On Tuesday morning, early, this week, I took a short road trip to Wright's Pond between Calallen and Orange Grove, Texas. Only a hop, skip, and a jump from Corpus Christi, as the crow flies. As you head west, once you pass Calallen, the promise of Texas' famous hill country teases the senses. Nearing Orange Grove, I take a cutoff of what I call the Devil's Road...it's actually another highway but the highway number is 666. I don't have to drive too far on this road as the cutoff to the ranch is nearby. The pond is on a private ranch, but I can pull off the highway and take a few steps from the car to view through the fencing. On this particular day, there were three species of birds on or near the water...
Anhingas, Wood Storks, and Great Egrets
Anhingas, Wood Storks, and Great Egrets
I then retraced my route going back to Calallen, and stopping at Bazemore Park. My intention was searching and hoping to find the fawn with its parents, but as I drove down the steep hill, only one doe crossed in front of the car. No other deer were seen while I was there. But, when I got out to do some walking along the river, I spotted these birds and photographed them...
Green Heron, Great Kiskadee, Inca Dove, and a well camouflaged White Winged Dove. I also saw, Golden Fronted Woodpeckers, Grackles, Mockingbirds, Sparrows, and a couple of young cottontail rabbits.
All links provided above are the bird[s] habitat maps.
Participating:
Traveling with Birds [no hyperlink]
Hello,
ReplyDeleteGreat collection of birds and photos. My favorites are the Wood Stork and the Green Heron.
I hope you don't mind my post has a few other critters beside my hummingbirds. Thanks for hosting. I hope you have a great weekend!
I don't mind at all...you shared birds & more!
DeleteSo many beautiful birds and those wood storks still creep me out no matter how many times I've seen them lol. Fantastic photos Anni. Have a great weekend :)
ReplyDeleteIt sure feels good to take a little drive and find some birds and deer. I may need to do that tomorrow. We only got one hike in this week, it's so HOT! Love Kiskadee...what a beautiful bird! I like those old storks too...they are unique! Enjoy your weekend. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteThese pictures reinforce just how different our respective avifauna are. Just wait a few months and we'll be flaunting Snowy Owls!
ReplyDeleteall beautiful and I love the stork, he is impressive to me. so is a highway called 666. yowsa
ReplyDeleteYou got lovely feather detail on the dove. My next favorite is the Green Heron, he camoflauges well with the water. Lots of good variety today!
ReplyDeleteThe kiskadee is a pretty bird! Clicked on the map to see if I'd ever see one around here, no luck! Love all the variety of birds I get to see through your blog. Think I'd take a pass on driving the devil's highway though, yikes! Hope you are enjoying your weekend.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bird photos! Thank you for hosting.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I think you deliberately left off the ID captions to test my ability to figure out the dove (second to last, just above the Whit-winged Dove)). At first glance I thought it to be an immature Mourning Dove because of its scalloped -appearing feathers. However the feather edges are dark, not light as in juvenile Mourning Dove, and it lacks the facial mark of this species. White-tipped Dove came to mind but thecolor is off. Then I thought that maybe I was fooled by thinking it was the same size as the other doves, so Inca Dove indeed fits it. We don't have that species in my south Florida neighborhood. Nice photos!
ReplyDeleteI get the sense that you know your local patch 'like the back of your hand' Anni. If there are birds around you will find them. That Kiskadee has a lot of colour and I'm left wondering if there's a Great and a Common Kiskadee?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link today Anni. Enjoy your Sunday.
Anhingas fascinate me...I wish I lived where I could see them regularly. As always, I do enjoy your bird posts. I think the Great Kiskadee is such a cute bird.
ReplyDeletenice beautyfull bird
ReplyDeleteSo much different wildlife, Anni... my goodness. And some are HUGE! At least they look that way in the pictures. So pretty. Love, Andrea xoxo
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