Archive for the ‘chachalaca’ Category

Poor-will

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

The bird above is a common poorwill. It may be common, but it’s the first one I’ve seen. A volunteer at Estero Llano Grande State Park pointed it out to me and several other people. It was not more than 5 feet away with 4 or 5 people standing around it, but it didn’t even open it’s eyes! Someone had tried to point one out to me last year, but it was 15 or 20 feet away and I couldn’t see it.

A little closer look.

I was afraid I was going to have to leave the area without getting a picture of a great kiskadee. They, and the green jays, are my two favorite birds in the area. The kiskadee isn’t great at posing, but finally got a picture on an overcast, rainy day at the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge.

Red cardinal at the Santa Ana Refuge on a sunny day.

Northern shovelers at Estero Llano Grande State Park.

Above, either a broad-tailed or a buff-bellied hummingbird. It, and the chachalacas below were seen at the Frontera Audubon site.

Below, chachalacas. There seem to be more of them this year. Not sure what predators they have.

Posted in Alamo, State, chachalaca, common poorwill, hummingbird, kiskadee, northern shoveler, wildlife refuge | No Comments »

More from South Texas

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Queen butterfly, Mexican blue-wing butterfly and a green kingfisher seen at Estero Llano Grande State Park. Finally got a half decent picture of a kingfisher, and a green one at that. Lots of beautiful butterflys here as well as butterfly enthusiasts.

Great kiskadee, altamira oriole, and two chachalacas seen at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. Really enjoyed riding my bike through the park. It is a easy ride with no hills.

Posted in Alamo, State, butterfly, chachalaca, kingfisher, kiskadee, oriole | No Comments »

Rio Grande Valley

Monday, January 12th, 2009

I have moved around 50 miles up the Rio Grande Valley to Alamo, Texas. The rv park I’m staying at gives me  a view of a freeway, with three lanes going each way, and  “frontage roads”, with three lanes on each side of the freeway. That makes 12 lanes of traffic! There are lots of rv parks in south Texas, but all the ones I’ve seen charge a lot if you are staying less than a month. This current rv park had the best price…and now I see why. It is nice to have good internet coverage, which I really missed in the rural area of Arroyo City.

I wanted to stay in Alamo because it is close to the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, which I didn”t get to visit last year. Also nearby, is Estero Llano Grande State Park, the Frontera Audubon Thicket, and the Valley Nature Center. Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, that I visited last year, is also not far.

The pictures above were taken at the Estero Llano Grande State Park. An anhinga (snake bird) caught a fish and tried all sorts of ways to swallow it, but it was just a little to big. It ended up getting away after about 3 or 4 minutes. Don’t know what shape it was in. This state park has the best variety of birds I’ve seen so far. Have never seen so many anhingas.

Grebe at Estero Llano Grande State Park.

A chacalaca at Frontera Audubon Thicket. This is a historic home surrounded by native trees and plants, a grove of grapefruit trees full of fruit, and water areas. There is a trail that goes through the “thicket”.

Also at the Frontera Thicket: Above, male and female rose-breasted grosbeaks—the first grosbeaks I have ever seen; Below, a woodpecker like I saw through my screen in Arroyo City.

Posted in Alamo, State, anhinga, chachalaca, grebe, grosbeak, wildlife refuge, woodpecker | No Comments »

World Birding Center, Mission, Texas

Monday, March 10th, 2008

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I am at the World Birding Center at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in Mission, Texas. It is made up of a number of sites in the Rio Grande Valley, but this is their headquarters. Cars are not allowed in the park. A tram circles the road every half hour, so you get on and off where you want. Very nice for biking and hiking. Have to get a bike!

Above is a great kiskadee, a tropical flycatcher found only in South Texas in the U.S.

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An altamira oriole

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Chachalaca’s. They are a chicken like bird that moves like a road runner and likes to climb up trees.

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A dove and a squirrel on a bird feeder.

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A mother javelina grooming her child. The tourists here love seeing the javelina, but I noticed that nearby Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge considers them a pest.

Posted in Mission, State, chachalaca, dove, javelina, kiskadee, oriole | 1 Comment »