Fresh frog meal

I spotted this Great Kiskadee catching this small frog not far from the visitor center at the Estero Llano Grande State Park today. Right after I took this pic the kiskadee raised it's head skyward and swallowed the frog in one quick move. This is a good pic to enlarge--just double-click on it to get a ringside view. SeEtta

Government suing Nature Conservancy

No matter one's position about illegal immigration, this horrible border wall is not only an ineffective waste of taxpayer dollars but horribly destructive to the unique ecosystem along the Rio Grande River in south Texas. It is being pushed through with great speed in order to have almost all of it built before Obama takes office. Now they are suing the Nature Conservancy so they can destroy the integrity of their preserve. This makes me sick. SeEtta

"McALLEN — The Homeland Security Department has sued The Nature Conservancy to condemn land in a South Texas nature preserve for the border fence.

The conservancy’s Lennox Foundation Southmost Preserve, which includes more than 1,000 acres along the Rio Grande near Brownsville, is home to a rare grove of native sabal palms, a South Texas native plant nursery for reforestation projects and habitat for the endangered ocelot and jaguarundi."
Read the full aricle

Sickle-winged Skipper butterfly

This is a Sickle-winged Skipper, it's wings being shaped somewhat like a sickle. The top edges of it's wings fold over onto themselves, as though they were curled. This is one of many butterflies that seem to fly all the time at the Estero Llano Grande State Park, especially along the path that goes from the parking area to the visitor center. I was told that all the plants are in the park are native and planted when the park was established. It certainly has wonderful habitat for butterflies as well as birds.I learned this and more on a butterfly walk with one of the park's staff naturalist's, John, one of the great staff and volunteer naturalists at this location. He was not only highly skilled at identifying butterflies but birds as he also led a bird walk I attended earlier that day. SeEtta

Mockingbird view

A common species in the Rio Grande Valley, Northern Mockingbirds are rather handsome. This is another bird at Estero Llano Grande State Park that allowed close-up photos. I found that this park not only had very good species diversity, but excellent viewing opportunities. I was especially impressed with the number of birds that were out and about in the rather high winds during the Christmas Bird Count. This area also had great butterflies, but that's the next post.SeEtta

Great Kiskadee

Though these members of the flycatcher family are almost 10 inches in length and bright yellow, they are masters of blending into their habitat, betrayed only by their loud calls that sound to many like they are saying "kiskadee". As we were returning to the Estero Llano Grande State Park Visitor Center towards the end of the Christmas Bird Count day before yesterday, this fearless Great Kiskadee perched on a post over the trail and it wasn't giving up it's trail to human interlopers. The photo was enhanced by the fact that I was using a borrowed 400 mm Canon telephoto lens with my 1.4 extender. though some of it becomes a little blurry, you can double click on the bottom pic for an extreme close-up view that provides some great detail) The results were great (you can see the individual feathers on this bird) so now of course I want one of these expensive lens.
I found the staff and volunteers at Estero Llano Grande State Park to be exceptionally helpful and friendly. I spent most of the count with volunteer naturalists Shellie and her husband Johnathon (it was his telephoto lens that got these super close-ups), and we had a good time. SeEtta

Mexican visitor--Crimson-collaredGrosbeak

Today I birded at the Frontera Audubon Center in Weslaco, TX. Though a cold front has moved through and dropped the temps from yesterday's record 90 to the upper 60's, birding was quite hot in the fantastic wooded area at this great preserve. There were a good number of birders there today, most chasing the vagrant birds from Mexico--the female Crimson-collared Grosbeak and the female Blue Bunting. Though the bunting was seen several times today I didn't see her. However, I did see the Crimson-collared Grosbeak and got these two pics of her. She was sitting about 25 feet away, perched in the middle of the heavy vegetation so I was happy to get these pics. SeEtta

Hot Christmas Bird Count

I participated in the Christmas Bird Count at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Tx today and it was hot--both in terms of the birds and the temperature. In fact the high temperature of 90 degrees was a record for Weslaco for this date. With the strong winds that blew much of the day, and the high humidity, it was challenging though very different from the Christmas Bird Counts I usually go to in Colorado. The Common Pauraque in this pic was one of the great birds I saw at this state park that is one of the World Birding Center designated sites. Common Paurague's are found in the U.S. only in southern Texas. This bird, like others of it's species, sleeps during the day. As seen in the pic the bird's eye is open a bit. It was like that when we first saw it so I think it may sleep that way, possibly in order to be aware of predators. SeEtta

Raptor greetings

Though I saw this nice Crested Caracara just a little south of the Falfurrias Rest Stop, I saw 5-6 Crested Caracaras as I drove a county road just northeast of the rest stop and 2 of them were engaged in an aerial manuevers. This could be siblings engaged in play according to the Birds of North America online which states that siblings of this species "are frequently seen conducting aerial manuevers, chasing each other."

I was also delighted to spot a White-tailed Hawk flying near the road as well as several Harris' Hawks, specialties of the Rio Grande Valley along with Crested Caracara. It was quite a nice welcome to the area for me as during prior trips here I have missed some of these species. SeEtta

Happy holidays from the Rio Grande Valley,TX

I haven't been posting as I left the day after my last post on my road trip to the Rio Grande Valley in the far south of Texas. This Black-and-White Warbler was one of the first birds I found as I entered South Texas, finding it and lots of other goodies (like several each Ladder-backed and Golden-fronted Woodpeckers) at the Falfurrias Rest Stop, a well known birding hotspot just south of the town of Falfurrias. It was so birdy I had to drag myself away to continue on my trip. SeEtta

Greater White-fronted Geese

This pic shows some of the flock of 12 Greater White-fronted Geese that are wintering in Canon City. The second goose from the left is one that arrived still in juvenal plumage but that has transitioned into 1st Basic as evidenced by the small amount of white feathers around it's mandible. Note the amount of white around the mandibles of the other geese. SeEtta

Sap sipping sapsuckers

Today we got blasted by a significant snow storm that hit the Canon City area with moderately heavy snow and brutal cold. As the roads were too treacherous for me to begin my trip to Texas, I took advantage and visited both Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers that have been in Canon City. And both were busy sipping sap as the snow fell around them. I thought I would post photos of both in this post so their field marks can be easily compared.The top sapsucker is the female that is working the pine trees at the Holy Cross Abbey. Her red crown and forehead are barely visible but her white throat, characteristic of females, is clearly seen. Though only a small portion is visible, the red throat of the male in the bottom pic still stands out. That bottom pic also shows the white baring on the back of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Both pics show the distinctive black framing of their throats that distinguishes them from Red-naped Sapsuckers. SeEtta

Smallest but most colorful falcon

Though only 9 inches in length, American Kestrals make up for their small size by having the most colorful (at least in the males of this species) of all the North American falcon family. I found this kestral in Canon City, CO and was fortunate to catch it in flight. SeEtta

More bluebirds

These bluebirds were so striking with their chestnut and blue feathers contrasting with the snow, I couldn't help but take a bunch of pics.
The bird in the bottom pic has a whitish colored berry in it's bill that it just plucked from the tree (berries are generally blue colored). SeEtta

Bluebirds and snow

There is nothing like a snowstorm to bring out the bluebirds, they seem to materialize from nowhere when the flakes fall. We had our first real snowstorm in Canon City this season, with 5-6 inches of wet snow falling overnight and into yesterday morning.
These were a few of the two dozen Western Bluebirds I watched as they picked berries from some tall juniper trees.
Sometimes a bluebird would just perch on top of a small pile of snow on a branch as though sitting on a soft pillow. They would also hover as they picked off the berries inside the foliage. SeEtta