§ Swallows by the Hundreds...

Meteorologists tell us that fog is created with a cold air/warm air conversion. It was 84 degrees when I left around 6:30 in the morning, heading toward Calallen, Texas. Taking highway #44 from Corpus Christi, I drove into ground fog along the way.

All I can say is: "I wish the cold air was surrounding me! 84 is just too hot that hour in the morning."  At my first stop, the fog lingered in the valley as I searched the horizon.

By the time I arrived at the park, I stopped at the hawk watch platform. It was now posted due to the virus pandemic. And the annual hawkwatch for recording the raptors' migration begins August 1st and continues thru to November 15th. A long time. But the group of volunteer recorders is a large number, so I understand the caution. Since it was around 7 a.m., I figured I was safe to open the 'gate' and climb the tower - I didn't touch anything or lean on the platform the whole time:

There, I saw green jays, woodpeckers, cardinals, sparrows, humming birds, tufted titmouse, doves, and mockingbirds. The cardinals and mockingbirds were in molting phase. Not too attractive.

Off I went to the field and valley area along the river road. Here, I saw mostly swallows. I was literally taken aback by the numbers! I did not resize this upcoming photo at all. It's right off the camera card, and VERY LARGE [a little over 1MB in pixel size]. But, in order to see just a 'few' of the numbers of swallows roosting, I had to keep it large for y'all. Click on the photo to embiggen it.   Look on the 2nd from the top power line. You'll be astounded, I think...

PS at 5 a.m. I counted them in the photo: 155!

And, since this last image uploaded is so heavy in pixels, I will stop here and continue the rest of the photos taken along the river in the next post. To be continued...

§ Sometimes I Feel Like Willie N....

With sunrise in my rear view mirror, I was on the road again! This time, driving down highway 44 heading northwest toward Calallen Texas to attend the hawkwatch annual celebration of flight. I wanted to get some walking in before the program started, so I left a couple hours beforehand, hoping to beat the other attendees....that wasn't happening! By the time I got there, there were many already there, I had to search for a place to park nearby the platform. It had rained heavily in this little town while our city got none. At least in my neighborhood. There was rainwater standing all over the park, and eventually there was a threat of MORE rain to come as the dark clouds built up along the coastal horizon. But walk, and a search for birds still went ahead as planned.  I had a couple of hours to spare before the exhibits and lectures began.  

My first stop after I parked and got out of the car was the hawkwatch platform. Dane, the watchers' supervisor, greeted me and we chatted a bit. I go here often and he knows me by name. He told me the previous day, Friday, the counters tallied up over 47,000 migrant birds. While I was standing beside him, a flock of American White Pelicans [346 in number] flew above us, heading south. I didn't look at the posted charts...but those numbers tell me that the peak of migration season is underway. The counters are there from August 1st to November 15th, each year, every day!! An older gentleman was laying out corn and other wild bird seed just below the platform and near the watering drip system. Soon, all kinds of birds began to wander in. I left to walk the paths and trails a bit, then returned before the show. Just a few birds I'll share here...there will be MORE eventually on my bird photo blog.


...above photos are of the Northern Cardinal, two images of Texas's own Green Jay, and the last...Couch's Kingbird.  I noticed about a 1/2 mile away, at one of the radio towers, an osprey kept vigil while most likely digesting his breakfast from an early morning catch along the river banks nearby. I utilized my zoom lens....


With the booths set up, and the seating capacity filled, I stepped down and walked from there to the open area where the 'exotic' and raptors were tethered. The lecturer had with him this year, an Australian Kookaburra, a Harris's Hawk, a Caracara, a Barn Owl, a Black Headed Vulture and a newly acquired and I must say a very GORGEOUS raven from Africa.  A certain species we don't see in North America; like Poe's Raven...no siree bob.  Its beak alone was the length of about 3-5 inches and Oberon [its name] was a blue black beauty!! I took some excellent photos of this and the others; as I said, sharing them in a future post at I'd Rather B Birdin'.  Also, it's a worthwhile trip for me, 'cause I always learn something new...I'm for learning.  Never too old.

It rained a bit, the heat became nearly unbearable, and the show was all too soon, over. I took myself out to lunch, stopped at the grocery store on the way home. It was nearly 4 pm and time to shower, fold the clothes from my laundry chore before going to the raptor show. Then, prepare dinner and watch some of the Cubs/Cardinal game on FOX. It was a full day.

§ Just Another Day...or is it?

Today, this post captures some of my walk at H. Bazemore park early one morning this past week. I first stopped at the hawkwatch platform in hopes of finding a green jay ...but, none. Only cardinals, doves and hearing a woodpecker call in the distance. Down in the valley, the ruckus of Great Kiskadees could also be heard. I will follow through on that in a bit. First, showing you the platform that is usually busy from August thru November when the great numbers [in the tens of thousands] are recorded by those that sit for hours with their scopes and binoculars to count the different species migrating south for the winter. Sometimes, when I've been there for such a short time during the summer and fall, I have witnessed the sky black with hawks and buzzards and kites!!!

This was the activity on April 11th of this past week...

During the hawk watch months, the huge willow tree in the first photo has a very large bird feeder hanging from it...along with hummingbird feeders strung on a long rope between two poles to the right. The 2nd photo is the drip system pond under another willow [or is it mesquite, right now I can't recall for sure] just off the platform...

...the hawkwatch platform. At times during the migration, there are literally hundreds of counters and bird watchers on the wooden, elevated, area, Year 'round this is a cardinal haven!! I think every time I've been there for the last 10 years, there wasn't a day without cardinals [male, red in the bird blind viewing window looking onto his mate, the beauty dressed in silver]. Looking from the railing off into the distant tree tops I spied two Couch's Kingbirds [yellow breasted] .,,

...the time of day was about 7:30 a.m. by now, and I began my walk around the park road. Cooler for a while with the temp in the high 60s low 70s. A gentle breeze was blowing to keep me from getting over-heated with the humid air coming off the river. I walked around the two lakes, to come up on the side of the park where the river is, and a large open field of green grass and yellow wild flowers. Coming around a small grove of trees, I spied the gentle giants...in silence they dined on the abundance of free food! I stood there, partially hidden, tho I know they knew I was there close by. I snapped away on the shutter button....

...They allowed me to keep them company until the last one left, done with breakfast, and going back into the sheltered area of palms and moss covered trees...

I then continued amassing my step count, walking along the riverside. Now and then a bird sighting had me taking more pictures. I spied a few Lincoln Sparrows, one Scissortailed Flycatcher, Killdeer [mating], Starlings, Doves, Yellowlegs and an osprey fly-over. Once I got around the bend, another platform so I could view the lake for ducks and other waterfowl. I saw one green heron, a few blue winged teals, and heard more cardinals. Mockingbirds were busy flitting around, doing their air dance to attract mates. And two more deer were seen.

Before I left, I also watched two Great Kiskadees building their nest from a light pole. This is a 'rebuild' from last year's previous nest...I stood under a tree and got more photos which I will share at a later date on my bird blog. This one shows where the nest is being built [pink arrow]....

§ Along the River Banks....

Up a lazy river by the old mill run
The lazy, lazy river in the noon day sun
Linger in the shade of a kind old tree
Throw away your troubles
Dream a dream with me

~recorded by the Mills Brothers

As I pulled into the paved area to park my car, I spied this [above photo] across the park road. Monday morning I took a short jaunt to Calallen, Texas. along the Nueces River where the nation-wide 'famous' hawk watch takes place from August through November. Recently, throughout the Texas area 1000s of kettles [large groups of hawks] have been taking flight for the winter! Kites, Harriers, Hawks, Anhingas and more. On this day, I wasn't really in a birding mood, tho seeing anything with feathers is always an attraction for me and I will stop to take photos. But this time, I was just there to walk along the river and enjoy the morning in quiet surroundings...

By the standing water between the river and the park's bluff, I would guess that the river flooded recently. The prairie grasses with the wild flowers were everywhere giving me a golden glow with each step I took! The picture here doesn't really show it off very well, but maybe you can get the gist of it all. By the way, in the puddles of water, along the road, many water birds were feeding; with the likes of dowitchers, avocets, willets, and white faced ibis [these ibises are actually a maroon red with green iridescence on their wings and only have white on their faces during breeding season].  To the left of this photo is the river itself where there were ducks, kiskadees, mockingbirds, and flycatchers busy looking for and sampling the morsels of the insects hovering over the river.

The following image of the woodsy area looks hazy...the camera lens was still foggy from the car's air conditioner and I failed to wipe it off...this is where the white tailed deer [from above photo] walked into heading for the pond that you can see in the far background of same photo. There are several park benches along the river's banks for those that just want peace and quiet or perhaps set their rod in the ground and hope for a fish to take the bait. The domestic ducks didn't care much for my intrusion of their claimed shade...

From where I walked in the hollow between the river and the bluff, you can view the tree lined bluff and find the hawk watch platform nestled, and a bit hidden from view unless you know where to look [first photo in this grouping] and some of the boardwalks that jut into the trees along the river.  Here, as you may notice there is standing water beneath the boardwalks - not normal...more flooding.

...and lastly: The Lazy River