10/26/2022
I found myself in Eagle Creek Park on Sunday morning. I knew it would be a slow day. The weather was nice. It was too hot for a jacket. This time of year, that means things are a bit slow.
I was hoping for some sparrows or, more ideally, an Orange-crowned Warbler to be hopping around in the south fields at the park. When I arrived, things were pretty quiet. I did immediately have a pair of Sedge Wren scolding at me from the edge of the path. They were buried in the shoulder-high vegetation and were not going to be pished out. One poked its tiny head out just long enough for me to make out what it was before retreating. They did the standard Sedge Wren thing where they get low in the thickest parts of the plants and slowly creep closer. Eventually, they are mere feet away from you, but still too buried to really be seen or photographed. That was this pair; calling back and forth to each other the entire time.
I spent the morning moving up and down the field; looking for anything to get the camera on. I saw a few Palm Warblers, again. I even had a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Surprisingly, I had a pair of flycatchers working low in the field. I eventually caught up enough to figure out they were Phoebes. As the morning wore on, I hit a small magical moment were I had worked my way in among the feeding Eastern Bluebirds. They feed in various areas around the fields in flocks. When they are in an area, it stirs up activity, and it is a fun experience. They moved on and activity slowed.
I walked to the back of the field and was surprised to have another pair of wrens in the vegetation there. I even managed to pish one out for some clean shots. Happy to have gotten a clean shot of a Sedge Wren, I started birding my way back to the car. It was only after I got home that I realized I had not gotten a Sedge Wren shot. I had photographed a Marsh Wren. I just wrote the bird off as a Sedge because I had seen several that morning. I was being lazy and not really looking at the bird. I was just focusing on shooting birds. It has been a few years since I have seen a Marsh Wren. I would have spent more time enjoying it. Someday, I will learn.
I did manage a quick trip to Brown Co. this weekend. The trees were beautiful.
Thanks for reading,
Mike