02 | January | 2013 | Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller

Well, Ann and I decided not to dwell on last year anymore, but get back in the saddle and head off into the new year. Birding -wise, we got off to a great start yesterday. The temp only reached the mid 40s, but with not much wind it wasn’t all that unpleasant to be out.

We spent a little less than three hours and we saw a total of 37 species. With a goal of reaching the 200-plus figure for the year, that is always a nice psychological beginning. I also got a couple of nice images, including one of my best Belted Kingfisher photos to date. I like it even though the tip of the bill is close to being nipped off.

Belted Kingfisher

I followed that up with this image of a Greater Yellowlegs. I am always amazed with the Canon 7D and the Canon 500mm F4 lens and 1.4 TC set-up. This bird was across the river about 150 yards away or more, and showed up as just a tiny spot in the viewfinder. I had figured there was no way that I was going to get a good usuable photo. The camera, with it’s 18MP, gave me a great file to work with. I was able to crop it and still have this sharp image.

Greater Yellowlegs

Click on either image to see an enlargement.

If you are interested in the total species we saw, here is a complete list. By the way, we only saw 194 species during 2012. I had thought that surely we could have made the 200 mark. Maybe this year…… We have a bit more experience now, and hopefully we plan to visit some east Texas areas that are teeming with new birds.