Bud and I went hawk hunting the other day....driving the back roads in the area known as Chapman's Ranch, then, we decided to cross the causeway bridge and drive into Padre Island National Seashore [a federal, national, park].
Chapman Ranch, at one time, was a small community, now incorporated into the Corpus Christi City Limits. Chapman Ranch is on Farm Road 70 in southeastern Nueces County. It is so named for a family that purchased 34,000 acres of the King Ranch [King Ranch has 825,000 acres] in 1919. Today the shell of the town, Chapman's Ranch, no longer exists, but a few abandoned buildings remain. Oil wells, cotton farms, small farm homes - large ranch houses, and a few cattle dot the landscape. On this particular day, the cotton fields were partially harvested and seen were the yellow cotton bales scattered here and there. A couple of operating cotton gins are seen driving from the intersection of County Road 70 to Interstate 69/State Hwy 77. Many many farm to market roads and county roads can be driven on...and yes, on any given day during the entire year, there are other birders out there with their scopes and binoculars....hunting for hawks and falcons [among other bird species].
The birds we sighted were, White Tailed Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, Starlings, Doves, Sparrows, Crested Cara Caras, Sea Gulls, Purple Martins, Grackles, To show you some in photos...
White Tailed Hawk - Swainson's Hawk in Flight - Purple Martin
Read More on the History of the Chapman Ranch/King Ranch Secrets [Texas Monthly Online]
Elevation of the ranch area is shown to be 26 feet above sea level....Corpus Christi is about 7 feet elevation...while, of course, the park [PINS] is sea level!!!
This 'leg' [the ranch area] of the hawk hunt was about a 50 mile round trip. Once back into the city we headed south and eventually paying the fee to enter through the gates of Padre Island National Seashore National Park. Here, we saw only ONE hawk both coming and going, but we pulled off onto the beach at the end of the road [as far as a two wheeled drive vehicle can go], and enjoyed a bit of the surf. After an hour or so there, walking along the shore, we left and pulled off toward Laguna Madre before leaving the park boundaries. This trip added about 50-60 more miles on the odometer....I'll share some more photos in my upcoming post!!
It would be nice to see the cotton gins.
ReplyDeleteThe gins are very busy right now!!! :-)
DeleteHawk hunt? sound dangerous. It reminds me of the movie Twister. LOL
ReplyDeleteFor me , hawks are so "fierce". Fly so fast. Kinda hard to snap a good photo
Hawk Hunt for photographing!!!!
DeleteLol...yes i know it's photographing not for killing. It's just that they have sharp talon. My fear is that they might swoop down trying to snatch the photographer 's camera. I am sorry that my comment caused any misunderstanding
DeleteNo problem. 😊
DeleteLooking at those pictures of the cotton I'm now singing "Jump down turn around pick a bale of cotton"
ReplyDelete...."pick a bale a day". Now you've done it Ann!!! I'll be singing this all day.
DeleteLove it...you sure can make folks smile...have a beautiful day (and I am sure you already the things that I listed on my post today).
ReplyDeleteI'll pop over again to read what you posted!!
DeleteI enjoyed seeing the cotton field. I have not seen a cotton field in about 40 years and I can tell you that the bills back then did not look like those bales. Sounds like a great place for birding.
ReplyDeleteYa, for me too....since we've lived here in South Texas this 'new yellow rolled bales' is different than I ever remember as a youngster.
DeleteI always enjoy your excursions and the birds you see. Hawks are magnificent creatures, aren't they? :-)
ReplyDeleteIndeed, hawks are super beings.
DeleteI would like to know where those cotton bales go from the fields. Are they loaded onto tractor trailers and taken to a factory? Where? Guess I'm in for research! Hawks are magnificent hunters. We watch them here.
ReplyDeleteI've seen them on semi trucks AND on train flat bed cars. So you're guess is as good as mine.
DeleteSo cool to see those big bales of cotton!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed this!
DeleteI'm fascinated by the cotton raising and harvesting, being from Illinois where we only see mostly corn and soybeans with a little oats and wheat thrown in. Now the farmers are beginning to raise more vegetable crops like pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteAround our area it's just about ALL cotton, but there is sorghum and corn for grain too.
DeleteI love the White Tailed Hawk picture. I also had no idea that cotton is baled like hay!! I always learn something new here.
ReplyDeleteWell, then, Ginny, glad you dropped in to read my post. It's always good to know something new is learned by my readers/friends.
DeleteHello Anni, love the white-tailed hawk. I would like to go on a hawk hunt. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!
ReplyDeleteWell, if you're ever down in this area, the ranch land is a GREAT place for hawks and falcons.
DeleteFascinating post and lovely photography ~ thanks ^_^
ReplyDeleteWishing you a lovely week ~ ^_^
Thanks Carol....same to you!!!
DeleteThese are sights I don't get to see around my world.
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words
Glad you could join me on my hawk hunt then!!!
DeleteThe rolled up cotton reminds me of sushi rolls! I must be hungry....
ReplyDeleteWell then, you can have MY share of sushi! LOL
DeleteI think the cotton fields and rolls are so interesting! I'd love to see that in person.
ReplyDeleteThey still to this day amaze me. How it's done, how it gets to the gins, and what they do to it for fabric.
DeleteLots of cotton growing here in north Mississippi, but not yet ready for harvest.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing your photos.
Hope you are having a great week!
Lea
July and August for us here in South Texas. You? In Mississippi? Sept and Oct maybe?
DeleteDidn't know about this great birding area ... How could we have missed it? I wanna come back to Padre !,,
ReplyDeleteThis ranch area is great for raptors/owls!!!
DeleteWe've come a long way from picking cotton by hand. Nice travelogue!! Miss my days on the road with our RV!
ReplyDeleteIndeed!!
DeleteLove seeing those fields of cotton as far as the eye can see! Interesting to see the bales, too. Nice bird sightings - looking forward to seeing the rest of your trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen...it will be tomorrow for the 'next round'.
DeleteYou and Bud find the best places for adventures.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the baled cotton
Hugs madi and Mom
Glad you two enjoyed your visit.
DeleteCool hawk shots, Anni. I only get the black and turkey vultures.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I saw a big bird over Goose Creek, assumed it was a vulture. But it had a white head and tail! Unfortunately, also too high and headed in the wrong direction for me to get a pic.
~
I like watching the vultures soar and glide with the air currents!!! I've had that happen with me 1000s of times, always too high.
DeleteIt is funny how removed some of us are from where our products come from..Cotton...I don't stop to think of where it comes from and how it is grown....Michelle
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a cotton field or the bales, this was a fascinating post
ReplyDeleteMollyxxx