It is nice to have rain here in west Texas, but I would love to have it in larger amounts. I know that sounds selfish, but these little sprinkles we have today, along with the cool temps and blustery winds, don’t do much to ease our drought. We need some big gully-washers.
Great Blue Heron chicks on nest.
Nevertheless, I did get out a little today. First I stopped at the Shannon Clinic to get an innoculation, then while downtown, checked on the young ones on the Great Blue Heron nest. The chicks are getting larger, but staying near the nest so they are available so their mother, pictured atop a nearby branch, can bring them their daily meals.
adult Great Blue Heron
From there we decided to check in at San Angelo State Park and see if there had been any recent run-off into the lake. Surprisingly, there was an acre or two of very, very shallow water. Well, it’s a start. But most likely it will evaporate before we get another measurable rain on the watershed.
Common Nighthawk
While driving around the park we saw our first roosting Common Nighthawk of the year. We had seen several in flight a few days ago, when they were feeding on the flying insects in the evening. We also saw this Curve-billed Thrasher nearby in a tree. I just love the fierce look that these guys always have.
Curve-billed Thrasher
Since the weather was seemingly getting a little more inclement, we decided to head for the house. Click on any image to see some enlargements.
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 