I got a chance to drive to Calallen, Texas this past week to check and see if the park was once again open to the public. The river was back to normal depth, the flooding receded, and the park road was open! I parked the car and walked the roadway in search of birds. More than anything I saw dozens, and dozens of white tailed deer. Just about everywhere I turned; deer. Several bucks and does...some yearlings. It's rutting season and the males were hurriedly gathering their winter harems! I got photos of them also, but will, of course, share them on my personal blog at a later date. For now, a few of the birds I spotted early in the morning just after sunrise...
All the birds seen here are photos taken at Hazel Bazemore Park:
NORHTERN HARRIER
habitat map: Harrier
NORTHERN PINTAIL DUCK
habitat map: Duck
GREAT KISKADEE [I liked its reflection in the pool of drainage]
habitat map: Kiskadee
AMERICAN KESTREL
habitat map: Kestrel
GREAT EGRET
habitat map: Egret
RED TAILED HAWK
habitat map: Hawk
NORTHERN CARDINAL
habitat map: Cardinal
MYRTLE WARBLER [aka Yellow Rumped Warbler]
habitat map: Warbler
Some other birds seen that day were: Mockingbird, Sparrows, Grackles, domestic ducks on the river, Mergansers, Ibis [both juvenile and adult], snowy egrets, and more...once I walked the mile circle, I stopped at the Hawkwatch Platform and checked the total numbers of birds seen during their 2018 migrating season counting records. A grand total of 338,170 from August 15th to November 15th, 2018.
or use text linking only copy text in lavender text area below and paste into your blog post:
Great raptors, I love the Kestrel. The Northern Pintail photo is so pretty, the colors are lovely. All the birds are beautiful, great collection of photos. Thanks for hosting. Have a happy day and weekend.
ReplyDeleteLove all your photos, and your header art is splendid!
ReplyDeleteWow, Anni
ReplyDeleteLove all your photos as usual! Haven't been keeping up with birding very well lately so I really enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteYou always have the prettiest banners! And I love that Northern Harrier. We think we saw one this week on a hike. Still hard to ID for me. Glad the park was open...would have loved to see so many deer! Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteI love your new owl Christmas header! These pictures, they have such a beautiful intensity, like you have gotten a new camera? The colors are so rich and beautiful! My favorite is your shot of the Pintail, WOW!!! Showing all of his beauty, the shot is a work of art.
ReplyDeleteGreat reflection shot with the duck! Love the egret too!
ReplyDeleteHello. Great photos, great birds! The American kestler is so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAll wonderful birds and great photos, but the Kestrel outshines them all!
ReplyDeleteHello Anni
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images of this series of birds.
All perfectly photographed, my favorite ones are photos 4, 6 and 7.
I wish you a good Sunday
Best regards, Irma
Hi Anni. It's hard to beat an early morning birding walk isn't it? Before Uncle Tom Cobley and all decide to hit the trail, make lots of noise and scare the birds away. i think it's great that you got those shots of Northern Harrier and American Kestrel. All of our raptors are very shy and difficult to photograph.
ReplyDeleteSome of the those hawk watch counts are simply phenomenal. Its very heartening to know the birds are doing OK in remoter areas to the north of you.
Have a good week ahead.
All are Awesome, the Pintail is STUNNING
ReplyDeleteWow! They ARE awesome!
ReplyDelete(ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!
awww
ReplyDeletekeep clickin' for us
Anni, what a great experience, you had at Hazel Bazemore Park. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visit and comment. Some lovely photos here but the Kestrel wins number one spot for me. I have a very soft spot for falcons and kestrals and good to see the numbers on the count are fairly high. Have a good remainder to the week Diane
ReplyDeleteWow - amazing shots.
ReplyDelete