Santa Ana NWR

As the cold wind pushed around our non-weather proofed front door and into the room, we decided that birding on the coast would be unproductive, most likely, so we headed inland to Santa Ana NWR, on the Rio Grande. The sun came out for a bit, then ducked back under the clouds, so we wore our warm clothes all day to stay comfortable. It was worth the effort, though, since saw 52 species, including 8 more lifer birds! The tram tour took us down to the Rio Grande, which doesn't look very "grande" to me. Apparently there is a dam upstream that retains much of the water, and even more is siphoned off through canals for the needs of farmers and communities in the area, on both sides of the river. T-Mobile is keeping track of our travels, since I got two text messages warning me that I was in an International calling area with higher fees for texts and phone calls. The Santa Ana lakes attract a good variety of ducks and other water birds. We saw a Least Grebe and thought it was a Loon's chick at first, it's so small. Dick was pleased to find Moorhens, one of his favorites, while ducks such as Blue Winged Teal, Green Winged Teal, Gadwalls, Shovelers, Ruddy Ducks and the Black Bellied Whistling Ducks joined Coots and Pie Billed Grebes. American Pelicans napped on a log, and at least 14 Roseate Spoonbills searched the mud for tasty morsels.

What are those white birds with black wings? I asked one experienced looking birder on the trail. Ah, Avocets with winter plummage - their necks are grey, they are standing in water so you don't see their long legs, and their long bills are tucked under their wings for a snooze. No wonder I didn't recognize them!

Egrets were out in force,and we saw Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, one Cattle Egret and a Tricolored Heron. My favorite and a lifer was the elusive American Bittern. The Ringed Kingfisher finally made an appearance although it was too far away for a photo. A pair of White Tailed Kites waltzed above us, while a Loggerhead Shrike made his rounds of the reeds at lakeside. A large Caracara hardly bothered to look down on its way elsewhere.

We met only three other birders this afternoon to appreciate all these wonderful birds. The South Texas Bird Alert this week is for a Tiger Throated Heron, found in Benson, Tx, and belonging in Central America some place. Apparently it eats rats! Benson is only another 30 minutes from here. If you leave now, you can see it today... I passed this time. My back is starting to hurt from standing up so long, despite our Yoga stretches this morning.

The trails through the native vegetation yielded a Long Billed Thrasher, a lifer, and a surprise bird that we think was a Common Pauraque, startled into the air as several people passed close by. This is another South Texas speciality resident year round in this area. In the same area we found a black and white woodpecker, with a black cap, which we determined to be a female Ladderback Woodpecker. The familiar Northern Cardinal was one of the few birds willing to sit still, in the open, and pose for a photo!

Added to the Life List today: Least Grebe, Long Billed Thrasher, Ladderback Woodpecker, Black Crested Titmouse, Common Pauraque, American Bittern, Long Billed Dowitcher, Ringed Kingfisher

Previous Lifers: Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Couch's Kingbird, Groove Billed Ani, Great Kiskadee, White Tailed Kite, Plain Chachalaca, White Tipped Dove, Buff Bellied Hummingbird, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks Green Jay

The Bird Eye of Texas is Upon You

Our second day in South Texas was overcast and dreary with intermittent misty showers. At least the temperature was in the 60's, instead of the teens and less of Kentucky and parts North! I won't complain. We returned to Arroyo Colorado in Harlingen this morning, moving to the Valley Nature Center in Weslaco for the afternoon, and saw seven more life birds!

A nice bike/hike trail wound along the arroyo, and birds called from the heavy reeds and underbrush. Large Grackles followed us, but I decided to take a closer look at one group and had a big surprise. They weren't Grackles, but Groove Billed Anis! What appeared to be a Red Tailed Hawk flew before us every time we neared it. I'm still not sure what it was. A bird resembling a tern or other sea bird winged overhead. At a distance it landed on a power line and we took a better look. No, not a sea bird, let's walk closer. It's a raptor... a White Tailed Kite in fact!

The arroyo clogged our boots with mud, still soft from the last time the water rose. The water was an odd gray color, moving swiftly, and we wondered if fish lived in it. A turtle peered up at us from below a bridge and said he lived there and liked it just fine, gracias. If I ever planned to stay here more than a week or so, I'd have to take Spanish lessons just to listen to the radio!

We aren't sure if any other kind of woodpeckers live here or not. The Golden Woodpeckers are all over. Dick thought he saw one with a red head, so we'll keep looking.

Each bird with a yellow belly might be a Kiskadee, but when we did not find the eye stripes on the face, we realized we had a Couch's Kingbird, another lifer. Kiskadees call their own name, which we appreciate. As the rain started to fall in a steadier mist, we drove on to Weslaco, TX, and the Valley Nature Center. Since George Bush is pictured as governor on the Birding Trail brochure, we realize that it may be out of date in parts... (sigh) The Center opens at 11 am on Sunday, or so the brochure says, and we arrived about 12:30 to find that it doesn't really open until 1 pm on Sundays. One man was there filling the feeders to lure in the birds, and he kindly allowed us to enter early. We didn't see large numbers of birds there in the afternoon. Several kinds of Doves walked on the ground, including this nice Inca Dove. Its distinct feathers remind me of an armadillo's scales. By the way, we have yet to see an armadillo on the roadside. A pair of Plain Chacalacas (another lifer) burst across the path squawking loudly at each other. They are large birds, and at first I thought they were Road Runners, until we realized a Road Runner wouldn't be in this dense underbrush.

Many birds chirped in the dense foliage, just out of sight. One came right out were we could see it, chipping indignantly that we were in the territory of a Buff Bellied Hummingbird - another lifer!

Now we are in the condo on South Padre Island and have groceries for the next few days. The beach called us, despite the lowering skies, so we went for a walk. Somewhere we heard about Black Pelicans, but can't find any mention in the big Sibley book. Brown Pelicans floated over the waves, and Skimmers scooped up dinner in the near darkness. Mist from the waves, combined with blowing sand perhaps, make a snowy appearance over the shore and the condos. Let's walk on the beach in the mornings before breakfast and see how else gets up at sunrise in January...

Let the Texas Birding Begin

Welcome to 2010 in Harlingen, Texas! After a day with Southwest Airlines, we got the rental car and headed out around 4:00 pm. With the Texas Coastal Birding Trail map in hand, we found our first life birds of the week - an Altamira Oriole, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay and the Black Bellied Whistling Ducks! We were down in Arroyo Colorado, and they were on the other side of the stream.

We didn't get a good enough look at several other birds for a confident ID. We saw some doves, but think they were Mourning Doves. There were lots of Grackles, including the Boat Tailed Gackles we always find in Texas. A Cooper's Hawk strafed the arroyo several times, and a large flying bird turned out to be a Roseate Spoonbill! We kept hearing a soft chucking sound in the grass and brush, and hoped it was a Chachalaca, but will keep trying until we are sure. This nature center was in the middle of Harlingen, and had no trail maps available, so we just asked dog walkers how to get back to the parking lot. Thank goodness we found the motel before going birding. If we waited until dusk, we never would have found it!

Total for today - 16 birds in about 1.5 hours including 4 lifers. It's going to be a great vacation!

Christmas Cranes

It's the Monday before Christmas. I cut my yoga class to help give meds at the Raptor Center, and started writing down everything that needs to be done before Christmas - final gifts, wrapping, groceries, laundry, menus, etc. Then I receive an email that says "We have about 4,000 Sandhill Cranes and several Whooping Cranes with them. Anyone who wants to see them should join us tomorrow morning." Well, I can't pass up an opportunity like this, can I? I'll get the Christmas stuff taken care of, eventually...

Ewing Bottoms is in the flood plain of the East Fork of the White River, near Brownstown, IN. My fellow Crane watchers were two of my expert buddies, with Swarovski scopes, and another man who lives nearby. Apparently, the Cranes did not stop here when he was a boy, only starting to arrive recently. We discussed what might have caused this change, and decided that farming practices made the difference. About 10 years ago, the farmers started to harvest the crops using machinery that stripped more of the plant stalks out of the field, while allowing seeds to drop to the ground. When it rains and the fields get muddy, the Cranes are delighted and land for a rest during migration.

They didn't seem as loud this time, although they talked constantly. We saw much more dancing than the last time we went to Ewing Bottom though. The weather changed from hazy to clearing to windy and cold. The light was never what we needed for good photos, and the cranes preferred the center of the fields, about 3/4 of a mile away from the road. No close shots today! The Whooping Cranes were the real excitement. Through the scope we could see two, three, and sometimes four Whoopers out in the field. When they took off, the Whooping Cranes were distinct, with much larger wings and black primary feathers against the white. A person from the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin drive across all the little roads around the fields, trying to find them with her radio antenna. Apparently their transmitters were broken, or the batteries had died. What a way to visit Indiana!

It was a great day for raptors too. I must have seen 12-15 Kestrels during the day. Just try to take a photo of a hovering Kestrel, while driving down a country lane, trying not to lose the guy with the good scope who leads the caravan!

We sighted a Merlin in a treetop - a lifer for me - who was chased away after a few minutes by a Kestrel who wanted that branch for himself. Several Harriers quartered the fields, and a Bald Eagle kept an eye on everyone. And yes, there will be enough time to prepare for Christmas festivities!

The Robin and the Holly

December is not a time when I expect to see flocks of Robins. The male Great Horned Owl showed up with a girlfriend last Sunday, and it was wonderful to hear them hooting sweet nothings to each other as we prepared to attend the church choir concert. The owls could have been singing Christmas carols, such as Whoo, the Herald Great Horned Sings, Oh Little Owl with Pointed Ears, Oh Come All Ye Hoot Owls, or Hoot Owls We Have Heard On High. No offense to Handel, but I smiled all evening thinking about Owl Carols. I've been waiting for them to come back so I could record a movie with them, but haven't heard them since.

The Robins are all over though. Normally, we have holly berries all winter, and the Robins eat them in March on their way back north. For some reason, this year they have stripped all the berries from my bushes already. The neighbor's driveway is covered in red berries shaken down by the Robins. They eat from one branch, then fly off to another to see what's on the menu there.

My berries must be the tastiest though, because other trees in the neighborhood are still covered with crimson holly berries. After a filling lunch, they come to our creek for an ice cold bath in the stream. Brrr!

Owl Alert!

The full moon shines in a cloudless sky. As I unload the car around 6:15 tonight, I hear a sound. Whoo, Whoo, Whoo, Whoo. Not sure of the source, I politely hoot back. Whoo Whoo Whoo Whooo? After a few minutes of conversation, the owl flew off to another spot in the subdivision. I am too excited for words! A real GHO in my yard, and I saw him fly off! (This picture, of course, was taken elsewhere, but it is a handsome bird.)

My yard has several vacated hawk nests, and abundant squirrel nests, which would make dandy homes for a pair of Great Horned Owls. I would be more thrilled about owlets than I was about the Cooper's Hawks, and that's saying something! Let's all keep our fingers crossed!

Creasey Mahan Projects

Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve is one of my favorite places to volunteer, or just to explore on my own. We wish that the couple who donated the land and created the preserve had kept the name on their gate post. "Hill-O-Content" is such a descriptive name! I can imagine the contentment they must have had driving down this lane every time they came home.

The Manor is really an old four-room two-story log cabin, built in the early 1800's, and later covered in clapboard, then aluminum siding. One of our volunteers spent many hours this summer caulking and repairing the 177 window panes on the home.

Natural springs burst out from the limestone in many places on the property. Most springs feed one of the small creeks. One of the early owners decided to build a spring house over a convenient spring just downhill from the house. Cool water still bubbles through the small building, ready to preserve milk, fruits and vegetables as it did almost 200 years ago. Last fall, a windstorm blew off its tin roof, and it sat there wounded, while we searched for money to make repairs. Actually, it will be a restoration, because a new cedar shingle roof is going on, much more authentic for a structure of this age.

The builders include the grounds manager, one of the members from the board of directors, and two other volunteers with terrific skills. As I watched them work, I felt the stream of time flowing through the building. When the first construction crew worked here, they had to quarry the stone, mix the mortar and place all the stones. Before putting on a roof, they had to cut the timber, make the nails, and cut the cedar to make the shakes or shingles to put on the roof. I mentioned this to our crew, and they expressed their appreciation for Home Depot which delivered all the material right to the site!

The Manor has four rooms in the original part, including this wonderful dining room. Each room has its own fireplace, since that was the only heat source in the 1800's. The hill above the spring house has been burned off and reseeded with Kentucky native plants, such as Little Bluestem grass. In the spring, the hill glows softly with wildflowers. In the fall, the Bluestem looks almost reddish, despite its name.

At the edge of the meadow, a Red Shouldered Hawk perches in a bare tree, searching for a tasty mouse for breakfast, while warming herself in the bright morning sun.

Since the first frost has not arrived yet, even though it is mid-November, a few brave flowers continue to bloom, including this Black-eyed Susan, some violets, and of course, the ever hardy dandelions.

Goldenrod seeds look like blossoms themselves, nodding in the breeze.

As you enter the main drive, stately maples line the lane. Well, they used to be stately. Now they are home to woodpeckers, insects and shelf fungus on the dead and dying branches. Maples don't give up easily though, and each tree has enough living branches to survive. Smaller trees grow between their elders, so they will be ready to take their place when the final windstorm blows down the larger trees.

When the preserve was established in 1975, there were few trees at all. Since the property was a working farm, mowed pasture for livestock was the common condition, but the donors wanted to create an arboretum, so the USDA was called in for advice. Their recommendation included planting hundreds of Autumn Olives, so that was done. Sigh... It seems that every story I hear about plants now regarded as undesirable includes the government recommendation that it be planted. Now the grounds manager is clearing the Autumn Olive out with a skip loader, simply ripping it up to clear the understory, and cutting large vines, both grape and poison ivy, which are strangling the trees. From the cutback done last year, native plants are making a good recovery already, so everyone is hopeful.

As a volunteer, I get to teach classes about fossils and birds, wander around taking lots of pictures, help plan events, and I redesigned their website. Offering is easy, but it's hard to get folks to let you work on their website, no matter how badly it needs it, so I really appreciate Tavia letting me do this. Also, Tavia Cathcart, the director, is a wonderful expert on plants and wildlife, so I have a built in resource for mystery flowers when I find them!

Falling Around

Although I haven't posted much to the blog lately, I have still been pretty busy. I realized this when I downloaded over 150 photos from my camera today, taken at four different locations and times! The fall has been beautiful this year! Yes, I say that every year, but it's always true! Now that November has arrived, most of the fall colors have dropped to the ground, but we can still enjoy them in photographs. David Sibley, of Sibley's Guide to Birds fame, was in town recently for a book signing. He's branching out and his latest endeavor is Sibley's Guide to Trees. The next day he came to Bernheim Forest for a tree walk. I have to admire anyone who spends so many years in one field, and has the courage to take on something entirely different, then go and talk to people about it in an unfamiliar area of the country. He discussed different things to watch for in the bark and buds of trees this time of year to help make an identification. Of course, when the Cooper's Hawks and Turkey Vultures flew over, it was natural to call our attention to the birds as well.

Cooper's Hawk at Bernheim Forest The winter birds are arriving. Cedar Waxwings are still around, and I've seen several Juncos in my backyard, and heard a White Throated Sparrow. At Putney Pond, a pair of Hooded Mergansers paddled around at sunset.

The remaining scarlet leaves are breathtaking, but I've been attracted to the various seed heads left on the grasses and plants now that the flowers are gone. They are so delicate looking! Much of my time has been spent working on computer projects for my volunteer organizations. They both decided to join Facebook, after seeing recommendations for non-profits to use that as a free marketing tool along with their regular websites. I've always resisted getting into Facebook, but had to start an account to create a page for the non-profit. I got the page created, but have become completely frustrated when trying to get a username assigned to the page. It attached itself to my profile, not the nature preserve! Then I found that you can't get rid of a personal username at all. I checked with someone else who does this sort of thing, and the pages we saw for my login don't look anything like the ones she sees as administrator for her organization. Grrr! Has anyone else had any luck with Facebook? I'm about to recommend that we just use mass emails and forget Facebook altogether.