Monthly Archives: March 2015
Some Monday Birds
I was out walking the dog before daylight, listening to the morning chorus of birds and frogs when far off, I heard a Great Horned Owl hooting. After another coffee and bagel it was getting light out so Penny and … Continue reading
Posted in Birding_trips, Southwest trip 5, Texas birding, Texas birds, Winter2015 Trip
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A Morning Jaunt to Aransas NWR
One of the "must-do" trips when we are a Goose Island State Park is to get to the [Aransas National Wildlife Refuge](https://www.vtbirder.com/aransas-national-wildlife-area/) so we loaded up some lunch, our birding gear, and the dog and headed out yesterday morning. It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Goose Island State Park, National Wildlife Refuges, Southwest trip 5, Texas birding, Texas birds, Whooping Cranes, Wildlife Watching, Winter2015 Trip
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Taking Princess Ariel Home
I did some geocaching at Choke Canyon State Park and want to introduce you to an interesting trackable that I found in a cache there. I love geocaching in Texas parks: they all have multiple caches, the traffic is pretty … Continue reading
Posted in Georgia birding, Southwest trip 5, Texas state parks
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Whole Lot of Frackin’ Going On
We started seeing signs for "ecolab services" and similar PR-approved company signs as we drove into Tilden, Texas. As we turned the corner toward Choke Canyon State Park I said to Mary, "I thought this was a sleepy cow town … Continue reading
Posted in environment, Southwest trip 5, Winter2015 Trip
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Rain is Forecast – Too Little, Too Late
Shortly after we arrived at Choke Canyon State Park, I drove over to check out the 65-acre lake where, six years ago, we had seen a rare [Northern Jacana](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_jacana). I recalled the dainty prancing of the bird on the floating … Continue reading
Posted in Drought, Southwest trip 5
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Camping Near a Battle Zone
About five AM yesterday, both Mary and I were wakened by a muffled thumping. I thought it might be some wild pigs messing with our propane grill so Mary yelled out the window while I got some shoes on and … Continue reading
Posted in border issues, drugs, homeland security, Rio Grande Valley
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Yesterday’s Critters
I decided to document some of the wildlife I saw yesterday here at Falcon State Park as we prepare to move on. Here’s a Greater Roadrunner skulking through our back yard. I took a brief drive down the nearby “dump … Continue reading
Posted in Desert birds, nature, Penny, Southwest trip 5, Wildlife Watching
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A Morning Dog Walk
We awoke this morning to the call of a Common Paraque, a furtive desert bird that I’ve rarely seen but often heard. This one was in a tree just outside the Airstream but when I went out, barefooted with a … Continue reading
Posted in eBird, Penny, Southwest trip 5, Texas birding
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Sunday Afternoon Digiscoping
I took advantage of a damp Sunday afternoon to practice some digiscoping with my iPhone. The lighting was poor but the dog and I had several outings and got a lot of fresh air. I can see why people opt … Continue reading
Posted in Digiscoping, iPhone, Southwest trip 5, Texas birds, Winter2015 Trip
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Birds Can Brighten a Damp Misty Day
While my Vermont friends are waiting for the “konk-a-ree” of the Red-winged Blackbird as a sign of spring, we are overwhelmed by them. We’ve been feeding birds on our site and if you put out a suet feeder, there’s a … Continue reading
Posted in life bird, Life list, Southwest trip 5, Texas birding, Texas birds
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