South Texas Road Trip 2021 - Last few days in Harlingen, Texas (2-22-21- 2-25-21)

Monday, we watched a Red-shouldered Hawk fly into a Palm Tree with a limb in his talons.  Looks like there is some nesting going on. 

We did a new adventure today, we checked out La Sal Del Ray, one of three salt lakes that are located in Texas.  We saw several hawks as we were driving slow on the rough, wash board road going to the first trailhead .  

We saw plenty of birds on our walk to the salt lakes.  A lot of them were new species for us.  There was not much life at the lake except for a few shorebirds. 

                                                                                

 

We went to the other trail head and had our tailgate lunch and then hiked to the other side of the lake.  We had our first sighting of a Black throated Sparrow.

It was a very enjoyable 4 mile hike today, but kind of hot. But we can't complain, this is why we came to the south Texas. 

Monday Pics:

Tuesday, our last day of this stop was spent at Santa Ana NWR and Estero Llano Grande State Park.  The sun was shining, it was warm, and the critters were out and about.

On our hike to Pintail Lakes, we saw a Bobcat on the trail.  When he saw us, he high tailed it away.  We only wanted to get pictures.

There were plenty of hawks perched in the trees and flying above.

The Texas Spiney Softshell Turtle was really enjoying the sunshine.  He watched attentively as Lauren strolled past.  Not giving up his warm, sunny, spot.

We made a stop on the way back to camp at Estero Llano Grande State Park where we had our tailgate lunch.  

The butterflies are starting to reemerge again after the cold last week.

We enjoyed our 4 mile hike today, taking pictures of the critters, and enjoying the warm temperatures.

Wednesday was spent getting ready for our departure tomorrow  After going to Sam's, Walmart, and back to Sam's, we got stocked up.  The after effects of Ole Man Winter last week had us making a return trip to Sam's for milk and bread.

We got back to camp, washed the clothes and got some things organized in the camper., then we went and watched the race.  It is so much fun to watch.

We sat outside until after sunset, hoping to see the Parrots. No Parrots, but we did see a White-tailed Kite, a Great Egret. a pretty sunset, and an almost full moon.  Park Place for 2021 is almost a wrap!  It was nice having a free week to kind of make up for last weeks bitter cold weather.

Wednesday Pics:

 

South Texas Road Trip 2021 - 5th Week (2-15-21- 2-21-21) Supposed to be our Last few days in Harlingen, Texas, Not!!

Ole Man Winter is in a fierce mood on this Monday morning.  We had 20 - 40 mph winds and 22 degree temperatures.  The truck and camper were covered in ice and there were chunks of ice all over the ground.  We couldn't go out the main door because the steps were coated in ice. The ice started to melt after lunch when the temps warmed up to the low 30's.  According to the weatherman, this is the coldest it has been in South Texas since 1989.  

It was supposed to warm up to 40 degrees on Tuesday.  We ran some errands in the morning, waiting for the temperatures to get out of the 30's.  The temps stayed in the 30's, it was cloudy, and occasionally light mist falling.  The only pictures we took today was of a White-tailed Kite that was perched in a tree at the campground. 

 

Wednesday, we are experiencing rolling blackouts.  The electricity is on for a couple of hours, then off for a couple of hours.  South Texas is not prepared for this cold weather.  The forecast for tonight and tomorrow is cold and rainy.  We went ahead and loaded Amber in the camper for our departure on Friday.  We needed diesel in the truck and went to fuel up after lunch.  The lines at the fuel stations were unbelievable.  According to the news, there is panic buying and over an hour wait for fuel.  Needless to say, we didn't fuel up today.  We asked at the campground office if we could stay a couple of days longer at the campground.  We found out if you stay a month here, you get the 5th week free.  Our inquiring minds paid off.  We will definitely take advantage of this!

Ferny Kat has become a pro at staying warm in this cold weather, snuggling up in her blanket and pillow.

The sun finally came out this afternoon and we made a quick stroll around the park sighting a Golden-fronted Woodpecker.

Thursday, was another cold, dreary day.  The only reason we went outside today was to unhook the water hose in preparation for the 25 degree temp that is predicted tonight.

Not many pics so far this week:

Friday, 🌞🌞. Ole Man Winter is finally letting up on us.  We have sunshine and a light breeze.  We were able to get diesel without any problems. The fuel panic is over.

We took advantage of this pretty day with a visit to Hugh Ramsey Nature Park and Estero Llano Grande State Park.  The birds seemed to be as happy for this pretty day as we were.  The plants on the other hand have taken a beating from this cold weather.

We got in 4 miles of strolling around enjoying nature and actually got a little bit hot at times with the temps in the mid 50's.  The tip of Texas is finally getting back to normal.

Friday Pics:

Saturday, we are moving on up ♫♬.  At least as far as the temperatures go.  It got to 69 degrees on this sunny day.  

As we were eating breakfast, we saw 4 Green Jays across the road from the camper.  Our first time to see them here.  What a gorgeous view.  

We also saw a couple of Red-shouldered Hawks nearby.

  

We went to Santa Ana NWR and walked the Pintail Lakes and Willow Lakes trails.  The lakes had a lot more water than the last time we were here.  We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 mile hike taking in all the birds.

On our way back to camp, we stopped at Estero Llano Grande State Park.  We have been looking for the Audubon's Oriole for the last couple of weeks.  Persistence paid off.  We have another first iNaturalist sighting.

John, the guy we met at Hugh Ramsey Nature Park a few weeks ago, works at this state park. He was doing a virtual Weekend in the Wild.  We watched the segment.  He did a great job!!  He was very complimentary about the plant signage at the Sandhill Crane Refuge,  So nice that our work at the refuge is appreciated.    

We got in 4 1/2 miles of hiking today.  When we got back to camp, we sat outside for a bit, until the evening temps began to drop.

Saturday Pics:

We finally spent some time at Bocca Chitto Beach on Sunday.   It was overcast and cool so jackets were needed for our stroll along the beach.

By the time we got to South Padre Island beach, it was sunny and a lot warmer.  A perfect place for our tailgate lunch watching wind surfers and kites.  Being beach bums today was quite enjoyable.

We made a stop at the Convention Center and saw the waterfowl enjoying the sunshine and warmer weather. 

 

We made a drive through Laguna Atascosa NWR before heading back to camp.  We had a nice talk with one of the volunteers while bird watching and getting another first iNaturalist species for us, an Oven Bird.

We have had Parrot flyovers at Park Place, but have not been able to get a picture until this afternoon.  We had about 60 of them flyover right before we went in for the night.

Sunday Pics: