§ Make Mine Rare!

The past couple of weeks, on Texas Ebird, there have been sightings of a rare bird [3 at one time] along the county roads in and around the perimeter of Chapman Ranch [southwest of Corpus Christi]. Naturally, that is the only reason I've been taking my day trips out in that vicinity ...to see birds such as horned larks, starlings, meadowlarks, pipits and more. Last Sunday before the Houston Texans playoff game was aired, I took off toward the desolate countryside to see what I could see. I wasn't expecting to see owls 'cause it was daylight...I don't drive alone at night if I can help it...tho, I've been crazy to take off before sunrise sometimes. lol Anyway, to make a long story shorter, I saw dozens of different species of birds that day....including the rare one. But...the car's dashboard computer told me I had a low tire. It was Sunday!! Where could I get it checked? Stopped to get air as quickly as I could, the gentleman told me I had a nail in the tire but it was fixable. I slowly drove home to keep from having it blow out on me, and Monday first thing I took it to our tire shop we frequent and it was fixed in 20 minutes...free of charge!! I like free. Now, if the weather would just clear up, I'd go back to the area in a flash....with Bud, at dusk, hunt down the owls!!

Ps...the bird photo is not the rare species! I'm saving that for my bird photography blog. This bird is a White Tailed Hawk. Oh, and the football game? Plumb Pitiful!!!

§ A Good Friday...

Friday morning, Bud and I wanted to go out to eat, but neither of us wanted to get out of our 'comfies' and dress up to dine in a restaurant. Instead, we stayed in our shorts and sweat shirt and took a drive in the country. A couple of birds were reported on two county roads between here and Kingsville, Texas. Between the two of us, we saw no burrowing owls, no larks, not much of any birds except several American Kestrels that flee from view as soon as the car slows to a near stop for a photo op...it's funny....like playing tag with birds. They are always victorious...off they fly into the wild blue yonder!! One white tailed hawk remained perched on the power lines while I was aiming the viewfinder of the camera out the passenger window at a long billed curlew in the plowed cotton fields! Then, we took another county road heading back to the main highway...this produced a slew of vultures and crested caracaras in the barrow ditch with some kind of road kill cuisine!! Taking County Road 51 back into town, I had Bud stop so I could get out and take a picture of this old dilapidated, run-down hay shed [or maybe it was a farm equipment storage area at one time]. I've always wanted to stop but never did 'cause the grasses and ditch prevented me from exploring...rattle snakes love this kinda stuff!!! But, today it was cleared out to the shed's gated entry...I walked up and got pictures of the interior. I would've been over the moon if there was an owl sleeping in the rafters!!!

...if only the walls could talk and tell its story:

We stopped at the neighborhood grocery store near home, picked up some deli ham and rolls for sandwiches, bananas, and Bud a bag of chips for lunch.  We got home, watched the movie "Sahara" with Matthew McConaughey all the while a storm front moved in on the strong gale-force winds.

§ Country Roads III

Yesterday, with the comment conversations, there was concern with the wind generators killing birds.  At first, when they started showing up all over in our area, I TOO was concerned for the bird populations.  Now that I have watched the generators for decades, and the span between the blades AND the rotation speed deaths of birds and the gap/speed makes it nearly impossible ...perhaps probable, being the case 'accidents do happen'...birds make mistakes also...just as driving down the highway and you hit a bird!!  Now, I had to go out online to see for myself:  According to this study, cats kill more birds than wind generators.  Read it yourself.  Natural predators kill more; being a bird lover that I am, I think the generators are of least concern.  This is my own opinion.

AND the unknown piece of equipment in the field was revealed.  2 gators, Gina, told me it was part of a pump jack...part of an oil well.  Thanks Gina.


- - - -

The last of my country roads take me through ranch land in search of wintering birds that don't frequent the city limits. On this day the hawks were prevalent. Red Tailed, immature and adult, white tailed hawks, and kestrels [falcons]. But, to show a bit of the landscaping and what else is seen, I show you these photos to conclude my round-about on the farm and ranch lands nearby...

When I saw this as I was driving by, I had to put the car in reverse to get a photo for Sandra...I thought of her and her 'love of cattle' right away.  In this particular field, it looks like mama recently 'dropped' the calf.  It was still quite wobbly on its feet.  And yes, they do birth in winter around South Texas [December] 'cause the weather is quite mild.  I too was in shock to see such activity in the 'dead of winter' when we relocated on the Gulf, being raised in Colorado where the winters are long and cold and birthing doesn't take place until mid-Spring or later...

Often times Cotton Gins line the main county roads since, here, cotton is a big commodity...

I had to back the car up on this one!!  Only in Texas!!  Faux buck partially hidden...what a riot.  Pretty rack, tho.

Oil is another huge business in this area.  This oil pumpjack seems to be broken and abandoned...

...again, cattle.  This time, short horned and what looks like to me a hybrid [Gertrudis and Brahma? ---the light brown heifer].  But wait!!  A white tailed deer in the background along the fence line.

For me, birds are always a big attraction!  This sparrow greeted me as I slowed down to get a photo.

PS...sorry to all who like the pop up comment form. I don't. I do a lot of blogging & visiting blogs...on my smartphone. And I use the embedded comment reply button with each comment so I know I've repaid THEIR visit. Otherwise, I have too many windows open on my phone & my replies are NOT directly under said comment. It's a personal preference.

Part ONE
Part TWO

§ Country Roads II

 *  Sandra informed me that some comments are not going through with Blogger, and I am hoping by changing the format here, from embedded to pop-up comment form will eliminate the problem until the staff at Blogger fixes the issue.

I'm taking you around the outskirts of the city and beyond, on a county road, come see what I see...

Among the trees on this ranch land, a water windmill...

...along the ditches, coming up on culverts that are under the ranch road lanes, I slow down to check out the culvert openings for burrowing owls that are diurnal [active in daylight].  On this particular morning, some beautiful Autumn art...

...On a back road in early December just off Copano Bay, among the Live Oak Trees, white tailed deer...

I hafta be honest here, I haven't an inkling what this is!  Perhaps a gas line of some sort? Or water main?  It's just off the road and sometimes a hawk will land on it [it's about 6 feet off the ground at the top].  But on this day, nothing was even near it, and yet, quite a piece of art on a gray dreary Sunday.

...the morning sun glows on the primitive, country lane.

North, East and West from town, just about anywhere other than south, the Gulf, you see Wind Generator Farms in the cotton fields with hundreds of generators lined up in a row or placed where the fancy fits.  Once in a while, a hawk will show its presence [this particular one is an adult Red Tailed Hawk].

If you missed part one, Click HERE
The third installment of Country Roads will be mapped out, tomorrow, in a short time.

§ Country Roads...

Oftentimes I find myself taking a country road to find hawks and perhaps a chance to find an owl along the ditches and near the old abandoned buildings just off the road a short distance. Of course the direction I go takes me through farm lands and ranch lands. Mostly cotton farms and cattle ranges. I do take photos of what I see sometimes when the road is empty of farm equipment and other vehicles.

In some areas in the country around here if the rainy season remains, the land is covered in greenery.  Some years the trees are evergreen.  While in other parts, where the land is more parched with lack of rainfall, it's more what I'd consider wintry landscape.  Sometimes I see lakes in the distance...

...other times, hills to climb

Maybe some hilly pastures...

...or plenty of what Texas is known for:  Cattle Ranches

...then, in the fields, up pops a Falcon Box:

what some falcons use to breed and raise their brood.  On this particular day I spied a rare falcon [once close to extinction in America]; the Aplomado Falcon. They are slowly making a comeback. In this particular nesting box, in 2019, they raised two eyass [babies] successfully.

At times, close by with run-off from heavy rainfall, or tidal pools, I find waterfowl in abundance.

My Country Roads series will continue, tomorrow, in the next post.  More than likely, it'll be a three part series.