Seen out in the marsh: black crowned night heron, pied grebe, American bittern, glossy ibis and an anhinga.
Saw the above Carolina wren hiding in a bush.
A great egret playing with his meal.
I saw this hawk on a branch right over the trail. I realized he was eating something. I think it was a praying mantis.
Lots of birds on the trails at Circle B Bar Reserve in early January.
Look, there’s an American bittern hiding in the reeds out in the marsh.
Right behind him was the Wilson’s snipe.
The bittern disappeared down into the reeds for a few minutes. Everyone thought he was going to nap. Then he pops up with a frog in his mouth.
Wow, that’s a big frog. All you could hear was a thousand clicks going off from everyone taking pictures.
He was trying to turn the frog around. I guess he couldn’t swallow it feet first.
Frog legs for lunch.
“Taste like chicken.”
This was the view from where I stood with my 300mm lens on the trail. All of the other shots were extremely cropped.
I wondered if it was stuck in his throat. He sat there for a few minutes with the frog legs hanging out of his beak.
Big gulp!
All done. We must have stood there for about 10 minutes waiting for him to swallow it.
It sounds like a children’s book, The Bittern and the Frog. I guess that frog wasn’t a prince. Not a happy ending for him. I was walking the trails at Circle B Bar Reserve and stopped to talk to some other photogs that were standing there watching a sora rail. A few minutes later someone spotted the bittern out in the marsh. We all stood there for a while thinking nothing was going to happen. Everyone got excited when he popped up with the frog. It’s not often we get to see bitterns in central Florida, especially one with a big frog hanging from his beak. After he swallowed the frog I continued my walk. Still more birds to find.
Typical green heron. He was not paying attention to me.
Not so typical american bittern. They only visit in the winter and are usually really hard to find. Several other people were watching this one already.
Typical little blue heron with a frog for breakfast.
Typical blue wing teal. These are common here in the winter.
They were trying to sleep.
I think this is a savannah sparrow. Not that typical but not rare.
The very typical black bellied whistling ducks. Looking cute as ever.
Coming in for a landing.
Not typical, my first virginia rail. He was being very allusive hiding in the reeds.
Not a typical bird but a typical squirrel eating. Look at his little fingers holding that snack.
Things were quiet on this late January walk around Circle B Bar Reserve.
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