We woke up to blue bird skies, sunshine, and the temps in the upper 30's Sunday. A welcome sight after the 2 days of rain.
We waited until after noon, allowing the temperature to get in the 50's before heading to Hugh Ramsey Nature Park. We saw Javaelinas right off the bat.
We enjoyed a slow walk of about 2.5 miles in 3 hours. Seeing all kinds of cool plants and critters along the way.
We were very happy to see the water levels in the Arroyo Colorado were much higher. We were also happy to see water in the spurs that have been dry.
We saw plenty of woodpeckers, including a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
We made it to an area where lots of people were bird watching. The birds there were in a feeding frenzy.
We walked around a bit then returned to the frenzy area, and finally, after all these weeks saw the famous Golden-Crowned Warbler, (after of course, someone pointing it out for us). What a way to start the week.
We took a few more pics then made it back to Honey Haven Lane where we sat outside with the sun basking on our backs until the cool wind picked up.
We met Angie, Chad, Scott, and Terry for breakfast Monday morning before Angie and Chad's flight back to Wisconsin.
We thought we were going to Estero Llano Grande State Park for a couple of hours. After 4 miles of picture taking we finally headed back to Honey Haven Lane. We had another spectacular day in the RGV.
We looked for the Black-crested Grosbeak at Grebe Marsh with no luck. We hiked to the levee then went on Orchid Trail, a trail we had never hiked before.
We found a nice view of a lake from the levee, where we saw waterfowl, flycatchers, and a hungry White-tailed Kite.
There were lots of woodpeckers, a lot of flitting birds, a Harris's Hawk, and 4 Red-shouldered Hawks. along the Orchid Trail. We were quite entertained.
We sat at Grebe Marsh for a bit, listening to the frogs calling.
We saw the 3 Common Parauque in their usual roost place.
We saw one of the Screech Owls, being very inquisitive looking out the hole of his tree cavity.
We watched at the camp host birding area for a bit, only seeing the pretty, but usual birds.
We were heading to the truck, when we saw Steve, one of the park hosts. He told us the Black-headed Grosbeak had been frequenting the feeders and advised us to go back for a look. We did, and saw it as soon as we walked back. Lauren got plenty of pictures, unfortunately, I did not.
I realized after waiting about 20 minutes for the return of the Grosbeak that my camera battery was going dead. Lauren offered me one of his pictures and I declined. It's not the same to get a lifer pic unless it's your photo. Finally, it came back and I got a few pics before the battery died. Cha-Ching!! Another Lifer. 2 Lifers this week and it's only Monday!
Tuesday we drove about 40 miles to La Sal Del Ray, a Texas salt lake. We were pleasantly surprised to find about 60 Sandhill Cranes foraging in a field on our way.
We drove 2 miles on a bumpy, dirt road then another 1/2 mile or so to the parking area. We saw a few birds and other critters along the way to the overlook.
We were disappointed that there were no birds in the salt flats, but it was definitely worth going to for the views.
We also hiked the Civil War Trail which was a little over a mile to the salt flats. We didn't see as many critters as we saw the last time we hiked here. Every time we stopped to take a look at something, the gnats bombarded us. Not very conducive to picture taking, but we did get a pic of a deer hauling butt across the trail and some dung beetles.
We made it to the waters edge then headed back. We admired a couple of Nilgai way across the flats.
Walking back with the sun in our face seemed to slow down the gnats. Allowing us to enjoy some picture taking. Especially, when we saw a pretty Verdin in the yellow flowers.
On our way back to the Overlook parking lot to have lunch, we saw a Crested Caracara with nesting material in its mouth.
When we got to the overlook, we saw a couple of Bewick's Wrens going back and forth bringing sticks to build their nest in the cactus.
We checked out the salt flats again then headed back to Honey Haven Lane.
Windy Wednesday gave us time to catch up on our shopping and clothes washing. Not as exciting as nature chasing, but we did catch a couple of Killdeer in the park to photograph.
Lauren has been eying the Cowboy Ribeye at Sam's for weeks now. We purchased one and cooked it on the grill and had Jalapeño Poppers. Some good eating!
The wind settled down a bit on Thursday. We went to Resaca de la Palma State Park. We saw the usual pretty stuff and took a few cool pics.
After our picnic lunch we went sparrow chasing at Palo Alto Battlefield. When we walked in the attendant was ready to give us a spill about the battlefield. He seemed disappointed when we told him we were here for birding.
We saw all kinds of cool sparrows, songbirds, and finally a Cactus Wren.
The birds were very vocal today singing their hearts out!
We also saw about 20 Nilgai and a Coyote. It was a quite enjoyable walk in this 90 degree weather without a cloud in the sky. Oh well, the warmer weather is why we came to the Valley.
We have been hearing the parrots fly over in the mornings and evenings at camp. Tonight we finally got a picture.
Friday, we went to Laguna Atascosa NWR. The wildlife sightings on the drive in were a little bit slacking, but it was still an enjoyable ride.
We were pleasantly surprised to see more water in the lake and unpleasantly surprised to see less waterfowl in the lake.
The little ponds at the overlook on Gator Pond Trail had more water than usual. There were a few birds and a Ribbon Snake enjoying the area.
The Spanish Daggers are spectacular with their blooms.
We hiked the 3.5 mile Kidney Pond Trail. We didn't see a lot of wildlife, but it was a nice walk.
We found a couple of bluets mating while one of them was eating a snack.
On the way home, we took a detour to look for the Burrowing Owl, and found it. He was looking very inquisitive as we took his picture. An iNaturalist new species for us.
Saturday was Santa Ana Day. It was a beautiful day with the temperature in the low 80's. While hiking the Willow Lake Trail we saw one of the largest Texas Spiny Lizards that we have ever seen.
We also saw a few birds and other critters.
We sat on a bench at Pintail Lakes and watched the resident American Kestrel.
The usual waterfowl.
And an unusual sight, a Nutria and Turtles snuggling on a log.
We walked a little bit around the lake and saw some cool ducks.
A Northern Harrier.
A Vermillion Flycatcher.
And a Great Kiskadee eating a frog.
On our way back we saw a Desert Cottontail in the edge of the woods.
And Our favorite Screech Owl.
We had our picnic lunch overlooking the dry pond at Malachite Trail We had a few disruptions during our meal watching a few birds flitting around.
On our way back to the truck, we got another lifer. A Lesser Goldfinch. It is pretty darn cool to get a lifer 4 out of 5 days this week!
