Another long period with minimal action. There was a report a few weeks ago that we’ve lost a billion birds, and I think they were all from the East. We’ve just come the to end of a long drought, but the water in the marsh ponds has been high all year. Many birds prefer to forage on the flats that appear at low water, so the number of birds in the area has been greatly reduced.
I’ve been out almost every day, and there’s a decent shot or two, but most days were quite slow.
![Lake Artemesia 129 Lake Artemesia 129](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Lake-Artemesia-129.jpg?resize=584%2C390&ssl=1)
Morning at Lake Artemesia.
![Lake Artemesia 128 Lake Artemesia 128](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Lake-Artemesia-128.jpg?resize=584%2C390&ssl=1)
![CBEC 58 CBEC 58](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CBEC-58.jpg?resize=584%2C408&ssl=1)
A CBEC morning.
![CBEC 2 CBEC 2](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CBEC-2.jpg?resize=584%2C388&ssl=1)
![CBEC 54 CBEC 54](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CBEC-54.jpg?resize=584%2C420&ssl=1)
CBEC Dawn.
![Palm Warbler 2019-2 Palm Warbler 2019-2](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Palm-Warbler-2019-2.jpg?resize=584%2C416&ssl=1)
I saw this Palm Warbler at CBEC. Not much warbler variety this year.
![Red Bellied Woodpecker 2019-2 Red Bellied Woodpecker 2019-2](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Red-Bellied-Woodpecker-2019-2.jpg?resize=584%2C439&ssl=1)
A nut always improves a Red Bellied Woodpecker image.
![Domestic Goose 2019-6 Domestic Goose 2019-6](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Domestic-Goose-2019-6.jpg?resize=584%2C442&ssl=1)
![Mallard 2019-31 Mallard 2019-31](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Mallard-2019-31.jpg?resize=584%2C501&ssl=1)
Sometimes the morning light can be dramatic.
![Great Blue Heron 2019-50 Great Blue Heron 2019-50](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Great-Blue-Heron-2019-50.jpg?resize=584%2C408&ssl=1)
Just a little snack for this Great Blue Heron.
![White Throated Sparrow 2019-2 White Throated Sparrow 2019-2](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/White-Throated-Sparrow-2019-2.jpg?resize=584%2C470&ssl=1)
White throated Sparrows have just begun arriving.
![Turkey Vulture 2019-2 Turkey Vulture 2019-2](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Turkey-Vulture-2019-2.jpg?resize=584%2C521&ssl=1)
I’ve often seen this pose from the back, but only seldom from the front.
![Marbled Godwit 20190-2 Marbled Godwit 20190-2](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Marbled-Godwit-20190-2.jpg?resize=584%2C419&ssl=1)
This is a Marbled Godwit, a bird we seldom get to see.
![Great Egret 2019-262 Great Egret 2019-262](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Great-Egret-2019-262.jpg?resize=584%2C427&ssl=1)
![American Avocet 2019-113 American Avocet 2019-113](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/American-Avocet-2019-113.jpg?resize=584%2C444&ssl=1)
American Avocet at Bombay Hook.
![Marbled Godwit 2019-1 Marbled Godwit 2019-1](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Marbled-Godwit-2019-1.jpg?resize=584%2C461&ssl=1)
![Marsh Wren 2019-5 Marsh Wren 2019-5](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Marsh-Wren-2019-5.jpg?resize=584%2C409&ssl=1)
Marsh Wren in the classic “Straddle” pose.
![Greater Yellowlegs 2019-4 Greater Yellowlegs 2019-4](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Greater-Yellowlegs-2019-4.jpg?resize=584%2C443&ssl=1)
We should be seeing many Greater Yellowlegs and other Sandpipers.
![Great Egret 2019-258 Great Egret 2019-258](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Great-Egret-2019-258.jpg?resize=584%2C562&ssl=1)
Great Egrets were around in good numbers.
![Great Blue Heron 2019-110 Great Blue Heron 2019-110](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Great-Blue-Heron-2019-110.jpg?resize=584%2C472&ssl=1)
![Wood Duck 2019-35 Wood Duck 2019-35](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Wood-Duck-2019-35.jpg?resize=584%2C507&ssl=1)
I experimented with a frame for this Wood Duck.
![Domestic Goose 2019-5 Domestic Goose 2019-5](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Domestic-Goose-2019-5.jpg?resize=584%2C411&ssl=1)
This Domestic Goose has been at Lake Artemesia for a couple of months.
![House Wren 2019-2 House Wren 2019-2](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/House-Wren-2019-2.jpg?resize=584%2C478&ssl=1)
I couldn’t have asked for better conditions for this House Wren image.
![House Wren 2019-1 House Wren 2019-1](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/House-Wren-2019-1.jpg?resize=584%2C427&ssl=1)
![Cowbird 2019-1 Cowbird 2019-1](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Cowbird-2019-1.jpg?resize=584%2C416&ssl=1)
This is a juvenile Cowbird.
![Wood Duck 2019-38 Wood Duck 2019-38](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Wood-Duck-2019-38.jpg?resize=584%2C464&ssl=1)
![Cedar Waxwing 2019-5 Cedar Waxwing 2019-5](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Cedar-Waxwing-2019-5.jpg?resize=584%2C481&ssl=1)
Many Cedar Waxwings were at Artemesia this morning.
![Cedar Waxwing 2019-4 Cedar Waxwing 2019-4](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Cedar-Waxwing-2019-4.jpg?resize=584%2C465&ssl=1)
![Downy Woodpecker 2019-1 Downy Woodpecker 2019-1](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Downy-Woodpecker-2019-1.jpg?resize=584%2C480&ssl=1)
A single Downy Woodpecker entertained me for a while.
![Fox 122 Fox 122](https://i0.wp.com/hughvandervoort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Fox-122.jpg?resize=584%2C507&ssl=1)
I found this Fox as I was leaving CBEC.