On the Hunt for Owls

Shorthorn Cattle

This year, I purposely didn't attend the Day of the Dead festival downtown over the weekend. I wanted to get out more with nature and quiet solitude instead of the bustle of revelers. As I traveled some of the back roads near Chapman Ranch land to find burrowing owls in the culverts along the county roads; or hawks that are oftentimes seen in this area, I was flabbergasted at the numbers of the wind generators along and in the cotton or sorghum fields. The last time I was here [just a little over a few months back] the construction and erecting them, the generators were only a couple...total. Now, there are hundreds. Everywhere you look!!

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I didn't find any burrowing owls, but the doves, cattle, cotton bales, horses, grackles, were seen in high count! Two kildeer were seen in the plowed fields Also, atop the power lines along the desolate county roads, many many american ketrels were perched. From years of birding experience, if I would stop the car and get out with my camera...before I could aim and focus they would have been gone. In fact even when I slow down to a snail's pace they fly off. But, as I crept down the road, I stopped the car, finally, at one point, and aimed through the car's windshield, knowing all too well the photos would come out blurred and not true colors since the window glass is tinted.

American Kestrel [once known as Sparrow Hawk] and Kildeer

...leaving the area, and traveling back toward town, I veered off on another country road in hopes of seeing more early morning birds. In the distance I saw a hawk high on top of another power pole! It was a big one I could tell 'cause I was still quite a distance from it. Once again, I had to rely on the binoculars with the view through the windshield....just to ID it. It was a Red-tailed Hawk! But, even before I could put down my viewing glasses, it flew off into the opposite field and disappeared over the tree canopies. Dang! But...I found it once again. Along the power lines/poles that were running through the fields and trees, it had stopped and...well, so did I! I tried to zoom in on it. I figured it was about 1/4 mile away from me. As I tried to focus, I could see it was watching me!! At that distance, the photos wouldn't be all that good. I still snapped the shutter button and hoped for the best. More pictures are still on the camera's SD card.

Red Tailed Hawk

Once I made it out of the ranch land and onto a paved, heavily-trafficked road, I drove through a little tiny suburb of "London"!  It consists of not much but a cotton gin, a few subdivisions of showcase homes and a school district! Also, on the opposite side of the highway, just before the freeway interchange, there is a hidden gem. I pulled off the road and got out to take photos. That'll be my next blog post.