Riding my bike I came across these male turkey’s preening and flexing their feathers.
Two different osprey.
Catbird
Brown thrasher
There is a small harbor near the park where night herons nest during the day and egrets nest at night.
At the refuge, saw two bucks fighting over a female. Could not see them as much as hear their snorting and their antlers clicking.
Loggerhead shrike at the refuge. This is a small predator bird that kills by biting the back of its’ victims neck to sever the spinal cord. No wonder the birds eating my grapefruit are always on high alert, very aware of their surroundings.
Wild male turkey’s congregate in one pack and female’s in another near where I am camped.
Lots of osprey in the area.
Harris’ hawks, parent in top photo, young one in lower. I was afraid the young one might have a problem with his wing. He was sleeping on a picnic table in the picture. Have since seen him with two other hawks flying without difficulty.
Roseate spoonbill at the refuge.
Moved from Rancho Jurupa Park to Prado Regional Park because I had used up Jurupa’s 14 day limit and needed to stay in the area a little longer. Prado is in Chino, 15 or 20 miles from Rancho Jurupa. It is on land leased from the Army Corps of Engineers…2,000 acres of parkland and a 60 acre lake. Found it to be a birder’s paradise. It’s rare to see so many different birds in one place. About 70% of the lake is lined with willows and other marsh plants, so there are lots of places for birds to nest and hide. There are also woods next to the lake that herons and other birds often fly to and probably nest in.
Prado Park also includes Prado Dog Park, for training work and hunting dogs; a shooting range (used in the 1984 Olympics); a radio controlled air park; an equestrian center; and a golf course.
Adult black-crowned night heron. Have never seen so many.
Juvenile black-crowned night heron.
Commorant
An osprey. Note the powerful legs and feet.
It was so good to see and hear a Western grebe again. There were a number of pairs of them. They tend to stay in the middle part of the lake, so it’s hard to get a good picture.
Geese and ducks of course.
Birds seen but not pictured: black-necked stilt, black phoebe, common tern, common moorhen, egret, turkey vulture, coot.
Campground at Prado. If you squint, you can see my rv in the center.
The above photos are from the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge visitor center area. The top ones are a gila woodpecker and green jays enjoying a grapefruit. (I put an orange on a tree by my rv and also attracted these two birds). The rabbit is to tame for its own good. I have seen it every time I have been at the visitor center.
A kestral overlooking Laguna Madre.
An osprey taking off with a fish.
South Padre Island from the refuge. There is a wreck of some sort on the left, can’t tell what it is. The dark spot on the lower right is a heron. Even though it is quite a distance from the shore, you can see how shallow the water is.
Driving home from the refuge had to stop for some turkey’s crossing the street. It was near 7 p.m., so there was very little light, but this puffed up guy caught my attention.
I’m currently visiting the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in south Texas. It is summer here, in the 80′s, with a warm Santa Ana type wind off the ocean. Winter Texan’s in south Texas are starting to think about heading north, as after March it gets pretty warm here. Next winter, I want to come to this area by December.
A green jay, the first one I’ve even seen, is shown above. They are just found in south Texas, Mexico, and South America.
Above is a view of Laguna Madre from the wildlife refuge’s 15 mile auto tour route. The yucca are in bloom and Padre Island is off in the distance. The refuge has the largest protected area of natural habitat left in the Lower Rio Grande Valley–88,000 acres.
A pair of crested caracara, seen on the 15 mile tour route.
This picture was taken a few days after the one showing the caracara on the ground. It might well be the same two.
