Love watching brown pelicans dive for fish.

Osprey hunting. One of a pair. Caracara were also in the area.

Tern with a small fish.

Ruby-crowned kinglet. Such big eyes for such a small bird.

Had a few more visits from the kingfisher. First, and probably last time, a kingfisher will sit still long enough for me take their picture.

Wild turkey’s fluffed up and on the fence.

I’m again parked along the Arroyo Colorado in southernmost Texas. The weather continues to be a lot better than last year, albeit quite windy. A lot of homes still have their windows boarded up.

It has been a very Dickens’ December for me. Listened to Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and Bleak House.

The belted kingfisher above gave me a present in landing right by my rv for a few minutes. Bet nature gave it the white dots near it’s eyes just to confuse both predators and prey.

Flycatcher

Great kiskadee

Tri-colored heron in the background,  little blue heron in the foreground.

Below, tri-colored heron. In the first one has a tiny fish in it’s beak.

Have been in this area for three weeks now. It has been cool, in the 50′s and 60′s most of the time. Weather Seattle would love. There are some positive things from it—less people and bugs. From the early cold weather in Socorro, New Mexico, the snow in El Paso, and the cold all down Southern Texas, it has been a cooler season than usual. A cold spell is supposed to arrive Thursday, with strong winds. Hope it doesn’t hurt the grapefruit crop. Love the 5 lb bags of grapefruit you can get here.

Above, a male kestral with prey (top) at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge and a female kestral (bottom) seen near the refuge.

Another white-tailed kite seen near the refuge. Have seen three pairs of them. They are striking with their dramatic red eyes and white and silver color.

An osprey with a fish coming out it’s rear.

A caracara. He’s only the second one I’ve seen here. Saw a lot of them on the drive down through South Texas.

A kingfisher (top) and a black skimmer (bottom) both seen on another visit to South Padre Island Birding & Nature Center. It’s the first black skimmer I’ve ever seen.

A golden-fronted woodpecker on a telephone pole.

Red tailed hawk (top) over a farm field. An osprey and a brown pelican near where I’m staying.

At Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge saw an osprey eating a fish on the beach. A ruddy turnstone was walking in figure-eights in front of him and occasionally getting a bite. There was also a seagull around 15 feet away waiting for the osprey to finish and leave him the leftovers. Last year when I was here I saw the same configuration of three birds and thought the turnstone had a  lot of nerve. The osprey could easily kill him. Don’t know if the trio this year are the exact same birds, just thought it was interesting to see it again.

Above, a loggerhead shrike with some kind of sea creature. The shrike was acting cat like, letting the creature crawl a short distance before bringing him back. The loggerhead shrike is a small bird of prey. The only other one I’ve seen has also been here at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge.

Ferral hogs at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge. Had never seen them before. The refuge considers them a problem and holds special hunts for them intermittently.

One day leaving the park where I’m staying, saw a kingfisher slapping a fish back and forth against the railing. It’s throwing it up in the air in the picture above.

When I was Falcon State Park last year heard about a mascot roadrunner who, when given a hotdog, would slap it back and forth on the ground like it was a snake.

I enjoy feeding the green jays by my rv. Recently saw a Harris’s hawk perched near me (below). Have to be careful that I don’t provide him with a meal.

Finally made it to the Gulf Coast of Texas. The warm breezes I felt when I first got here confirmed that I had arrived. Unfortunately, it proceeded to rain nonstop the following two days. I’m staying at the same park that I’ve stayed at before, but this time my site is about 20 feet from the Arroyo Colorado River. The second day of rain I started to get worried, but the river did not rise. There is, however, flooded farmland and front yards all over. You know a lot of stuff gets washed into the river when it rains. Nonetheless, people were back fishing the day after the rains.

I love watching all the birds fly inland over the river in the morning and out towards Laguna Madre in the evening. There are always brown pelicans around. It looks like an 2 adults and 2 young look alikes above.

Coyote in muddy farmland. He blends right in.

Green jays

Black crested titmouse.

Kingfisher seen from my rv. All these pictures are from where I’m staying.

There is a resident spotted sandpiper at my site. It’s a solitary bird that bounces up and down like a male ruddy duck.

Below, a Harris’s hawk with a fish. I didn’t have time to focus my camera, but still wanted to include it.

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.

I’m currently at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. I’m staying at the same county park I stayed at last year in the village of Arroyo City near the small town of Rio Hondo which in turn is near the city of Brownsville, Texas. You still see a lot of boarded up windows and piles of debri in the area, but probably a lot of damage is unseen. The refuge looks great. It was pretty dry when I visited last year. Now there is water all over the place.

Above: A green jay at the refuge visitor center; below it, a crested caracara on a hot and windy day.

Reddish egret on the same hot and windy day.

Long billed curlew

Placed some grapefruit on a tree limb outside my door and took the pictures below through the screen. The order reflects the bird ranking: woodpecker trumps the green jay who trumps the cardinal who trumps the sparrow.

I have been staying at the Adolph Thomae, Jr. County Park in Arroyo City, Texas for the past week. Thought I’d post some pictures so I’ll have a reference for when I next come to the area. The park is located along the Arroyo Colorado at the end of a road through the small town of Arroyo City. It is surrounded on three sides by Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. In addition to it’s rv sites, it has two lighted fishing piers and a boat launch area. It is a lot better than most of the rv parks in town. There is a problem with litter, especially Sunday afternoon. The Arroyo Colorado has some of the same problems as the Salton Sea in California–pollution and fish die offs. People don’t seem hesitate to eat the fish though.

RV sites by the water. They were full when I arrived, so I got a spot in the woods area. The water sites tend to be more crowded, so probably better to leave them for fishermen.

As the sun was setting on my last day at the park, serious clouds started to roll in with thunder in them. Brought a little rain. Next day it was nice again.