Sunday, we started the week with a hiking adventure. Before hiking the West Lake Trail at Laguna Atascosa NWR, we checked the bridge near the trailhead and found 4 gators and some alligator gar.
We hiked the West Lake Trail. The first 2 miles was a grassland with a few wet spots. We saw a few Waterfowl, some Wading Birds, several different species of Grassland Birds, Butterflies, Curlews, and a couple of White-tailed Kites.
We finally realized that we had a couple of miles to go to get to the part of the lake that had water in it, so we turned around and headed back. It was a nice hike, getting in 4 1/2 miles with the temperature in the 80's under cloudy skies.
We checked out Lakeside Drive, Lakeside Overlook, and Gator Lake Trail Overlook before making our way back to camp. We saw Hawks, Falcons, Roadrunners, Wading birds, Waterfowl, Butterflies, a Phoebe, Kiskadees, Green Jays, and Red-winged Blackbirds along the drive. One of the Roadrunners reminded us of the cartoon when he had both feet off the ground as he was running to the woods.
We delayed our plans to get out and about Monday waiting for the 40 mph gusty wind to die down to a steady 20 mph wind. We went to Santa Anna NWR. On our way to Pintail Lake, we saw a few Birds, Butterflies, and Dragonflies.
We sat at Pintail Lake for about an hour watching the waterfowl dabbling in the water.
There were a couple of Flycatchers feasting as well, a Kingbird and a young Vermillion Flycatcher.
We had a Crested Caracara fly over and an American Kestrel spotted from the comforts of our bench.
Tuesday, we picked up Angie at her condo in South Padre Island then spent the day birding. To say we had a fabulous day is an understatement. We left camp at 8:30 am and returned at 7:30 pm. What a way to spend the day!
Our first destination was to find some Green Jays. We found plenty of them at Resaca del la Palma State Park. As a matter of fact, there were at least 16 of them at the watering/feeding station, along with a bunch of other cool birds.
We have been looking for the rare Roadside Hawk every time we have been here, with no luck, until today. It was in the dry Resaca perched on a log a few feet from the observation deck. ChaChing!
After hiking about 4 miles and getting lots of pictures, we headed to Laguna Atascosa NWR to look for Road-runners. We saw a couple of Road-runners and an Armadillo on the drive in, but the Road-runners were not photogenic.
We saw more Green Jays and a Rabbit at the bird blinds near the visitor center.
There were the usual waterfowl at the lake.
On our way out, we found 2 very photogenic Road-runners foraging along the side of the road. One of them caught a spider for dinner.
We went a few miles out of the way to see if the Alpamado Falcon was on its perch. We saw several Harris's Hawks along the way.
Not only was there one, but two falcons on their perch. A great way to wrap up the birding day.
We saw all kinds of cool stuff during our 7 hour excursion!
Wednesday was a Happy Valentines Day. We eased into the day, sitting around drinking our coffee and processing all those pictures that we took yesterday. We finally got out about noon making a run to Bass Pro Shop and Sams.
We went on a birding excursion around 2 pm. Our first stop was the lake at the soccer field. There were plenty of ducks, coots, egrets, and other waterfowl.
We were greeted with lots of Chachalacas when we arrived at Hugh Ramsey Nature Park. We saw several critters, including an Egret eating tadpoles and a Common Yellowthroat eating mealworms.
We spent a little bit of time at Harlingen City Park checking out the waterfowl, then headed back to camp. When we returned an American Kestrel was perched in a nearby tree.
We grilled steaks and relaxed the rest of the day.
We heard a couple of Red-Shouldered Hawks calling Thursday morning. We looked outside and saw one of them on the light pole with what appeared to be a frog. The other one came in shortly after accepting the breakfast invitation.
We went to Santa Ana NWR and got in 4 miles of picture taking. We hiked the Willow Lake loop then went to the Rio Grande River before getting to Pintail Lakes. We saw plenty of waterfowl and other critters while we were out and about.
The hot, humid weather had the mosquitos out in vengeance. The bug spray would deter them for a few minutes then it was on again. They must be feasting up before the cold front arrives.
The Screech Owl was perched a little bit higher than usual.
We made a stop at La Feria Nature Park then made it back to Honey Haven Lane. We sat outside for a bit before the rain started.
Friday, while listening to the rain fall, we heard the Red-shouldered Hawk calling. He was on the same light pole with breakfast, but his companion did not respond.
We checked on the Aplomado Falcon on our way to South Padre Island. We found one of them across the road from the refuge. This is the closest we have gotten to this falcon for a picture.
We had a fun, rainy afternoon visiting Angie and friends playing cards and eating dinner.
We woke up to rain and howling wind on Saturday. The day started out in the mid 50's and the temps dropped from there. We braved the elements to go out and eat at Rosita's Restaurant then hunkered inside for the rest of the day. It is a no picture taking kind of day. Oh well, every now and then the cameras and us need a break.
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