And then the rains came……..

Rain is nice.  Especially here in San Angelo, where it seems we are in a perpetual drought, except some years are worse than others.  This past year hasn’t been as bad as some previous.  So having said that, we have had drizzly showers on and off the past few days.  We have been limited to getting out to just a few hours between rains.

I have only a couple of images to show for the effort.

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Great Horned Owl

The two images above were captured at Spring Creek Park, here in San Angelo.

In between our treks, I spent time going through some of my old images and I came across a few older ones that you might enjoy.  This are just random shots from early 2014.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Vermilion Flycatcher – immature male

Vermilion Flycatcher – adult male

Western Scrub-jay

White-eyed Vireo

The clouds are starting to part today, so hopefully I will be able to get some new images in the coming week.  Click any photo to see enlargement.

Happy birding!!

Northern Bobwhite and more……..

Since my last post on June 1, my time in the field has been limited.  I have been trying to catch up on personal issues pertaining to keeping up our yard, a little house cleaning, and this morning a plumber is coming to install new fixtures in our bathroom.  So, I was only able to get out for two hours on June 2, and a couple of hours yesterday, June 7.

But the good news is, I did manage to get a few nice images to share with you.

For anybody that has been concerned about the scarceness of the Northern Bobwhite, I can assure you they are certainly alive and well in San Angelo State Park.  While driving through the entire area we were never out of earshot of at least one of them calling.  We also saw visually about ten of them, perhaps more.

Northern Bobwhite

Northern Bobwhite

Northern Bobwhite

Male and female Northern Bobwhite

Although we enjoyed seeing so many of the bobwhites, we didn’t ignore  the other birds.  As a matter of fact, we observed thirty different species.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get useable photos of all thirty, but that is to be expected when I am in the birding mode, versus just out for the photography.  Some we just saw as they flew nearby, or were in thick brush, or I simply just didn’t like my photo.

We spotted this night heron in the draw behind the Walmart super-center.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Well, that is about it for this time.  Hopefully, I can have more for you the next time.  Click on any photo to see enlargements.

Easter Weekend Memories

Ann and I were relatively idle over the weekend.  On Friday,without any specific projects in mind, we just drove around the area to see what we might see.  Of course, I think that is what we do most of the time, now that I think of it.  So I guess this weekend was no different.  Okay, so I sound like and old man rambling.  Well, I am old, so I guess that is my job. Anyway, here are a few miscellaneous photos that I managed to grab.  All photos were shot with my Canon EOS 70D with a Tamron 150-600mm zoom.  Please click on any image to see enlargements.

House Finch

The House Finch was photographed at San Angelo State Park.  I was in the bird blind there watching the activities of various birds.

Red-winged Blackbird

The Red-winged Blackbird was also shot at the blind.  I love the brilliant wing bars on these birds.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

After visiting the blind, we decided to just take a leisurely drive through the park.  I saw the Ash-throated Flycatcher off to the side of the road and photographed it from my car.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

On Sunday morning, after breakfast, we drove by the old K-Mart building where there is a creek nearby.  We had received about a quarter inch of rain during the night, and there was some substantial water in it.  There was also this Yellow-crowned Night Heron strolling by.

Solitary Sandpiper

This Solitary Sandpiper was also nearby.

American Kestrel

We then decided to drive the backroads down near Eldorado, Texas then visit the city water ponds in that city.  On the way we spotted this American Kestrel in the top of a dead tree off to the side of the road.  I brought the car to a stop, turned off the engine.  Since the bird was on the passenger side of the car, I had to hand-hold the camera across in front of Ann.  It was no easy feat,but thanks to the Vibration Control in the lens, I managed to get this shot.  The bird was about 150 feet away and I was zoomed to the full 600mm of the lens.

Wilson’s Phalarope

Arriving at the ponds, we saw quite a bit of activity, teals, gadwalls, shovelers, etc.  In one corner of one pond we spotted about twenty of these Wilson’s Phalaropes.  They were not skittish at all of my car, and I was only about twenty feet away for this shot.

Cattle Egret

On an island in the middle of one pond were a few Cattle Egrets.  This is my favorite photo, I think, even though there is a bit of a twig in front of the face.  The image was taken from a distance of about 200 feet.  The photo was severely cropped so I could show you the close-up.

After that, light showers began, so we headed for home.  We were not unhappy as this area needs as much rain as we can get.

Update:  New total for my Big Year Texas list is 147.  New additions are:

#146  Yellow-crowned Night Heron

#147  Cattle Egret

Going back to the Big Bend……

I am going to be brief with this post.  Again, Ann and I are leaving tomorrow morning to spend a week down in the Big Bend National Park area.  Migration is beginning and we hope to come home with some nice new photos from the area.

Here are a couple of images from the past few days.  Hope you enjoy.  Just click on any of them to see some enlargements.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – first one of the season

Wilson’s Snipe

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ash-throated Woodpecker

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

We will be staying at the Casitas of the Far Flung Outdoor Center in Terlingua.  If you are in the area, stop by cabin #12 and visit.  Otherwise, we will be back next weekend with new photos and maybe some stories to tell.

Monday Morning Images

On Monday morning Ann and I decided that we would start the week with a little birding, and of course that sometimes leads to some photo ops.  We decided to check out the “honey hole” that I told you about before.  We headed out west on Highway 67 to the turnoff that goes to the parks around Twin Buttes Reservoir.  It is about a mile’s drive to the honey hole, or the mud puddle that it actually is.  Amazing.  By the time we had driven a half mile down the road, we had spotted a Northern Bobwhite (pictured below), Northern Mockingbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Mourning Dove, Lark Sparrow, Pyrrhuloxia, Bullock’s Oriole, Painted Bunting, and an Ash-throated Flycatcher.  Nine species, and we had just got started and had not even gotten to our destination.

At the water hole, which has dried up to a puddle about 5′ x 5′, we added a few more before leaving to drive around and over the Twin Buttes dam, reaching the Middle Concho and Spring Creek Parks, where we saw some wading birds.  In total we saw thirty-three different species.  Unfortunately I couldn’t possibly photograph them all.  Here are four of those of what I did get.

Northern Bobwhite is mesquite tree.

Canyon Towhee

“Rats!! Missed it!!

Great Blue Heron

I hope you enjoyed the photos.  Click on any of them to see enlargements.  To see more photos that I am proud of, click on the FLICKR logo on the right side of this page.  It may be another week before another post as we are taking a few days off before heading to Fredericksberg, Texas to join some close friends for the weekend.

Our Birding Honey Hole

First, it should be explained that in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, honey hole is defined as slang for a location that yields large quantities of valued commodities.  Quite often it is applied to great personal fishing spots.  In our case, it is a hot spot for birds.  We discovered it several days ago near Twin Buttes Reservoir near a park area.  It is nothing more than a puddle of standing water, about 50 feet by 15 feet, surrounded by about five Mesquite trees.  Until it dries up, which will happen in a few days under this hot Texas sun unless we get more showers to fill it up again, it will be our little birding mecca.

Ann and I, after getting some yard chores done, decided to run over there this morning, which is only a couple of miles from our house.  We spent one hour and thirty-five minutes.  We just parked about twenty feet from the puddle/pond, turned the engine off and just watched from the car.  I had my Canon 7D with a 500mm lens and 1.4 teleconverter at the ready.  We weren’t disappointed.  In that short period we saw and ID’d nineteen species, saw another that we couldn’t identify, then also heard a Common Nighthawk and a Northern Bobwhite.  A total of 21 identifiable.  Here are a few photos from our little trip.

Vermilion Flycatcher

Painted Bunting – female

There were several Bullock’s Orioles and one female was foraging in the bark of a mesquite for grubs.  This sequence of photos shows her success.

Bullock’s Oriole – female, searching for grubs.

Gotcha!!!

Mmm Good!!!

Here is a list of all 21 species that we encountered this morning in and hour and thirty-five minutes.

1. Vermilion Flycatcher
2. Canyon Towhee
3. Bullock’s Oriole
4. House Sparrow
5. Ash-throated Flycatcher
6. Curve-billed Thrasher
7. Northern Mockingbird
8. Black-throated Sparrow
9. Painted Bunting
10. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
11. Greater Roadrunner
12. Brown-headed Cowbird
13. Northern Cardinal
14. House Finch
15. Northern Bobwhite – heard
16. White-winged Dove
17. Pyrrhuloxia
18. Common Nighthawk – heard
19. Red-winged Blackbird
20. Lark Sparrow
21. Killdeer

We also saw an un-identified bird splashing in the water, that bore resemblance to a Yellow-rumped Warbler, but it was too wet and scrubby looking to make a definite ID.  Hope you enjoyed the photos.  Click on any of them to see enlargements.

Ash-throated Flycatcher – Quiz news

Before I get into the subject of my post, I want to say that I am curtailing my quizzes for a few weeks.  The reason for that is that I am beginning to work on a book that I have been considering for a long time.  I have found that, by working over the weekend just trying to design the cover, that the project is going to take some time, and will need my undivided attention. The book when finished, will be a handsome thing featuring  most of my photography, both nature and landscapes.  Perhaps, some of you may be interested when the time comes.  But enough about that for now.

There are many Ash-throated Flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens),in the area at the present time.  When traveling through Middle Concho Park a few days ago, the opportunity popped up to get this magnificent image.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

If you have needed to ID one of these, you will find that there are many different flycatchers that resemble this one.  It can be a very confusing task.  Photographed with my Canon EOS 7d, Canon 500mm f4 lens with 1.4 tele-converter.  Exposure 1/1250 sec. @ f5.6, ISO 400.  Except for the white of the breast being almost blown out, I am pretty satisfied with the result.  I hope you are, too.

By the way, during my work on the book, I will still try to do three or four posts each week.

FOS Ash-throated Flycatcher

I drove out to Middle Concho Park yesterday afternoon.  Earlier in the day, I had been to my doctor to have a biopsey taken from a little thingee on my neck.  I don’t recall what it was called, something that ends in ‘noma’.  Anyway, it is minor, but afterward I got restless.  A beautiful day, and I had to get outside.  However, for some reason or other, the birds must have been taking a siesta elsewhere, as there wasn’t much activity, except for a bunch of woodpeckers.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

But one bright light was that we spotted a pair of Ash-throated Flycatchers (Myiarchud cinerascens).  The first ones that we have spotted this season.  So maybe this is a sign of things to come.  I am anxious to get back out and see what else will be arriving.  Click on either picture to see an enlargement.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

I’m Off the Couch.

After a few days of feeling under the weather, then another few days just too darned lazy to write, here I am again.

Honestly, last week I just had a slight sinus infection and a spell of laryngitis that absolutely frustrated me.  I live to talk, and I get quite irritated when I can open my mouth but have nothing come out.  I wasn’t very easy to get along with. 

Curve-billed Thrasher

Then, came the weekend.  I was feeling much better, but I had to lead my monthly birding adventure at the state park.  After that I became a couch potato for the weekend.  The reason??  It was the Masters Tournament from Augusta National Golf Club, in Augusta, Georgia.  This TV tournament is one of my favorites to watch, and I was hoping for another Tiger Woods spectacle.  It almost happened.  Aside from his private life, I think he is the best golfer to come along in years.

So, back to the world of birding and photography.  The birds were not very co-operative Saturday morning at the park.  Could be that they knew about the coming storms or were just down out of the wind.

But good news is coming.  We were doing our regular chores at the bird blind at the park this morning.  We talked to Pat Bales, one of the rangers, and he spotted a Bullock’s Oriole and a Western Kingbird.  Both early this morning.  We had already seen the first Black-chinned Hummingbird, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and a Ash-throated Flycatcher a few days ago, so indications are that the summer birds are moving in.

Northern Cardinal

So I hope to post some pictures of the new arrivals later this week.  I am now ready to get off my duff and get into the field.  That includes, hopefully, a trip to the Eldorado waste water ponds.  A couple of rarities were spotted there over the weekend.  An Upland Sandpiper and a Least Tern.  Both are very unusual species for the area.

The two images in this post were photographed at San Angelo State Park this past Saturday morning during the monthly birding adventure.  Click on either one to see an enlargement.

Finally, some Vermilion Flycatcher images

Where did summer go.  Yesterday morning the temperature here in San Angelo got down to 38 degrees.  It was been cold all day.  Had to turn the heat back on.  What the heck is going on?  But, as we say out here in west Texas, just hang around and things will change.  The forecast for the coming weekend is the mid nineties.

The title of this post reflects the frustrations that I have had the past three years in trying to photograph those tiny creatures.  I have seen them before, don’t get me wrong, but I have never been able to get my lens locked on to them for a good picture.  But that changed last week on our trip to the Big Bend National Park.

The two following photos are the results of that endeavor.  The Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) in the top picture is the male.  The second one is the female.  Both are tiny, shy birds.  They are possibly relatives of the phoebes.  These images were captured at Rio Grande Village Campground in the park.  I mounted my Canon 7D on a tripod with my 500mm and 1.4 teleconverter.  Standing under some trees I had a good view of the birds flitting around.

Vermilion Flycatcher - male

Vermilion Flycatcher - female

In other news, I decided to enter an art show put on by the San Angelo Art Club.  Their club consists mostly of paint artists, but twice a year they have an “Anything Goes, Almost” show and artists of all mediums are invited to enter.  They have a competition and give out cash prizes and ribbons for each medium.  Maybe I can get lucky.  I dropped off two of my latest creations this morning.  If I do win anything, you will be among the first to know.

So, I bid you adios from this post.  Click on the images to see enlargements.