Thanks SO much, ladies! I've narrowed it down to a house wren or a winter wren, since those are the only 2 which would likely be in this area. There's been a LOT of squawking from the jays lately, and it just feels tense, like a soap opera out there. LOL The chunkmeister starlings were perched on a big ol' dead cottonwood tree limb up there while the wren was chattering, like they were making him nervous. The starlings remind me of plump ripened fruit, ready for harvest. LOL The wren seemed to be feeding...not sure what makes me think that, other than he was chattering while moving away from the starlings, then he would stop, turn, tail flip, turn, tail flip, off again at the speed of light. I'm just rambling nonsense now, but I REALLY hope I get to see this thing up close!!! Oh, and he was backlit, so color was really impossible to see, but the winter and the house wrens have very similar coloring, it appears. *sigh* Brenda

Hey there, Gang! Our dark eyed Juncos showed up here in S. Wisconsin early this week (much to my surprise)! I took it as a sign that winter is on its way. I can always tell the Juncos from other birds because of the very dark back and that big, fat WHITE belly! In fact, my first winter I called them flying snowballs because I didn't yet know what they were called. I must confess that I never noticed the tail feathers, striped or otherwise. Ken, do you remember seeing the fat tummies on your mystery birds? Char

Thanks for the ID, Rachel! I love this site, so many knowledgeable people! JoanMN

Thanks, Calliope, but I think it's bigger than a kingbird. I shot this with a 200mm lens. The cropped close up is less than 1/8 of the original photo. And you're right about the beak. Eagle Marsh has become a surprising pass through for migrating birds. I'm guessing that this one was on the way to somewhere else...