I'd Rather B Birdin': great tailed GRACKLE

Showing posts with label great tailed GRACKLE. Show all posts

§ Port Aransas Birding ....

I guess I'm making up for only have the one duck last week. This week, while on the islands, I saw very few birds. Even tho most of the birding hotspots had vacancy signs up. LOL. By that I mean, very little activity witnessed. I think most of the local year 'round birds are busy nesting or raising young. And the migrants have left our area until their return trip in the Fall. In Port Aransas I saw these among others...

STILT SANDPIPER
[I think! It had signs of yellow green legs, but very muddy, and the rufous crown and fading tell-tale rusty spot with the white eye line, and its larger size...if I am mistaken, please correct me!]
Habitat map: Sandpiper

REDDISH EGRET [white morph]
Habitat map: Egret

NEOTROPIC CORMORANT [left] & DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT [right]
Habitat map: N Cormorant - DC Cormorant

TRI COLORED HERON
Habitat map: Heron

GALLINULE [MOORHEN] and chick
Habitat map: Gallinule

BLACK NECKED STILT
Habitat map: Stilt

GREAT TAILED GRACKLE
Habitat map: Grackle

BROWN PELICAN
Habitat map: Pelican

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§ Channel Birding...
And...SEE NOTE below!

This past week, before the cold snap moved in across the coast, I took a jaunt, crossing the mudflats, on the back side of Packery Channel where it's a quiet area and I can usually see some plovers. This time thru I wasn't disappointed. Yet, very few birds other than the usual, gulls, ibis, egrets were aplenty. In fact around the curve, a whole group of gulls were lazily sunning on the shore, then a huge ruckus and off they flew! I was too far away from them for it being ME that disturbed them, so I looked upwards and saw the reason....a harrier flyover. No worries, the gulls came back and rested some more.

Here are a few of the birds I saw on the back side of the bay...

BLACK BELLIED PLOVER[winter plumage]
Habitat map: Plover

RUDDY TURNSTONE
Habitat map: Turnstone

GREAT TAILED GRACKLE
Habitat map: Grackle

NORTHERN HARRIER
Habitat map: Harrier

OSPREY
Habitat map: Osprey

MARBLED GODWIT
Habitat map: Godwit

[below--always a favorite photo op for me personally, I love the rear view. I tend to think, "what are they thinking?"]

PIPING PLOVER
Habitat map: Plover

PLEASE NOTE: I will be taking next weekend off from setting up any linking tool! I will be very busy with Thanksgiving and then, getting our house decorated and "set up" for company for the holiday arriving before Christmas! It will take me about a week to accomplish. The next linking tool will be set up to link your birds/photos on December 4th at noon!!!

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§ Field of Dreams...

One morning on the island, just a few blocks outside the little fishing village of Port Aransas, I hit 'pay dirt'. It's been a dream of mine to come upon something like this. One field was literally moving with white and blue! I walked the pathway to a bench I knew was there and sat with the shutter clicking on the camera for long minutes at a time!! At a great distance from me and the bench I sat on were little blue herons, grackles, american white pelicans, snowy egrets, roseate spoonbills, great egrets, tri-colored herons. Later at the pond, I saw cormorants, teals [both blue winged and green winged], avocets, stilts and more. Here are some that I captured that morning in the field:

each linked bird name above is habitat maps.

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§ Officer Garcia spoiled my plans...

It's been another quiet week of going birding. I visited only a couple of parks and the nearby Navy Base Road with the usual waterfowl. I must admit this past week has been mainly doing odd jobs here and there. Lawn mowing, edging, safety inspection for auto license renewal. And then, the jinx was on my shoulder one day at the grocery store. A cop followed me into the parking lot with his Christmas Tree lights flashing...when I parked, he parked right behind me! I knew I did nothing wrong, but couldn't figure out what the problem was...I got out. As nonchalantly as I could muster. He said "Ma'am...[I don't like being called ma'am], your brake light on the passenger side is burnt out!" We talked a bit while he was filling out the warning for me to sign. Next day, I had to return to the mechanic to get the bulb replaced. Don't laugh, but Bud and I tried off and on the day before to loosen the socket from the chassis...it wouldn't budge! It took the technician less than 5 minutes....but it spoiled my morning chance of birding...again!! After that, I was in no mood to do much but go back home and chill-out.

GREAT KISKADEE
[partial yellow crest showing! Some day I'm gonna witness the FULL crest]
Habitat map: Kiskadee

GREAT TAILED GRACKLE
Habitat map: Grackle

BALTIMORE ORIOLE
Habitat map: Oriole

BLACK CRESTED TITMOUSE
Habitat map: Titmouse

RUDDY TURNSTONE
Habitat map: Turnstone

HOUSE SPARROWS
Habitat map: Sparrow

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§ Behind the Spanish Dagger, Hidden....

This past week, one day, I drove to the islands to do a bit of birding. I've actually changed my title passion from bird watcher to bird chaser! It seems lately, that's all I've been doing. The weather is much more Autumn like in South Texas. 60s in the early morning hours. NICE!! Anyway, I stopped at Leonabelle Birding Center. There was some water fowl on the lake, and a few early migrants along the path TO the lake. But, the migrants were warblers, and I couldn't catch a break...or a bird for that matter, in my camera frame. They were VERY flitty. The lake was rather quiet at that hour too. So, I walked across the street from Leonabelle's to the area that at times of the rainy season, is filled with shallow water...this week, it was mudflats. I walked onto the flats from the road and went behind the hills and tall grasses to other hidden ponds. Gulls and a few stilts were seen. As I turned to head back to the Birding Center, not seen at first behind all the Spanish Dagger plants...that's when I spied about 50-75 White Ibis hidden from the road's view! Among them were [each are linked to their habitat map] grackles, yellowlegs, stilts, snowy egrets, great egrets, and one lone Reddish Egret and one solitary Spoonbill. I snapped some images thru the viewfinder then set the camera on video recorder...