I think the weather forecasters were a little overly optimistic this morning when they predicted “partly sunny” for 8am. I called it “mostly cloudy!” I was glad that I didn’t go to the Circle B Bar Reserve for sunrise, because there wasn’t one. The light levels were pretty low all morning. But it was great to see friends, and there is always something to see at Circle B.

The American Kestrel was posing high in the Treasure Tree again this morning. He was in the same spot Friday morning. It was Dyeyo’s first kestrel sighting of the fall. The sun was nice enough to come out for a few seconds to illuminate this pretty bird.

The passerines (songbirds) are starting to return to the reserve. One of my favorites is the Common Yellowthroat, or “Zorro”. His bright yellow colors brighten the marsh. They don’t usually like to sit still, so both Dyeyo’s and my cameras went click-click-click when this one posed out in the open. Yay for flash on cloudy days!

We did not see the baby Limpkins on the Wading Bird Way trail today. This adult flew into some bushes as we started to leave. His landing was not exactly what I would call graceful, and I told him that he reminded me of an Anhinga, who is also a very awkward flier. I liked his pose as he showed me the underside of his wings. Do you see what he’s landing on? Yellow flowers! They are starting to show up throughout the marsh. In a few weeks the landscape will be bright yellow!

I will post more pictures throughout the week. Real life has definitely interfered with photography this weekend! :-p

Bird Species List (33 total): American Coot, American Kestrel, Anhinga, Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher (heard), Black-Bellied Whistling Duck, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Blue-Winged Teal, Boat-tailed Grackle, Common Gallinule, Common Yellowthroat, Double-Crested Cormorant, Eastern Phoebe, Gray Catbird, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, House Wren, Indigo Bunting, Killdeer, Limpkin, Little Blue Heron, Palm Warbler, Pied-Billed Grebe, Pileated Woodpecker, Prairie Warbler, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, Sandhill Crane, Swallow sp., Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Wood Stork