Before I finished getting holiday stuff down and I took a drive to Port Aransas [last week's pelican video], I did another drive-by through a bit of ground fog early on a Sunday morning to reach the historic Chapman's Ranch. There are several county roads to take, all mostly through cotton fields with large ranch houses here and there. The early morning hour was perfect; for when the fog lifted and the full sun came out, the birds were quite active. I saw several different species of hawks, and numerous other birds. I laugh and at the same time get frustrated with the kestrels that perch on power lines only to fly off when my car even remotely acts like it's gonna slow down to a stop to get a photo. Only for them to land a short distance away and the same routine begins again...dang...it flew off again. So, after several attempts at getting a picture of the pretty American Kestrel, I concentrated on others!!
WHITE TAILED HAWK
Habitat map: Hawk
MEADOWLARK [western]
Habitat map: Meadowlark
LARK SPARROW
Habitat map: Sparrow
SAVANNAH SPARROW [?]
Habitat map: Sparrow
CRESTED CARACARA [young]
Habitat map: Caracara
EUROPEAN STARLING
Habitat map: Starling
The countryside is filled, nearly on its entire ranch land perimeter, with wind generators [turbines]. On one road, I turned off the main highway that takes me toward Kingsville, Texas, and the plowed field was literally "moving"...dozens of Sandhill Cranes. Some feeeding, some being territorial, some flying in, while others flying off!!
SANDHILL CRANES
Habitat map: Cranes
Now share your birding experiences:
It's nice to take a break and get out to see what birds are around. We are seeing Kestrels on every hike lately. They sure are pretty but usually are perched on a tree far away. Love that Caracara! What a WILD looking bird! Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots Anni, the little sparrow is my favorite. I just want to cuddle with that little cutie :)
ReplyDeletelol, I know that "powerline experience" i is the same where I live. At the same time I don´t understand why they don´t learn a stopping car is no threat.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite shots today are the hawk tking off and the Creste caracara. Thats how I look, mostly, when I awake. :)
Take care and hope for better days.
I have never seen a White Talied Hawk, he is a handsome fellow. The cranes are so impressive in flight! And the caracara looks SO goofy!!
ReplyDeleteThat white tailed hawk is an impressive bird! Never seen one before and sandhill cranes are on my list of birds I really want to see in person some day. Hope you are enjoying your weekend!
ReplyDeleteHello, Anni
ReplyDeleteWhat a great outing and awesome sightings. The White-tailed Hawk and Crested Caracara are my favorite. Cute hummer photo. Wonderful birds! Thanks for hosting. Have a great day and happy weekend.
Our kestrels always want to move into the sunlight. Bad for photos! I chase them eastward from tree to tree and then they fly back to the west and start up all over again. Love the White-tailed Hawk.
ReplyDeleteVery nice photos Anni!
ReplyDeleteThe whitte tailed hawk is a really beauti!
Great shots of the White-tailed Hawk. It's a long time since I saw one. That Lark Sparrow is very appealing too. I have mixed feelings about wind turbines. I want clean energy, but they loook ugly and can be very destructive of both birds and bats.
ReplyDeleteI think my favourite is the savannah sparrow and my second favourite the white-tailed hawk - but al great photographs :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend.
All the best Jan
Interesting. The lark sparrow and the caracara are especially intriguing to me.
ReplyDeleteOur own Kestrels can be just as contrary Anni. After two or three stops alongside roadside poles I have to give up when they are just not having it. Never mind, I think your pictures of the White-tailed Hawk more than made up for the other loss.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see both the Savannah Sparrow and the Lark Sparrows as I have a soft spot for the family of larks and sparrows.
Thanks for the link today. Enjoy your week.
looks like the sandhill cranes have a mine field of wind mills to fly through, my favorite is the hawk in Lift Off. awesome shot. he is very handsome. you hit the bird lottery in spite of the kestrel
ReplyDeletes tricks
we have several species of hawks here and like yours fly off when I get a shot :( love the sandhill cranes in motion. Thank you for sharing hope you have a great week
ReplyDeleteHubby found a hawk that had been hit by a car on his walk the other day, of course he didn't have a camera with him, probably hit by a vehicle.
ReplyDeleteThose evasive Kestrels resulted in very awesome photos of other species, Anni. Of course, my favorite is that White-tailed Hawk!...:)jp
ReplyDeleteGreat white tailed hawk photo! Happy new year and birding adventures.
ReplyDeleteWow! Great shots of this beauty, and the other little beauties. I was fascinated to see the young Crested Caracara. I remember seeing the adult when I went down to Florida, but that was years ago.
ReplyDeleteThat is worrying so many turbines - how many birds and bats get killed flying around there!!
ReplyDeleteStay safe Diane
I love that hawk...I do not know why but I love raptors of any kind. And I know how you feel about the kestrals...I can even think I might slow down, and they are gone. And they are just so dang pretty!
ReplyDeleteI am a bit envious of you getting to see the Sandhill Cranes...I am 2-2 1/2 hours away from a major stopover of their migration path, but Roger just does not do good with that much driving.