§ Water Fowl

Not much text today, busy with early morning birding for Spring Migration, then, lots o' yard work to do when home...so I'll just leave you with photos of some areas of 'wetlands' and what I've spotted...

RUDDY DUCK
photo taken:  Leonabelle Reserve - Port Aransas, Texas
habitat map:  Duck


LITTLE BLUE  HERON
photo taken:  Hans Suter Wildlife Park - Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat map:  Heron


BLACK NECKED STILT
photo taken:  Charlie's Pasture Nature Trail - Port Aransas, Texas
habitat map: Stilt


EARED GREBE
photo taken:  Pond - Flour Bluff, Texas
habitat map:  Grebe


AMERICAN WIGEON
photo taken:  Oso Bay - Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat map:  Wigeon


PIED BILLED GREBE
photo taken:  Leonabelle Refuge - Port Aransas, Texas
habitat map:  Grebe


ROSEATE SPOONBILL
photo taken:  Oso Bay Wetlands - Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat map:  Spoonbill


COMMON GALLINULE [moorhen]
photo taken:  Leonabelle Refuge - Port Aransas, Texas
habitat map:  Gallinule


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§ Water Birds...

For this week, it's all about water birds seen in the area and on the islands...

One...

This species was reported as being seen for several different days in the recent weeks...but, each time I went there, it was hidden or left only to return after I was no where near. LOL Then, one day as I was watching a few pied billed grebes playing in the water with their aerobic skills, near the reed I spotted the beautiful red-eyed one way in the distance. Actually too far from me to get sharp images, but oh well!! Yes indeed...

EARED GREBE [winter plumage* *]
* * Summer Plumage Seen on this post

photos taken: Leonabelle Turnbull Refuge

habitat map: Grebe

Two:

This particular egret was on the boardwalk railing at the same refuge. I could've reached out and touched it with my hand!!

GREAT EGRET

photo taken: Leonabelle Turnbull Refuge

habitat map: Egret

Three:

This is one of my favorites of the duck family. The color is magnificent. Tho, again, it didn't cooperate while I was there; not giving me a full frontal view of its beauty...

CINNAMON TEAL

photos taken: Leonabelle Turnbull Refuge

habitat map: Teal

Four:

This next pair was spotted on a trip to Bishop, Texas in hopes of seeing a reported bird I've not had the opportunity to photograph [a black phoebe]. Tho the phoebe was not found, these beautiful birds displayed their 'colors' perfectly...

HOODED MERGANSERS [male with black 'hood']

photos taken: Park - Bishop, Texas

habitat map: Mergansers

Five:

At a local reserve, on the shore of the bay area, an osprey was dining on his breakfast! I watched for some time...listening to it's shrieking call when it felt threatened with other bird [mostly gulls] fly-overs...

OSPREY

photo taken: Oso Bay Wetlands- Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat map:  Osprey

Six:

As I walked the boardwalk planks to the elevated observation deck at our 'north bay', this one was watching me...

REDDISH EGRET

photo taken: North Bay Area - Corpus Christi, Texas

habitat map: Egret

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§ Enemy approaches! Dive...dive...dive!!

Oh the trials of photographing birds! You know what I mean, right? You spot this beautiful bird, and you have an opportune moment to capture it in all its glory; a beautiful pose...yet, by the time you pull your camera up from your neck [I carry mine over my neck and on my shoulders most often when I'm walking the trails - no tripod] - by then, the bird has flown off or turned around showing you its backside. Or maybe, just maybe when you're on the shores of a lake, or the coast, or near a pond...you have your camera set, spot a great bird on the water's surface, begin to focus your lens...and BAM!! It dives into the water; disappearing?!! Are you with me?

While walking across the boardwalk and climbing the observation tower and climbing down again and walking a farther distance on the boardwalk, I spotted with my binoculars a bird couple quite a distance from where I was. I zoomed in to find them...snapped the shutter without focusing 'cause I know their antics quite well. Lo and behold as soon as the shutter release button was depressed, it's like the submarine sound "ahooooga" [or a klaxon] alerting them to make a dive !!

See?

...surfacing

On that particular day it was cloudy and drizzling a fine mist. We decided to close up shop and head home. But...another day, filled with sunshine and blue skies, Bud and I returned to the area and I was able to capture these. This time the grebe was quite a lot closer to the track and I was thrilled to see its beautiful red eyes in my viewfinder as I snapped away:

EARED GREBE

photos taken: Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Refuge - Port Aransas, Texas

Habitat Range:

TRIVIA

1. The Eared Grebe migrates only at night. Because of the length of its fall staging, its southward fall migration is the latest of any bird species in North America.
2. On cold, sunny mornings, the Eared Grebe, like some other grebe species, sunbathes by facing away from the sun and raising its rump, exposing dark underlying skin to light. This behavior may make the bird appear to have a distinctive "high-stern" profile.

- - - * * * - - -

During the latter weeks of migration my sighting of the cinnamon teal was recorded!! It was a duck that was on my list of photographing. Only, perhaps because of the beautiful color of the male. The female, very similar to the other teals such as the blue winged/female mallard. For several days they were at the area. But, sadly they weren't very active when we arrived at different times of day. In other words, when we were there, they weren't out swimming; but taking a siesta! No matter, I was able to get 'up close and personal'...

CINNAMON TEAL

photos takend: Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Refuge - Port Aransas, Texas

Habitat Range:

TRIVIA

1. The female Cinnamon Teal often places her nest below matted, dead stems of vegetation so it is completely concealed on all sides and from above. She approaches the nest through tunnels in the vegetation.
2. The majority of cinnamon teal breed in the western United States near the Great Salt Lake, Malheur Basin, San Luis Valley and Cariboo-Chilcotin parklands.

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