Apparently the “Water, Wings, and Wild Things” event yesterday spooked a lot of the birds at the Circle B Bar Reserve…but the wrens stuck around and celebrated Halloween with us! The marshes were fairly quiet this morning, but there were plenty of little bids for patient photographers…

We started off walking to the far end of Heron Hideout, where it turns into the Eagle Roost trail. Dyeyo had good luck there yesterday. We kept an eye out for the baby Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks that have been reported on Flickr, but we didn’t see them. I turned around and saw this Tricolored Heron fishing at one of the culverts. He didn’t mind when I snapped his picture.

Hundreds of Anhingas and Double-Crested Cormorants flew overhead as they left their night roosting trees and took over off the marsh. Dyeyo and I had fun practicing our flight photography. This was my best shot:

This Eastern Phoebe repeatedly called “Phoebe! Phoebe!” and perched on a nicely lit branch.

We walked down Marsh Rabbit Run in search of the baby whistling ducks. About a third of the way down the trail we came across one of the dead trees that serves as a great perch for birds. A Wood Stork was very obligingly posed for us. He yawned, then stretched his wings, and adjusted his position on the perch. He looked as if he was crossing a tightrope!

There were Common Yellowthroats hopping along the path all the way down Marsh Rabbit Run. We watched a female eating a caterpillar. Then we chased a male and tried to get him to pose out in the open for us.

A little further down Marsh Rabbit Run, Dyeyo paused to watch for some wrens that he heard down in the weeds. We waited patiently and one finally hopped up a little so that we could see him.

He reminds me of a Carolina Wren, but he has harsh black and white stripes in patches on his back. I’m wondering if he is a Marsh Wren. Here’s another view of him:

The House Wrens were extremely fussy. It’s amazing how much noise can come from these little birds!! They have a pretty song, too.

There were Palm Warblers all over the place. People on the BirdBrain discussion group have mentioned first of season Yellow Rumped Warblers this week, but we didn’t see any. We did see a Yellow-throated Warbler.

We heard some Gray Catbirds, but they stayed pretty hidden. I was surprised when I saw my pictures and realized that I’d captured a catbird’s red rump. He doesn’t always show it off!

On our way back, we saw a Pied-Billed Grebe in the canal at the crossroad between Heron Hideout and Marsh Rabbit Run. I think it was the closest one has ever been to me.

We finally saw the baby Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks! They were on the Marsh Rabbit Run side of the intersection with Heron Hideout, mixed in with some Common Moorhens. I snapped a few shots with the ducks in the open water, then the parents made the little ones swim over to the vegetation, where they quickly blended in.

Species list: Anhinga, American Coot, Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Black-Bellied Whistling Duck, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Blue-Winged Teal, Boat-Tailed Grackle, Cardinal, Common Moorhen, Common Yellowthroat, Double-Crested Cormorant, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, House Wren, Glossy Ibis, Gray Catbird, Great Blue Heron, Indigo Bunting, Limpkin, Little Blue Heron, Marsh Wren, Mourning Dove, Osprey, Palm Warbler, Pied-Billed Grebe, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Red-Winged Blackbird, Sand Hill Crane, Sedge Wren, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Wood Stork, Yellow-Throated Warbler