§ Practicing...

At the beginning of the day, I loaded the newly charged battery, and took a practice shot of my bone china cardinals. Then, on this Sunday morning, before sunrise, I went out with my new camera to do some test shots and get the 'feel' of all. There are quite a few new things to learn and different settings to this camera, compared to my old one. It will take a lot more time to find what is comfortable for me behind the shutter button, and being able to get the settings quickly when needed for all the bird action that I may encounter without losing the instant before they fly away!!

§ I'm Back to "Day Trippin'"....

As I sit home [on the first day of November] waiting for the bank to open and taking a break from packing October things away getting out November things, I will share some "day trippin'" with you...
Sunday morning, just after sunrise, I drove to a favorite area of mine to check it out. I must admit it's been a LONG time since I was there last. You see, this particular spot is really "all natural". In other words, there is no "city amenities" to be had. The trails are all grass, the ponds are hidden, and the area is very quiet for the nature lover! Thing is, even tho it's owned by the city of Corpus Christi, the pathways are usually a bit unkempt. They rarely get in there beyond the trailhead gate and mow...making the walkways difficult to trek...sometimes knee-high grasses that tangle with each step you take. When I pulled up off the interstate, I noticed the area to park was actually freshly mowed! Would I be lucky enough to have had them mow the trails? I parked, got out, and entered through the gate and climbed the first hill to inspect....it was clear for take off!!! The peace and quiet is worth the stroll through the trees  [very heavily wooded] that are on each side. There, at the end of the trail, is the Nueces River...pretty. And the two ponds...Pollywog Ponds, which I have posted about often.
Of course my first intent was finding and photographing birds in the area. I heard many green jays squawking at that hour, but the buggers kept in the tree canopies and remained there. I also heard and saw cardinals and doves. I usually spot a hawk or two, but zilch on those raptors! By the time I neared the first of the two ponds, the smaller pond, I spied a woodpecker, several kiskadees, a couple of flycatchers. One particular kiskadee flew off a branch just in front of me, and by the time I got the camera focused on it, it had caught a butterfly in mid-air and disappeared from the viewfinder before I could snap the shutter. Oh well! There is always another time, another place! On the large pond, I saw ONE lone bird, an anhinga sunning itself on a fallen tree clear on the OTHER side of the water and one grebe that dived under water as I neared the banks. Figures.
The river current was still as the morning. The sun up, beyond the morning horizon now, and the reflections were dazzling. I enjoyed being there for the couple of hours and once back to the car, I got in and drove up the highway to the Kingsville Texas exit and headed for another park. At that park, I saw a few ducks, one harrier, and one VERY LARGE Belted Kingfisher that was busy hunting down the breakfast she needed! It was fascinating....I hadn't seen a kingfisher in months!

Here are some photos of Pollywog Ponds' Trail [the two with black outline shows the anhinga at a long distance...I did zoom in and got photos for my bird blog]...

The River....



I will schedule this post to publish on Tuesday morning.

§ Last Days of Summer...

I am always happy to see August disappear from the year's calender! Even tho September is a busy month for hurricanes forming in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. For the most part, September is a 'cool down' month...more likely to have a chance of a cold front moving in from Canada, dropping this far south, and the air dries up a lot. No more suffocating humidity! I just hope the weathermen predictions for yet an active month of tropical storms does not come true. Keeping my fingers crossed. The Long Hot Summer is nearly over; the photos below were taken last month: Top two, Pollywog Ponds. Panoramic view, Leonabelle Birding Center.  The next two in the series:  A black bellied Whistling Duck in flight and a parched sunflower.  Next in the series....This is NOT rain, nor remnants of any storm...it's dew from the awful humidity and over-night dew points on the leaf!!  Last four:  A mockingbird and the red blossom shooting through the wooden slats on a boardwalk is called Turk's Cap, another sunflower and then, as the old wive's tale goes ---a cicada!  Which means rain is coming.  I'll keep you posted on that event [rain IS predicted!].  

§ Day Trippin'....One Way Ticket, ya...

It was in the mid to upper 40s one morning as I drove up the interstate to my exit ramp for Pollywog Ponds. After I arrived, and opened the trunk of the car to get my fleece jacket, vapor was coming from my mouth; damp and chilly -blue sky with patchy clouds- with a slight breeze coming in from the Gulf about 25 miles from where the ponds are. I climbed the small incline to get to the gate and crossed over, on my way to the water and river's edge. The grassy trail was covered in early morning dew. It didn't take long for my shoes to be soaked. The birds were just coming awake, the first one I spied was a Myrtle Warbler [commonly called Butter Butt or Yellow Rumped -aptly nicknamed because of it's yellow spot on it's backside, near the tail feathers]. Cardinals were soon singing, woodpeckers were calling. My second bird seen was a Cooper's Hawk high on a tree branch, and before long it flew off into the distance as I continued on my walk. Reaching the ponds -one vacant while the larger pond had grebes, scaups, egrets, blue winged teals, and a solitary sandpiper [its name, not solitary as in alone]. Woodpeckers and sparrows were flitting around. A new sparrow species for me, a song sparrow!  But, for the most part, it was a beautiful, quiet and peaceful, morning. A fork in the trail veers off toward the densely wooded area and for about a year's time it has been bordered off with no entryway. On this day it was open. I took off in that direction and entered the isolated quadrant of the park system. It was quite a weedy shambles and a muddy trek, but I continued through, taking twists and turns to avoid the overgrowth, to come back out where I parked my car. Sticking in the mud several places, I got a good workout. Even in the chilly air, I was sweating before I finished, climbing DOWN the hilltop, back out in the open land...







When I pulled out of this area to drive about 5 more miles up the interstate to the Calallen, Texas exchange, the highway's side banks were all abloom [very early this year!] with Texas State Flower, the bluebonnet. Naturally, I pulled over, got out of the car and took some photos, then headed to my 2nd stop; another park.  The bluebonnet photos will be in upcoming post.

§ Change of Season...part II

About 1/4 of the way into the sanctuary along the main path, a white tailed deer surprised me! Of all the years I've been going there, this is a first I've ever seen here. It took me by surprise so much, I was still startled while snapping the shutter and the outcome is blurry. And she took off all too soon to get a 2nd chance.

Here are more images along the walk. Breathe deep, enjoy the silence of the early morning hour...

After I walked the entire path to the river, I circled around the larger of the two ponds and then headed back to the car. I took a side trip to another park in Calallen, Texas. Just a driving trip mostly. I did get out of the car to see the birds at the feeding station and drip system. All in all, I sighted a hawk, several green jays, cardinals, titmouses [the plural can be both titmice or titmouses - from online:  "The plural form of titmouse is titmouses"], ground doves, mockingbirds, widgeons on the large lake, woodpeckers [golden fronted and downy]. I was hoping to see deer, but no go this time around. I then headed home....I had made veggie lasagna for dinner before I left and it was in the 'fridge ready to heat up [I make it very early in the day, not cooking the noodles beforehand...the sauce softens the noodles as it 'marinates' in the 'fridge under a foil wrapping]. When I got home, I made an apple pie for dessert. To round off the meal, a tossed salad and garlic bread.

If you missed Part One...click here