Starr County Birding

 Today I was able to get some great photos of mostly birds while taking a 4 mile walk around the park! First the non-bird picture of Javelinas!

They were cleaning up under the bird feeders at the bird feeding station and blind! A couple of my favorites for today are Long-billed Thrasher and a Ladder-backed Woodpecker. First the Thrasher.

If you look closely you can see the woodpecker has it tongue out. I also like the way it pushed its tail feather against the bush for stability!

There are reports of Scaled Quail here in the park and I was hoping to see some at the feeder but no luck today. I did see a small covey of Northern Bobwhite!

No life birds yet but I am confident that once I start visiting the Wildlife Refugees, next week, that will change. 

Falcon Lake State Park, Roma-Texas

I arrived here at the lake on Sunday after spending nights in Ft. Stockton and Del Rio where nightly temps were in the low 40's. Much nicer than the 20's of the 2 previous nights. Temps today and next next couple are 50's to 80's. Then things change and it will be 40's to 70's. Despite Covid, the electric hook up parts of the campground are full so I had to take a non hook up site! 

It is only $55 for the week and there are restroom with showers nearby. The lake is low, much lower than it was when I was here 3 years ago!

That channel is for launching boats but it is closed due to the low water level. The right side of the picture is Mexico as the lake is part of the Rio Grande River. Signs warn boaters not to exit the lake on the Mexico side! This morning I went birding at the preserve where I volunteered before. The same hosts were there and I was offered my old job! I may have taken it but my new trailer is too large for me to maneuver into the small host spot so I had to pass. I was excited to see a number of bird species native to Texas! I have also seen Javelinas! Not birds but I also enjoy a wide variety of animal and insects! I am looking forward to seeing new birds over the next few months!

Baby, it's cold outside!

Last night and tonight the temps have and will be in the low 20's! No way around it if you want to go to Texas this time of year so I am staying in campgrounds with power. I can run my furnace and plug in the diesel pickup without worrying about a dead battery in the morning! Last night I stayed at a campground in Bowie, AZ. Just $20 plus tax for full hook ups! 

Nothing fancy, just a large gravel lot. I was serenaded by a Curve-billed Thrasher while there! Not may birds otherwise. Tonight I am at the Las Cruces KOA. Full hookups on a drive thru site cost about $50 but again, it is worth it to have electricity on a cold night. 

Tomorrow I cross into Texas where the night temps will climb above freezing. The temps will keep climbing each day as I head south! I am looking forward to that!

Back on the road!

 Yesterday the suspension repair was completed on my truck so this morning I hit the road! I decided to try some new camping sites along the way so I am spending tonight at the Jim Kortsen Park.

It's about 90 miles west of Tucson and just 1 mile off of the interstate. It is surprisingly quiet even though I can see the freeway! It has no water or dump station but does half a dozen porta-pottys  scattered thru the park. The sites are spaced far apart and it only costs $10 per night. The vegetation is creosote bushes, mesquite and cacti!

I do enjoy the massive Saguaro cacti. 

For some reason they fascinate me. Tomorrow I hit the road early. I might stay at the Pima county fairgrounds but it will depend on how I feel at the time! 

Knock knock update

All day long people came from nearby campgrounds to take pictures of the car! Late afternoon a "reclamation" company showed up to assess the situation. I heard him telling someone that the driver had been arrested and they were hired to remove the vehicle. Just before dark a tow truck and several sheriffs arrived and the show began.

They ran a wide nylon strap thru the open back doors then hooked it to a long wench cable. Inch by inch the car began to move.

Below is the last pic I took before it got to dark.

It was certainly an interesting incident but I am not sure any part of it had a happy ending. Hopefully the driver will get whatever kind of help he needs!

KNOCK! KNOCK!

 Around 10 last night I was abruptly woken by a *hard knocking on my door and a loud voice saying "Sherriff's department". I sleepingly replied "yeah?". "Do you own a little silver car or do you know who does?" the voice asked. "No" I replied. "There is one in the lake and we are looking for the owner." He walked away and I looked out the window and in his truck headlights I could see a car in the water up to the windows. 

The following photos were taken this morning.

I could hear what was happening thru an open window.  About 15 minutes later a man walked up claiming it was his car. The sherriff asked if he was okay then grilled him for a while. The car owner claimed he was not drunk or on drugs.  I heard the sherriff saying he called for a tow truck and was going to search the car once it was out of the water. Obviously that did not happen! I went back to sleep so I do not know what became of the owner! I have seen some interesting situations while snowbirding but this was a first!

Stop and Observe

On my bird walks, I have adapted my style to include frequent stops to just staying still for a few minutes and observing. Most of these stops do not yield any special sightings but the ones that do are worth all the time spent on the ones that don't. Two stops today yielded great finds. On one stop a Cooper's hawk flew over and landed in a tree almost right above me.

I had to slowly back away to get this picture. Further on, I stopped and had a coyote walk past too fast for a picture but while watching it I noticed movement up in a nearby tree. I raised my binoculars and was surprised to see a raccoon! 

I am not sure what it was eating. I watched it for several minutes before I moved on and left it to its meal. The rest of my walk did not turn up any other unusual sights but who doesn't love a walk in the fresh air and the morning sun!