Birding is fun again…..

It is great to begin the year feeling great.  Much different from last year when my health issues were taking up most of my time.  Now, although those issues haven’t disappeared, all is under control now and I feel fine.

Birding activity has increased now, mostly around the Lake Nasworthy and Twin Buttes Reservoir areas.  I can’t understand the lack of birds at San Angelo State Park, but we haven’t been seeing much there.  In fact, the last couple of times we visited, we didn’t stay long but left to go to our above mentioned favorite areas.  I might mention that we rarely visit the bird blind, for the reasons mentioned below.  We prefer to just drive through the park and watch for bird activity.

As far as the blind at San Angelo State Park, is is not maintained properly.  Some volunteers stop out there, usually later in the morning to put seed in the feeders.  Otherwise it is not kept up on a regular basis; mowing, cleaning windows, etc.  The water feature is usually not running.  Even though a local service organization build a handi-cap oriented viewing spot, overall, the blind is still treated like a step-child.  The park management concentrates on hiking trails and star watching activities.  The Friends of the Park, place preferences on the equine area.  But nobody considers any birding related activities.

Birding is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the state.  I know of many people come to the park to see the many birds that frequent the Concho Valley.  I think the managaement would do well to promote that more in the park.

About ten years ago (or more), Ann and I took on the responsibilty of maintaining the blind and viewing area.  Since we were retired and since we only live three miles away, we were there daily at 8:00AM to put feed out.  We kept the place clean and the grass trimmed and weed-whacked.  We kept the water running in the water feature.  Once a month, I lead a birding walk on a Saturday morning.  But after a couple of years, going out there on a daily basis, and getting up in age, we eventually decided to let someone else take over.

So, I say to anybody that wants to travel to San Angelo to bird, we do have lots of birds.  For example, yesterday Ann and I saw 38 species in about a three hour period.  But we visited the public parks around the Lake Nasworthy that I mentioned in the second paragraph of this post.  So come on down……..:-)

Speaking of those 38 species, here are a few example from the past few days:

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Common Yellowthroat

Cattle Egret

Greata Egret

Eastern Bluebird

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Loggerhead Shrike

Those six are a pretty good sampling of the birds around here.   As for my rant about San Angelo State Park, I am a great fan and supporter of the park.  I just wanted to mention about the quality of birding there, if you happen to be a camper there.  Don’t depend on the blind to be very productive.

In other news, the first draft of my new book, “Birds, Beasts and Other Stuff” is at the printers and I should received it in a day or two.  I will peruse it to make sure I like everything, then I will order a bulk shipment.  So hopefully, by the end of the month I will have a supply on hand.  It is a 110 page hard-back book, packed with some of my newest best photos.

On that note, I still have a few copies of my original book, “Birds, Beasts and Buttes”, first published in 2013.  On sale at a reduced price of 45.00.  (Original 65.00).  Contact me at bobzeller@pobox.com if interested.

HAPPY BIRDING!!