState := d.Observers.ObservedStateResolver(
 		ctx,
 		d.ES,
@@ -191,6 +197,7 @@ func (d *defaultDriver) Reconcile(ctx context.Context) *reconciler.Results {
 			*min,
 			trustedHTTPCertificates,
 		),
+		isServiceReady,
 	)
 
 	// Always update the Elasticsearch state bits with the latest observed state.
@@ -233,11 +240,6 @@ func (d *defaultDriver) Reconcile(ctx context.Context) *reconciler.Results {
 	)
 	defer esClient.Close()
 
-	isServiceReady, err := services.IsServiceReady(d.Client, *internalService)
-	if err != nil {
-		return results.WithError(err)
-	}
-
 	// use unknown health as a proxy for a cluster not responding to requests
 	hasKnownHealthState := observedState() != esv1.ElasticsearchUnknownHealth
 	esReachable := isServiceReady && hasKnownHealthState
diff --git a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/manager.go b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/manager.go
index 536328ea7d..990c6d297c 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/manager.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/manager.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 
 	esv1 "github.com/elastic/cloud-on-k8s/v2/pkg/apis/elasticsearch/v1"
 	"github.com/elastic/cloud-on-k8s/v2/pkg/controller/common/annotation"
+	"github.com/elastic/cloud-on-k8s/v2/pkg/controller/common/tracing"
 	"github.com/elastic/cloud-on-k8s/v2/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/client"
 	"github.com/elastic/cloud-on-k8s/v2/pkg/utils/k8s"
 )
@@ -44,8 +45,13 @@ func NewManager(defaultInterval time.Duration, tracer *apm.Tracer) *Manager {
 
 // ObservedStateResolver returns a function that returns the last known state of the given cluster,
 // as expected by the main reconciliation driver
-func (m *Manager) ObservedStateResolver(ctx context.Context, cluster esv1.Elasticsearch, esClient client.Client) func() esv1.ElasticsearchHealth {
-	observer := m.Observe(ctx, cluster, esClient)
+func (m *Manager) ObservedStateResolver(
+	ctx context.Context,
+	cluster esv1.Elasticsearch,
+	esClient client.Client,
+	isServiceReady bool,
+) func() esv1.ElasticsearchHealth {
+	observer := m.Observe(ctx, cluster, esClient, isServiceReady)
 	return func() esv1.ElasticsearchHealth {
 		return observer.LastHealth()
 	}
@@ -61,7 +67,8 @@ func (m *Manager) getObserver(key types.NamespacedName) (*Observer, bool) {
 
 // Observe gets or create a cluster state observer for the given cluster
 // In case something has changed in the given esClient (eg. different caCert), the observer is recreated accordingly
-func (m *Manager) Observe(ctx context.Context, cluster esv1.Elasticsearch, esClient client.Client) *Observer {
+func (m *Manager) Observe(ctx context.Context, cluster esv1.Elasticsearch, esClient client.Client, isServiceReady bool) *Observer {
+	defer tracing.Span(&ctx)()
 	nsName := k8s.ExtractNamespacedName(&cluster)
 	settings := m.extractObserverSettings(ctx, cluster)
 
@@ -69,16 +76,27 @@ func (m *Manager) Observe(ctx context.Context, cluster esv1.Elasticsearch, esCli
 
 	switch {
 	case !exists:
-		return m.createOrReplaceObserver(nsName, settings, esClient)
+		// This Elasticsearch resource has not being observed yet, create the observer and maybe do a first observation.
+		observer = m.createOrReplaceObserver(ctx, nsName, settings, esClient)
 	case exists && (!observer.esClient.Equal(esClient) || observer.settings != settings):
-		return m.createOrReplaceObserver(nsName, settings, esClient)
+		// This Elasticsearch resource is already being observed asynchronously, no need to do a first observation.
+		observer = m.createOrReplaceObserver(ctx, nsName, settings, esClient)
 	case exists && settings.ObservationInterval <= 0:
 		// in case asynchronous observation has been disabled ensure at least one observation at reconciliation time.
-		return m.getAndObserveSynchronously(nsName)
+		return m.getAndObserveSynchronously(ctx, nsName)
 	default:
+		// No change, close the provided Client and return the existing observer.
 		esClient.Close()
 		return observer
 	}
+
+	if !exists && isServiceReady {
+		// there was no existing observer and Service is ready: let's try an initial synchronous observation
+		observer.observe(ctx)
+	}
+	// start the new observer
+	observer.Start()
+	return observer
 }
 
 // extractObserverSettings extracts observer settings from the annotations on the Elasticsearch resource.
@@ -90,7 +108,9 @@ func (m *Manager) extractObserverSettings(ctx context.Context, cluster esv1.Elas
 }
 
 // createOrReplaceObserver creates a new observer and adds it to the observers map, replacing existing observers if necessary.
-func (m *Manager) createOrReplaceObserver(cluster types.NamespacedName, settings Settings, esClient client.Client) *Observer {
+// The new observer is not started, it is up to the caller to invoke observer.Start(ctx)
+func (m *Manager) createOrReplaceObserver(ctx context.Context, cluster types.NamespacedName, settings Settings, esClient client.Client) *Observer {
+	defer tracing.Span(&ctx)()
 	m.observerLock.Lock()
 	defer m.observerLock.Unlock()
 
@@ -100,24 +120,21 @@ func (m *Manager) createOrReplaceObserver(cluster types.NamespacedName, settings
 		observer.Stop()
 		delete(m.observers, cluster)
 	}
-
 	observer = NewObserver(cluster, esClient, settings, m.notifyListeners)
-	observer.Start()
-
 	m.observers[cluster] = observer
-
 	return observer
 }
 
 // getAndObserveSynchronously retrieves the currently configured observer and trigger a synchronous observation.
-func (m *Manager) getAndObserveSynchronously(cluster types.NamespacedName) *Observer {
+func (m *Manager) getAndObserveSynchronously(ctx context.Context, cluster types.NamespacedName) *Observer {
+	defer tracing.Span(&ctx)()
 	m.observerLock.RLock()
 	defer m.observerLock.RUnlock()
 
 	// invariant: this method must only be called when existence of observer is given
 	observer := m.observers[cluster]
 	// force a synchronous observation
-	observer.observe()
+	observer.observe(ctx)
 	return observer
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/manager_test.go b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/manager_test.go
index 6dacfb5f90..2f7c05c923 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/manager_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/manager_test.go
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ func TestManager_Observe(t *testing.T) {
 			if initial, exists := tt.initiallyObserved[tt.clusterToObserve]; exists {
 				initialCreationTime = initial.creationTime
 			}
-			observer := m.Observe(context.Background(), esObject(tt.clusterToObserve), tt.clusterToObserveClient)
+			observer := m.Observe(context.Background(), esObject(tt.clusterToObserve), tt.clusterToObserveClient, true)
 			// returned observer should be the correct one
 			require.Equal(t, tt.clusterToObserve, observer.cluster)
 			// list of observers should have been updated
@@ -181,8 +181,8 @@ func TestManager_ObserveSync(t *testing.T) {
 			name := cluster("es1")
 			cluster := esObject(name)
 			results := []esv1.ElasticsearchHealth{
-				tt.manager.ObservedStateResolver(context.Background(), cluster, esClient)(),
-				tt.manager.ObservedStateResolver(context.Background(), cluster, esClient)(),
+				tt.manager.ObservedStateResolver(context.Background(), cluster, esClient, true)(),
+				tt.manager.ObservedStateResolver(context.Background(), cluster, esClient, true)(),
 			}
 			require.Equal(t, tt.expectedHealth, results)
 			tt.manager.StopObserving(name) // let's clean up the go-routines
@@ -277,9 +277,9 @@ func TestManager_AddObservationListener(t *testing.T) {
 		close(doneCh)
 	}()
 	// observe 2 clusters
-	obs1 := m.Observe(ctx, cluster1, fakeEsClient200(client.BasicAuth{}))
+	obs1 := m.Observe(ctx, cluster1, fakeEsClient200(client.BasicAuth{}), true)
 	defer obs1.Stop()
-	obs2 := m.Observe(ctx, cluster2, fakeEsClient200(client.BasicAuth{}))
+	obs2 := m.Observe(ctx, cluster2, fakeEsClient200(client.BasicAuth{}), true)
 	defer obs2.Stop()
 	<-doneCh
 }
diff --git a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/observer.go b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/observer.go
index c3bbf286d4..26b89f0954 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/observer.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/observer.go
@@ -72,8 +72,6 @@ func NewObserver(cluster types.NamespacedName, esClient client.Client, settings
 // The first observation is synchronous to allow to retrieve the cluster state immediately after the start.
 // Then, observations are performed periodically in a separate goroutine until the observer stop channel is closed.
 func (o *Observer) Start() {
-	// initial synchronous observation
-	o.observe()
 	if o.settings.ObservationInterval <= 0 {
 		return // asynchronous observations are effectively disabled
 	}
@@ -85,7 +83,7 @@ func (o *Observer) Start() {
 		for {
 			select {
 			case <-ticker.C:
-				o.observe()
+				o.observe(context.Background())
 			case <-o.stopChan:
 				log.Info("Stopping observer for cluster", "namespace", o.cluster.Namespace, "es_name", o.cluster.Name)
 				return
@@ -111,11 +109,12 @@ func (o *Observer) LastHealth() esv1.ElasticsearchHealth {
 
 // observe retrieves the current ES state, executes onObservation,
 // and stores the new state
-func (o *Observer) observe() {
-	ctx, cancelFunc := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), nonNegativeTimeout(o.settings.ObservationInterval))
+func (o *Observer) observe(ctx context.Context) {
+	defer tracing.Span(&ctx)()
+	ctx, cancelFunc := context.WithTimeout(ctx, nonNegativeTimeout(o.settings.ObservationInterval))
 	defer cancelFunc()
 
-	if o.settings.Tracer != nil {
+	if o.settings.Tracer != nil && apm.TransactionFromContext(ctx) == nil {
 		tx := o.settings.Tracer.StartTransaction(name, string(tracing.PeriodicTxType))
 		defer tx.End()
 		ctx = apm.ContextWithTransaction(ctx, tx)
@@ -128,10 +127,13 @@ func (o *Observer) observe() {
 	if o.onObservation != nil {
 		o.onObservation(o.cluster, o.LastHealth(), newHealth)
 	}
+	o.updateHealth(newHealth)
+}
 
+func (o *Observer) updateHealth(newHealth esv1.ElasticsearchHealth) {
 	o.mutex.Lock()
+	defer o.mutex.Unlock()
 	o.lastHealth = newHealth
-	o.mutex.Unlock()
 }
 
 func nonNegativeTimeout(observationInterval time.Duration) time.Duration {
diff --git a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/observer_test.go b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/observer_test.go
index db20d37ab2..7f0737aab3 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/observer_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/observer/observer_test.go
@@ -55,9 +55,9 @@ func TestObserver_observe(t *testing.T) {
 		esClient:      fakeEsClient,
 		onObservation: onObservation,
 	}
-	observer.observe()
+	observer.observe(context.Background())
 	require.Equal(t, int32(1), atomic.LoadInt32(&counter))
-	observer.observe()
+	observer.observe(context.Background())
 	require.Equal(t, int32(2), atomic.LoadInt32(&counter))
 }
 
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ func TestObserver_observe_nilFunction(t *testing.T) {
 		onObservation: nilFunc,
 	}
 	// should not panic
-	observer.observe()
+	observer.observe(context.Background())
 }
 
 func TestNewObserver(t *testing.T) {
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ func TestObserver_Stop(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	observer := createAndRunTestObserver(onObservation)
 	// force at least one observation
-	observer.observe()
+	observer.observe(context.Background())
 	// stop the observer
 	observer.Stop()
 	// should be safe to call multiple times