High clouds persisted after sunrise. The shade was welcome, but made it difficult to identify and photograph some birds in dark foliage against the ground-glass sky. One rather large bird showed very little color. Its very large bill stood out. Luckily, I had attached a flash unit. Before it flew off I captured a burst of full-color images which revealed it to be a female Summer Tanager, only the third I have recorded in my patch over the past ten or more years:



Earlier, I heard the call of a Green Heron but could barely see it:

About five minutes before sunrise, an adult Bald Eagle passed overhead against an amorphous pink sky. Its image is grainy at 1/1000 second exposure and ISO of 6400, but I like the effects:

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were numerous:


A male Northern Cardinal carried a berry:

A female cardinal with a berry-stained bill peered out of the shadows:

My flash brightened up a female Prairie Warbler...

...and brought out the hooked bill but not the eye color of a Red-eyed Vireo:

A Brown Thrasher scolded me briefly:


A Loggerhead Shrike kept watch from a treetop:

A Gray Squirrel was almost invisible as it crouched on a limb. I think I can see my reflection in its eye:

Sunrise over the Bar Ditch Trail:

This is my favorite stop along the far reaches of the trail. Here the ditch widens a bit and is surrounded by Cattails and Sawgrass:

Back on September 3, the Corn Moon reflected in the lake in pre-dawn twilight:

While photographing the Moon, about 10 minutes before sunrise, I caught motion out of the corner of my eye. It was a Coyote, carrying something in its mouth:

I then adjusted my camera settings to "see in the dark" by manually cranking the ISO up to an unprecedented 25,600, which allowed the shutter to function at 1/1000. The results were poor, but I hoped to identify whatever the Coyote was carrying. Was it a prey item, or possibly one of its pups. It might be relocating its den?

The (same?) Coyote soon walked out from the same area of brush. It appeared to be a female with swollen teats. She wandered off to the north, sniffing here and there as if hunting:

Moments later, a second Coyote emerged. This looked like it was probably a male, larger and with a robust tail:

To my surprise, when I turned around, a third Coyote was staring at me. As soon as I raised my camera it fled (a Mourning Dove stood by):

On the way home, looking back from the Levee Trailhead, clouds were gathering to the south:

Are those birds flying or angels dancing?

Links to earlier posts about the Bar Ditch Trail (the last two tell how things were here ten years ago, quite a contrast now in the Wounded Wetlnads):
https://rosy-finch.blogspot.com/2020/09/beauty-is-in-eye-of-barn-owl.html
https://rosy-finch.blogspot.com/2020/04/bobcat-on-bar-ditch-trail.html
http://blog.rosyfinch.com/?p=275
http://blog.rosyfinch.com/?p=274
Linking to:
Skywatch Friday
Weekend Reflections
Saturday's Critters
BirdD'Pot
Camera Critters
All Seasons
Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)
Natasha Musing
Our World Tuesday
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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