Tuesday, we walked to the boat ramp and the nature trail before heading out on our next adventure. We are now residents at Park Place Estates for the next month. There are all kinds of activities, a pool, hot tubs, and a fitness room. We parked away from all the hot spots and are camped on Honey Haven Road. Home sweet home!
We spent Wednesday at Santa Ana NWR. We did a couple miles of hiking and nature chasing, then took the 2 hour tram ride. When we showed uo with our binos and cameras.we were told that the tram ride is not a nature tour. They just don't realize that the tour is in the eyes of the beholder. We found plenty of nature along the 2 hour tour and enjoyed hearing about the history of the refuge.
After the tour, we went looking for 3 different owls. The Screech Owl was along the road in a hole in a tree.
The Great-horned Owl nest was observed way away from the 40 foot tower.
The other Great-Horned Owl we never found. But, while we were looking for it we saw a few cool birds and a Bobcat. Unfortunately, the bobcat was not photogenic.
We have had another large day being Winter Texans!
We spent Thursday at Laguna Atascosa NWR. On our way to the overlook, we saw a couple of hawks and a very photogenic coyote.
We got in almost 2 miles hiking the Gator Pond Trail. When we got to the overlook, we could hear Chachalacas fussing in the edge of the woods. They finally quieted down, but never came out of the brush, but a big ole' Indigo Snake did. Now we know why they were fussing.
We saw a few other cool critters then made our way back to the truck for our picnic destination.
We walked around the trail at the visitor center and were disappointed that the critters were not very active, but did manage to see a Orange Crowned warbler.
On our way home we stopped by Hugh Ramsey Wildlife Area, hoping to see Chachalacas and Javelinas. We didn't see either. Maybe next time.
Friday we went to Estero Llano Grande State Park for the butterfly walk. The wind was howling, so we weren't expecting to see very many butterflies, but did manage to see over 25 species during the 2 hour tour.
We were quite disappointed that most of the water areas were dried up. No water, less birds, but still had a good time.
Gator Lake still had water and still had Gators.
It also had a few night herons.
We got back to camp and stayed inside hiding from the wind.
We had a marvelous Saturday at Resaca de la Palma State Park. Our nature chasing here a few years ago was okay, but today, it was awesome. We saw plenty of butterflies, birds, and a few cool plants.
Our first hikes was near the visitor center. As we were walking one of the short trails, a bunch of birds were in the trees. They were moving fast, but we got a few pictures.
All of the water that was usually near the visitor center was dry. We took a 1 1/2 mile hike to find water. As we were resting at the pond, we saw all kinds of cool stuff, including a few ducks, a hog, and a 5 Harris's Hawk flyover.
When we returned to the parking lot, we had a much needed lunch break, watching the birds eating their lunch at the feeders.
We sat on the overlook for a while hoping to see the Roadside Hawk. We didn't see the hawk, but got to see a White Turkey Vulture. A very odd sighting.
We also had a couple of White Pelicans fly over.
We walked around a bit more looking for a couple of different species of becards. No becard sightings, but we did see plenty of birds that kept our interest.
After 5 1/2 hours and 7 miles of walking, we called it a day!!
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