I'd Rather B Birdin': Turkey Vulture

Showing posts with label Turkey Vulture. Show all posts

§ A Morning at the Park...

As with everyone in the USA, weather is a dominate story these days. We here in the Coastal Bend are gearing up for another 'deep freeze'. Deep for our neck of the woods anyway! It's predicted to be in the high 20s {F} for lows and barely reaching the 50s for daytime highs -50s which is a normal "LOW" temp]. Just hope that all that is promised by the state of Texas electric grids, we won't have the many days of no power and the death toll climbing!!! So...

Wednesday morning, tho still overcast, I drove to Calallen Texas [about 30 minutes from home] to see what bird life was at Bazemore Park along the river. Outside the park parameter, thru a light fog, a hawk was perched on a power pole-not sure of the id. When I entered the road to get beyond the park's gate, I saw two white tailed deer and one javelina eating along the grassy knoll, I had no time to turn on my camera so I grabbed my cellphone and got a few photos before they realized I had stopped the car and became a 'threat' to them and they scurried off into the woods. Down the hill I drove and around the circle drive to the river. There, I saw many many vultures in the trees along the river bank and in the picnic areas. Turning toward the two ponds, I then saw a snowy egret and several ducks at the larger of the two watering holes. I parked the car and got out to climb down the embankment arriving at the observation deck on the pond's shore. I watched a green kingfisher for a long time, feeding. Then, off to the hawkwatch platform, climbing up another hilly area to see what lay in store for me there. I heard a Carolina Wren...spotted it in the tree, and then a Great Kiskadee. That was the whole birding excursion for me that morning....

GREEN KINGFISHER
Habitat map: Kingfisher

CAROLINA WREN
Habitat map: Wren

HAWK [I am not sure of the id RED TAILED juvenile?]
Habitat map: Hawk

GREAT KISKADEE
[as you can see the hidden yellow crest on its head]
Habitat map: Kiskadee

TURKEY VULTURE
Habitat map: Vulture

SNOWY EGRET
Habitat map: Egret

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§ On the Road Again...

Bud and I have been playing catch-up with yard work that has been much neglected during the hot summer days. This week I took a short drive, a detour, on my way home from the store. I had my camera with me in the trunk, and thought since I'm out and about, I might as well see if there are birds on the two lakes. I was in Flour Bluff, Texas and I just took the round-about way home.

I didn't see many birds other than doves and grackles along the thoroughfare, but surprisingly, once on the country road, a couple of Anhingas were showing themselves! That means, to me, Autumn is fast approaching. Soon, the same area will be a winter stop over for the Sandhill Cranes! And COOLER days. lol
Tho few, these are what I spotted on the road thru Flour Bluff back country...

ANHINGA
Habitat map: Anhinga

CATTLE EGRET
Habitat map: Egret

GREAT EGRET
Habitat map: Egret

TURKEY VULTURE
Habitat map: Vulture

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§ Autumn Birding...

I've been enjoying the cool Autumn days this past week. We've had some overcast skies a few mornings, but the sun came out by late afternoon and it's been near perfect, temperature-wise, for me. One morning this past week I walked to Pollywog Ponds. This trail is all natural, and the city has not been in there to mow the grass, so I was traipsing through knee high grasses and getting a good work-out. I saw very few birds...a flock of pigeons flying overhead from a nearby barn I think, two golden fronted woodpeckers, three great kiskadees calling back and forth from high branches in the heavily wooded area, and two water birds on the smaller pond...a grebe and a blue winged teal. Other than that, no activity at all. So, back to the car I went and drove to the nearby park in Calallen. There, I sighted many birds. Another green kingfisher, short billed dowitchers, teals, stilts, egrets, cardinals, sparrows, green jays, mockingbirds, grackles, doves, hummingbirds, and hawks. While I was on the hawkwatch platform [well, not on it, 'cause it's cordoned off for covid reasons for hawkwatch counters only] I, for the FIRST TIME EVER experienced an actual migratory fly over of two species...by the hundreds! Now I understand the fascination of counting them. You really need to experience this, the thrill of it all. At first sight by eye only, I thought I saw white ibis by the hundreds...but on closer look of the distant photo I took, they were a squadron of American White Pelicans. The other fly over I got to witness was a kettle of black vultures [also near 100]. Of course their flight patterns are so easily identified, I had no question of them being anything other than vultures.

Here are some I saw at Calallen, Packery Channel, Port Aransas, Oso Bay Wetlands, Charlie's Pasture, Padre Island - and photographed...

LITTLE GREEN HERON
Habitat map: Heron

OSPREY [with catch]
Habitat map: Osprey

GREATER YELLOWLEGS [same bird, but the beak size with photo angles throw me off, could be LESSER]
Habitat map: Yellowlegs

TURKEY VULTURE [two, side by side on rooftop]
Habitat map: Vulture

SPOTTED SANDPIPER [non-breeding plumage]
Habitat map: Sandpiper

I spotted the one on the lower arm of the power pole, solo. Then, as I took photos a 2nd one flew in and landed on top!!

RED SHOULDERED HAWK[s]
Habitat map: Hawk

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§ More Archive Photos...

Well, the heat indices for the past week have dropped considerably with the oncoming of a cool front from Canada. Not much, but it's a bit more tolerable. Now, tho, the rainy season has begun, so birding is still 'on hold' for a while, longer. Migration is just beginning. The hawks, anhingas, kites are returning to the south, coastal bend, with many counted in flyovers. It's the start of the 'good' season for birders in Texas. Anyway, at home I've kept busy crocheting, craft projects and puzzles with the caution still in existence for Covid 19. I'll just post some photos taken over the last year. I really enjoy taking a zoomed in photo of the close-up and detail of birds if possible...

AMERICAN BITTERN
photo taken: Port Aransas, Texas
habitat map: Bittern

GREAT BLUE HERON
photo taken: Indian Point Park
habitat map: Heron

ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK
photo taken: The Willows
habitat map: Grosbeak

PAINTED BUNTING
photo taken: Oso Bay Wetlands
habitat map: Bunting

RUBY THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
photo taken: backyard
habitat map: Hummingbird

CRESTED CARACARA
photo taken: Mustang Island Highway
habitat map: Caracara

WHITE TAILED HAWK
photo taken: Mustang Island
habitat map: Hawk

TURKEY VULTURE
photo taken: Bazemore Park
habitat map:Vulture

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Now share your birding experiences:

§ Port Aransas

I know I sound like a broken record....but, here in Coastal Texas, it remains too hot! And no rain in sight. Recently at Port Aransas, I saw...

WHITE IBIS
photo taken: Leonabelle Refuge
habitat map: Ibis

LITTLE GREEN HERON
photo taken: Paradise Pond
habitat map: Heron

A Flock of CORMORANTS

[ A group of cormorants has many collective nouns, including a "flight", "gulp", "rookery", "sunning", and "swim" of cormorants. source: Whatbird.com]

photo taken: Leonabelle Refuge
habitat map: Cormorant

AMERICAN COOT CHICK
photo taken: Leonabelle Refuge
habitat map: Coot

At the Ship Channel nearing the Entrance to Charlie's Pasture [still closed from hurricane damage in 2017], I spied a large number of Brown Pelicans...as I pulled off the channel access road, just inches from the car, a Turkey Vulture was perched near a picnic table...I rolled down my window and snapped this close up....

TURKEY VULTURE
photo taken: Port A Ship Channel
habitat map: Vulture

...and this was the large congregation of brown pelicans. Once I got home and took the image from the memory card, I noticed something I missed while there with my camera at the time...look to the right side of the image, see the white breasted bird? Or what I think is white breasted....is that a booby perhaps? Or just another pelican turned at an odd angle...but wait, pelicans have white breasts? No. [The image following this one has an outline...it is larger than this photo so, if you choose...enlarge it and see what you think!!!

BROWN PELICANS
photo taken: Port A Ship Channel
habitat map: Pelican

[outlined unknown bird perhaps?]

LITTLE BLUE HERON
photo taken: Leonabelle Refuge
habitat map: Heron

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§ A Morning at the Park...

§ On the Road Again...

§ Autumn Birding...

§ More Archive Photos...

§ Port Aransas

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