Perusing the TX e-bird website one morning I didn't like what I read. It had to do with one of our favorite birding areas and the upcoming changes. It WAS a beautiful, serene, area on the island. Now, it's being stripped of some of the greenery that surrounds the pond!! To make way for new apartments. What was once a wonderful, quiet area for waders and a hot spot for migratory birds in Spring and Fall...the pond has been nearly drained, and oh the noise. It's going to take decades for it to return to a normal habitat if at all!! Bud and I had to stop by and see what was happenin'...From THESE links in photos shared months ago: Here, here, here, and here...
...to this fiasco:
And this past week, when we returned to see the progress made, there are NO TREES on the backside of the pond at all now [where you see the white truck with the shredder in the middle image]. Those particular trees that the city ripped out, were nesting trees for the Black and Yellow Crowned Night Herons!! I can't help but hope that some will eventually be replanted and the small but much used for habitat area will be improved. But, my hopes aren't that high. I know what progress does.
= = =
On a happier note, I'll share a bit of what was seen this past month with some feathered beauties in different areas of a 50 mile radius from home. Most often, when a white tailed hawk is spotted from the car, it is like this:
...but one morning I happened to spot one flying, circling around, getting ready to land on the wire. I pulled over and quickly snapped a few photos:
WHITE TAILED HAWK
photos taken: Mustang Island Highway - between Corpus Christi and Port Aransas, Texas
habitat range: W T Hawk
TRIVIA: The wing feathers of a perched adult White-tailed Hawk extend noticeably beyond the tail...which makes identifying very easy from a distance since most hawks do not have this feature. Also, its white tail with a black band near the tip is unique amongst North American hawks.
If you're a Western Movie fan, you've probably heard a hawk or two 'screeching' in the background as the horseback riders gallop along the arid lands with stone monoliths, cactus, or entering a dusty frontier town. Yes? I'm 99% sure the recorded hawk call is that of a Swainson's Hawk. At least I like to think so. This particular hawk's call is one of my favorites to hear in the wild! At an area northwest of town, in a remote section off the interstate highway, on one beautiful morning...as we exited the car and opened the trunk for the camera and our binoculars, we heard just that in the distance!! Immediately, the beautiful call resonated in the morning air...a Swainson's Hawk. Bud and I scoured the sky, but couldn't find its location. As we began to climb the small incline to the gate, I spotted it atop a tree!! At least I thought it was the one calling. But, nope. It remained closed-mouth but the sound of another called out to us. Where oh where was this coming from, you wonder? We entered the area through the locked gate [not tresspassing, it's an area for drainage and it belongs to the city of Corpus Christi, and a birder's paradise at times -except for mosquito season]. At the top of the hill, while I was taking photo of this one...
...the screeching became more audible and more detectable where it was coming from....off to my left. I searched the tree tops and there it was. Either a young Swainson's or perhaps a female/mate to the more docile quiet one pictured above!
SWAINSON'S HAWK
photos taken: Pollywog Ponds - Corpus Christi & Calallen, Texas
habitat map: Swainson's Hawk
Then, to conclude the hawk photo post for the week, I end with a spotting of a Cooper's Hawk as I walked through the cemetery here in town. It's a good place to go birding on a hot, sultry, morning, with the dense woods of oak, palm, mountain cherry, and cypress trees. There was a 2nd, much larger Cooper's in the same tree but the leaves were thick, and it was too 'hidden' for any photos.
COOPER'S HAWK -juvenile? [suggested Broad Winged?] -note: there was a Cooper's Hawk so very nearby, I'm thinking this may be a Cooper's Hawk also.
photos taken: Rosehill Cemetery - Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat range: Cooper's Hawk
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OMG, what can I say? I guees we are too many people on this earth. no room for wildlife anymore. But once, long ago, we were wildlife too.
ReplyDeleteBetter snap many images of your beautiful raptors. Maybe soon, images is all we have :(
Thanks for hosting and sharing the beautiful birds :)
pretty things! sorry to hear about the loss of natural habitat to make way for man's.
ReplyDeleteWll people EVER learn not to destroy the natural habital!!!
ReplyDeleteAll your Hawk images are wonderful. Have a great weekend.
Beautiful hawks!
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame about the 'progress.'
Hello Anni, it is sad to hear about new apartment going up and the birds loosing their nesting trees. That is awful news. I love all your hawks and images. I have only seen the Cooper's Hawk, the others would be new to me. Great post, thank you for linking up and sharing your post with my critter party. Have a happy weekend! Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to see this happen to such a beautiful and fruitful habitat. Those hawks are gorgeous. I'v only seen a White-tailed a couple of times. Here I go again, but I think the final hawk is a Buteo, probably an immature Broad-wined Hawk. Immature Cooper's has thinner and more confluent longitudinal streaking on breast and a smaller head with longer-looking neck-- sort of cylindrical shape . Of course I was wrong the last time I took a guess so I will bow to your experts!
ReplyDeleteAnni, your hawk images are stunning - what a treat!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous hawk shots! Especially love the ones taken of the Swainsons. They are all such beautiful birds! How horrible what the city is doing to that pond area! It just makes me sick!!!
ReplyDeleteI'll be posting two different posts linked to your meme here....just got back from a cruise! I'm doing the last of the Coopers shots, and starting a few water birds seen during our time on the water.
Magnificent hawk photography!
ReplyDeleteHappy Week to you,
artmusedog and carol
Great shots. It does look like you are being yelled at in the one picture.:)
ReplyDeleteYour Hawks are amazing Anni, great shots. So sorry to hear of all the building going on. We found similar developments today. I know people have to live somewhere but I find myself a little sad to see great big chunks of the countryside disappearing at such a high rate of speed.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of this beautiful bird!!!
ReplyDeleteHawk shots at closeup range with clear cut outlines are amazing! Great precision in clicking!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of the hawk - you DO have a gift for capturing birds.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/09/nighttime-paddle-on-jordan-lake.html
Hello Anni!:) Bad news indeed,it's a real shame. These images are spectacular, the close shots show what magnificent birds they are.Super shots of the White Tailed Hawk with it's wings open.
ReplyDeleteAnni I seem to be having trouble linking up , will try again later.
Beautiful Hawks!
ReplyDeleteAnni, thank you for your help in linking up. It was very thoughtful of you.:)
ReplyDeleteThe hawk is amazing! Gorgeous photos!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, the first series of hawk photos are amazing. I love your post card thought and very often say I wonder if the birds are watching us as they fly over :)
ReplyDeleteI like the open mouth shots. I can almost hear him cry. It was hawk weekend up at Hawk Ridge in Duluth. I guess 16,000 flew by. I don't know how they count. It's always fun to see them up close.
ReplyDeleteWell, I learn something every day. I always thought the hawk call in the movies was the Red Tail hawk, but never having heard the Swainson Hawk call, I could very well be wrong. These are wonderful pictures of White tailed (We don't have them up here ..or at least I have never seen one) the Swainson and the Coopers Hawk ... I am guessing the other larger Coopers Hawk was the female mate as they are generally 1/3 larger than the males. Great post, Anni .
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From The Sol..
Wow! These photos are fantastic of the hawk! You've done a marvelous job capturing the different shots of this bird. Outstanding photography!
ReplyDeleteGreat hawk pictures! I rarely get a good shot of any.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully these enormous birds of prey.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of respect for.
Nice to see so many together :-)
Greetings