Hootin' Anni's Day Trippin' : Chapman Ranch

Showing posts with label Chapman Ranch. Show all posts

§ Ranch land...

Bud and I decided to take a short trip to Chapman's Ranch southwest of the city. Of course it was a drive to see if we could find hawks. They are known to frequent the fields before the crops are plowed under for the season. For the most part we were too late in the year. 90% of the fields where our car took us were barren. Not much food for the raptors then. Anyway...I also noticed that a lot of the county/country roads were in dire need of mowing. Drainage ditches had grass as high as five feet or more!! Of course, it's county that does the upkeep I'm sure. Ever since covid hit, the work ethics just went downhill. No one wants a job that pays...the people expect more money, better wages, stay at home jobs, and given 'free money' with family tax credits and stimulus checks! It's a shame as far as I can see. If we EVER recover.

We did see one hawk finally, and I believe it is either a dark morph or a juvenile...which makes them difficult to ID. I am hoping some birder expert will help me as I posted the photo of it on my Bird Photo Blog [scheduled to be posted Saturday]. Other birds seen were kestrels, doves, egrets, caracaras and more.

There is one area we always stop the car, get out, and listen for birds in the scrub, along the rutted tire trails, the mesquite trees, fence lines, and power poles. On this day, nothing. As I got out of the car tho, up a short incline in the road, in the middle of the road, I spied a couple of wild animals. Always a treat. We watched them for several minutes before we left them to their day...

Most all commentors asked for more details and close ups of my witches. I promise, soon, to get some photos posted. I have them, resizing them, and will get 'em up when I'm done! I'm glad most of you are enjoying the fun I have collecting witches for the season! :-)

§ An Early Morning Drive...

With a bit of background to this area I frequent to hunt birds of prey, and species of birds that are more or less 'country' [rarely seen in the city limits], using upturned fields to hunt for food, I would like to share that this land, now part of an unincorporated town itself; Chapman Ranch.

§ Country Roads...Take Me Home

A day trippin' road trip was in store for me the other day. I decided to take a drive along the desolate county roads again to get out of the house and still be 'quarantined' inside the car all the time. I had in mind maybe seeing some hawks or the like, but to my surprise, I sighted two very elusive bird species I haven't seen in decades. Or at least so it seems. Yes, it has been a long time since I saw either. And they were both spotted within 10 minutes of each other, and on the same gravel road. I was excited to see them, and even MORE excited to get some good photos of them...they are both very skittish and swift to disappear from sight. Most times, even before anyone has a chance to get the camera's viewfinder up to start focusing in on them. I will have photos of both birds [and others] shared this week on my bird photo blog...I'd Rather B Birdin'. Just click on the link above the photo at the top of Hootin' Anni's.

In the meantime, this is part of what else I saw while driving in my captivity-mobile...

Some roads are lined with cotton fields on both sides, while other roads, on one side it's sorghum and the opposite side is cotton. During Spring when fields are freshly plowed and on the verge of growing planted crops, the birds seen are more raptors, as the crops mature, the wildlife [and birds] change drastically to seed eaters, etc. Deer can be seen during the year in some remote areas, while in other areas, coyotes, javelinas and small critters like skunks and raccoons are found. Burrowing owls can be found if lucky, in the barrow ditches near the openings of the culverts, while other owls are seen in silos and quonset huts used to store grains [or when opened, storing farming equipment] because of the rodent population. It just depends. But, no matter what time of year, it's always a goodly chance of seeing something. It's quiet, hardly any traffic on the back roads, and the pristine atmosphere and changes in store are always a good way of getting away while still remaining safe from the virus. Heck, even BEFORE the virus hit.

Other areas, there are newly developed subdivisions, and large, vast ranch houses where cattle are raised [and some horse farms]. Turf farms. Yet on other roads, the oil wells and pumps prevail. Along the main highway #70 that takes you to interstate 69 to go either to Houston or Brownsville, Texas there are many wind generator farms and cotton gins, a diverse area of south Texas....

...then, there is a chance of wildlife in the quiet, unpopulated areas!

left: White Tailed Deer far off the road -
right: a roadrunner on the post seen in my rear view mirror.

§ Country Roads....

I mentioned our drive through the farm land recently. This is some of the scenery from the car's interior. All the green in the fields is Sorghum. Originally the crop was used for flour and human use. But, now-a-days it's mainly a crop for livestock feed...

Just a couple of weeks ago, the sorghum fields had little but sprouts popping out of the ground. Now, it's about two feet high already. In about another month, these that are now becoming close to mature, they will be harvested and a 2nd crop will come...

We left home early in the morning. The traffic was nearly non-existent, which I really liked. I could enjoy the scenery without having to do the 70MPH speed limit and watch for other vehicles. Eerie in a way, but oh so nice to see the country side in a whole new perspective. But once off the main county road, and onto farm to market roads, the vehicles are always few and far between...

A farmer was working another section of land. I'm sure they do a certain amount of acreage, before moving onto another area so they can keep up with the harvesting; not coming all at once within the season. In another area, another farmer was spraying the land, I didn't get a photo of that tho, I wanted to make sure my car windows were closed...

As Ella and I drove along the back roads, at a very far distance I spotted large, dark, "mounds" out in the crops! What were they? I slowed down to a stop and looked through the camera lens...Javelinas! [ha, vah, LEEN, ahs] Wild animals of the pig family I believe...

At the end of one gravel road, the only way out is to make a u-turn and head back the way we had come. It is a dead end, with chaparral on either side. Wildlife is seen here quite often. One year, during the flooding, the fields were full of standing water, creating ponds for waterfowl...that year, a rare flock of Hudsonian Godwits arrived and stayed around a few days! But on this day, the meadowlarks were singing and doves cooing their melancholy songs.

As I started backing up to get heading for the return trip, I noticed a couple of white tailed deer on the posted land. I got out and took some photos. There is an abundance of deer in South Texas. Early morning is the best time to spot them when they're most active. Not only a beautiful creature, but so quiet and trusting sometimes. Unless of course they're threatened. But these two stopped and watched me watch them. Their curiosity was evident as they eyed me with that big black lens...

§ The Past Meets the Present...

NOTE: the rare hawk Bud & I found can be seen on my bird photo blog this week. Link to site is above, by the picture.

The afternoon was beautiful...blue sky, a gentle, warm breeze. The temperature was 83 degrees. I had my work done for the day, and decided since the sun was shining, I'd take a drive in the country again, hawk hunting.

At this blog and on my bird photograph blog, I'd Rather B Birdin', you probably recall me posting about driving in the country, in and around what is called by locals [and on the map], Chapman Ranch. It's mostly farming, cotton and sorghum, but there are oil wells and hundreds of wind generators on the farm land also. The area, tho subdivided now, and dozens of private ranching [cattle and horses], it remains huge. The original Chapman Ranch, before selling off, was amassed at over 34,000 acres...Philip Chapman bought this vast parcel of land from Richard King of the historic King Ranch [King Ranch originally consisting of 1.2 million acres, now 825,000 acres covering nearly 1300 square miles] around Kingsville, Texas, in 1919. At the time of purchase, Chapman Ranch was dubbed Nueces Farms. Since 1924, after subdividing the land into 160 acre plots, it was then known as Chapman Ranch. Historically, it was billed as the world's largest mechanized farm. Experiments were conducted with both crops and machinery. Implements were introduced for improved cotton production and even a specific strain of cotton was developed on the ranch. According to the Texas State Historical Marker, the strain of rice was developed in the 1930s; being a "superior strain of long-staple cotton", which was marketed world-wide. Today, all that remains are some buildings of the past, and one is still operating. There were schools, a post office, grocery store, hardware, a hospital, and even a barber shop, a car dealership, gas station, and more. The post office was just recently, within the last decade, closed for good. Now, you see abandoned buildings, farming equipment and a few remaining residents. But, forever, the land remains and Chapman's Ranch is still marked on maps of today. The heirs of the Chapman family continue to run the ranch. You can drive around on the country roads for hours and still be on the ranch!!

Normally, I just drive by this...this day, I pulled off the highway on my return-to-home trip, and took a few photos:

Hawks were active! A couple weeks ago, just beginning of plowed fields...now, sorghum sprouting!! Some parts are posted, while other fields are open territory.

The 'town'...is it a ghost town, y'wonder?