tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313579432024-03-05T21:45:26.875-06:00SE Texas Birding & Wildlife WatchingJeff Mohamed blogs about birds and other wildlife in the Houston area - and occasionally farther afield.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.comBlogger1223125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-72369688639793254432016-10-04T02:20:00.003-05:002016-10-05T04:44:08.732-05:00Farewell to Texas!.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We have left Texas! We moved to Spain on August 20 and are now living in Barcelona. So I'm closing this blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Goodbye!</span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-80488339075346769902016-07-13T13:09:00.002-05:002016-07-13T13:09:16.063-05:00Some Last Visits<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now that our move to Spain is approaching, Dee and I have been making what will probably be our last-ever visits to some of our favorite birding sites. We made one such visit to Sheldon Lake State Park last week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was a very hot day and birds were pretty scarce. However, the ponds were looking lovely, many covered in beautiful water lilies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Green blue and red dragonflies were everywhere.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Half-a-dozen Little Blue Herons flew off too quickly for me to get photos, as did a Tricolored Heron and a Green Heron. Yellow-crowned Night Herons in several of the ponds were less skittish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of them was too involved in eating a crawdad it had caught to pay us much attention.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We've visited Sheldon dozens of times over the past 13 years and it's certainly going to be one of the wildlife sites that we miss most when we leave for Spain.</span><br />
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-63497504374908516242016-05-21T07:51:00.000-05:002016-05-21T07:52:07.985-05:00Whistling Ducks<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I haven't had any time for birding lately because we've been busy preparing our house for sale. However, on a recent visit to our doctor I managed to fit in a few minutes watching some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks preening behind the North Cypress Medical Center at Huffmeister and 290.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Preening starts off quietly with the careful re-arranging of a few ruffled feathers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then a quick splash to settle everything down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now it's time for some work on those harder-to-reach tail feathers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is followed by another quick splash.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now it's time for the difficult part: Getting those wing feathers in order. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There always seems to be one area that requires extra effort.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now a really good, long splash is called for.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And the end result is a perfectly groomed Whistling Duck.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">.</span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-39104873609738544172016-05-09T08:07:00.002-05:002016-05-09T08:07:36.024-05:00Migration nearer Home<span style="color: #274e13;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Floods, work and preparations for selling our house have conspired to prevent us from doing another birding trip since our weekend visit to High Island, Bolivar and Galveston. So I've been restricted to occasional birding in our local area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On a trip to apply for my first US passport I fitted in a half-hour of birding at Warren Ranch Lake, where the trees by the road had a few migrants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yellow-rumped Warblers were looking very spiffy in their breeding plumage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">An Eastern Wood-Pewee was flycatching from a branch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nearby I spotted my first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some days later we made a brief visit to the Edith L Moore Nature Center. Apart from a couple of Swainson's Thrushes, the only migrant we saw was this beautiful Black-and-White Warbler.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Early May is usually a good time for spotting migrants on the CyFair campus and this year was no exception. During my final days of work at the college a few short walks around the nature trail turned up a nice selection of birds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were two vireo species: Red-eyed and Warbling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Baltimore Orioles appeared on several different days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Two Summer Tanagers turned up several days apart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The seven warbler species I saw included a couple of Chestnut-sided Warblers.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsp8HwNM5fbu444TqP5gQCkBW283Y9TcFdL_8IDEz3JJSizWXg-d1ucdtQMkLEHWQx0lAOF_NT1npPrxFA6Jb97DCxD8ORjw40d2a1NOl4Mp38U9nPTQMJx-g3m7rZUD6L_rhQ/s1600/DSC_5843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsp8HwNM5fbu444TqP5gQCkBW283Y9TcFdL_8IDEz3JJSizWXg-d1ucdtQMkLEHWQx0lAOF_NT1npPrxFA6Jb97DCxD8ORjw40d2a1NOl4Mp38U9nPTQMJx-g3m7rZUD6L_rhQ/s400/DSC_5843.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On several days Magnolia Warblers flitted around the trail. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">American Redstarts also passed through on several days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was disappointed to see only one Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and that a female.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iTv-V0LpDbDVQp-x-EzQ732_6xw6Gewdfq-NTdggMxuhMJotUG-SRzcjmzaH3PZwi6SLIgaD0YqFZKXLubH0JG90H9xS7EjoYdJZVvKbZjhWIAbnUZ_OmEDuZCZ4v1DWqgRE/s1600/DSC_5700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iTv-V0LpDbDVQp-x-EzQ732_6xw6Gewdfq-NTdggMxuhMJotUG-SRzcjmzaH3PZwi6SLIgaD0YqFZKXLubH0JG90H9xS7EjoYdJZVvKbZjhWIAbnUZ_OmEDuZCZ4v1DWqgRE/s400/DSC_5700.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, my disappointment disappeared when a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak decided to make use of the suet feeder in our front yard. That was a nice addition to our list of yard birds!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-83473973200631233972016-05-01T06:56:00.001-05:002016-05-01T06:56:09.520-05:00Looking for Migrants (4)<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After leaving High Island, we drove west along Bolivar Peninsula to catch the ferry to Galveston.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As usual, the Bolivar harbor was busy with Cormorants, Laughing Gulls, American White Pelicans and Brown Pelicans (below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Apart from the usual hordes of Laughing Gulls, on this trip the ferry was followed by numbers of Royal Terns.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were other terns also. At first I thought these were Forster's but then I noted their yellow-tipped bills and realized they were Sandwich Terns.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once on Galveston, we did a quick drive along Sportsmens' Road. My first Reddish Egret of the year was too distant to photograph but a Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron were a little closer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The roadside ditches were empty except for a couple of Willets and the only other bird we saw was a solitary White Ibis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although I had high hopes for Lafitte's Cove, it turned out to have only a few resident birds and even fewer migrants. In fact, the only migrants we spotted were a Gray Catbird, a Gray-cheeked Thrush and two Scalret Tanagers (below).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSU2mMZ_NJgLKZ4EBvZLmI2sXtCoMzUBVPzaxZB8eFSqd9OW__pxtcbu55G2gM_L_MtP3_zLIhxg_o86tW7nZTrBzPhQsMMCSBFrh9tmN6ukVWILSkjIsrP7R1HGMqVXRdp7W3/s1600/DSC_5272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSU2mMZ_NJgLKZ4EBvZLmI2sXtCoMzUBVPzaxZB8eFSqd9OW__pxtcbu55G2gM_L_MtP3_zLIhxg_o86tW7nZTrBzPhQsMMCSBFrh9tmN6ukVWILSkjIsrP7R1HGMqVXRdp7W3/s400/DSC_5272.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As this was our last birding stop, it meant that our trip ended with a whimper rather than a bang. We weren't too disappointed, though, because overall the trip had been quite productive: We had seen 90 species, of which almost half were new birds for the year. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">.</span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-33111929217821737922016-04-27T06:00:00.000-05:002016-04-27T06:00:21.830-05:00Looking for Migrants (3)<span style="color: #274e13;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Saturday morning we got to Boy Scout Woods in time for the morning birdwalk. Unfortunately, it was extremely quiet for birds. This Rose-breasted Grosbeak near the guides' house was the only migrant that we spotted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We decided to check out the Smith Oaks rookery before heading home via Galveston.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The rookery was crowded with nesting Great Egrets. Most were standing guard over chicks.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFIH0aU-shfULfkdtnWyYNiRMSnjaTbOjZRrwZfB7OrnX6DZqT6_AC2nzAtRi9zXR7J17R33TLq2lKlYYOWjrOklnKygivIC7EbfgZlFDu1GgjwWKGGYn90yn8oObyY4aMm0c/s1600/DSC_5215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFIH0aU-shfULfkdtnWyYNiRMSnjaTbOjZRrwZfB7OrnX6DZqT6_AC2nzAtRi9zXR7J17R33TLq2lKlYYOWjrOklnKygivIC7EbfgZlFDu1GgjwWKGGYn90yn8oObyY4aMm0c/s640/DSC_5215.JPG" width="476" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few were taking advantage of a quiet spell to do some preening.<br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One seemed to be having a difficult time with three boisterous chicks and had to administer a little discipline.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Elsewhere, some chicks were already large enough to be left unattended while their parents were off foraging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few Great Egrets appeared to be running late with this year's breeding and were still collecting nesting material.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The number of Roseate Spoonbills had grown since our previous visit and there were now many sitting on nests.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The number of Snowy Egrets had also increased a lot and most of those present were displaying in their beautiful breeding plumage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The water between the observation decks and the rookery had a handful of American Coots, Blue-winged Teal and Common Gallinules (below).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQN_MVscJPn7ORy-PBtCJvRfYzUlpGxU_9jPbwszFEhoQQt_wM9tAF9b5HdsB-SKJKzjRbXka3XM7z21_cRtU39plJL2H9gFnhKVIiWnbEDzi8fIRgETKBOjSodbONnz7vHQ_/s1600/DSC_5204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQN_MVscJPn7ORy-PBtCJvRfYzUlpGxU_9jPbwszFEhoQQt_wM9tAF9b5HdsB-SKJKzjRbXka3XM7z21_cRtU39plJL2H9gFnhKVIiWnbEDzi8fIRgETKBOjSodbONnz7vHQ_/s400/DSC_5204.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Then just as we were leaving, Dee noticed a Purple Gallinule wandering along the water's edge. It was our first Purple Gallinule of the year and a good bird with which to say goodbye to High Island.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">.</span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-72387986446880016132016-04-24T09:06:00.002-05:002016-04-24T09:06:28.017-05:00Looking for Migrants (2)<span style="color: #274e13;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I got back to High Island a few minutes early for the 4:00 pm guided walk through Smith Oaks and I saw several birds before the walk began.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Baltimore Oriole was in the trees near the assembly point.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oL1Mw-r2EZMUUTe5eDBpyDHz5Qd78DLJQ00sCBXBczhvqhnxs1y7dYKPY16v1GedcBOp2-xi375Yj4ZbYp3kd2sc7T4nWimD5hnaeH8NFN_PTeF1SdPg9Mr_4sjKmeoFRBTS/s1600/DSC_5114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oL1Mw-r2EZMUUTe5eDBpyDHz5Qd78DLJQ00sCBXBczhvqhnxs1y7dYKPY16v1GedcBOp2-xi375Yj4ZbYp3kd2sc7T4nWimD5hnaeH8NFN_PTeF1SdPg9Mr_4sjKmeoFRBTS/s400/DSC_5114.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A Blackburnian Warbler and a Magnolia Warbler popped up in the same area but were too fidgety for me to get photos. A Black-and-White Warbler was less difficult to photograph.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEz_7Eypfo9NaUNoX8LK1IzRbQhz-fte11zhzAYpv9hVF6ceX2wLiSe6GX4WL1fGakvJaby98sk3Aw7WloyUsnEXMhq11RPQmBaTigVlaS0ZVgTb_7-vqcQLBj_zPBLOb6p44/s1600/DSC_5126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEz_7Eypfo9NaUNoX8LK1IzRbQhz-fte11zhzAYpv9hVF6ceX2wLiSe6GX4WL1fGakvJaby98sk3Aw7WloyUsnEXMhq11RPQmBaTigVlaS0ZVgTb_7-vqcQLBj_zPBLOb6p44/s400/DSC_5126.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I joined the guided walk for an hour and a busy hour it was. There were several Scarlet Tanagers and Summer Tanagers (below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Both Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoo appeared, as did Eastren Wood-Pewee, Wood Thrush and a range of Warblers: Cerulean, Bluie-winged, Kentucky, Blackburnian, Tennessee and Hooded. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get photos of any of these birds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I left the group and started walking back to the car, I was luckier. A Prothonotary Warbler decided to explore a branch just a couple of feet above my head.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWBAC8MZcsxL9ZOLsRotk5T3_snIpnCBFZBQrlf0-X2FPI8pSDwccqzc0LO50PIf3XNeM1rDFwLO2xPknaHalw0VijycQZSf4aEvA49lVquzhD18L8R2YGtC7FDIRE7xRoXGL/s1600/DSC_5184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWBAC8MZcsxL9ZOLsRotk5T3_snIpnCBFZBQrlf0-X2FPI8pSDwccqzc0LO50PIf3XNeM1rDFwLO2xPknaHalw0VijycQZSf4aEvA49lVquzhD18L8R2YGtC7FDIRE7xRoXGL/s400/DSC_5184.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So while the day's birding had not been spectacular, it had certainly been good enough to justify our trip and we had seen a very nice selection of migrating warblers, shorebirds and other species.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our plan for the next day was to do a quick walk around Boy Scout Woods, pay a short visit to the Smith Oaks Rookery and then to take the ferry to Galveston, where we hoped to see more migrants at Lafitte's Cove.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">.</span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-73521759605502640632016-04-20T07:00:00.001-05:002016-04-20T16:09:21.489-05:00Looking for Migrants (1)<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We arrived at Boy Scout Woods only to be told by several people who were leaving that there were no birds around. Luckily, this turned out not to be true and I had my first bird - a Wood Thrush - within two minutes of entering the site.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We spent an hours walking the trails and compiled a nice if fairly small list of birds. Prothonotary Pond had a couple of Prothonotary Warblers and a Black-and-White Warbler as well as two more Wood Thrushes. The main drip had Hooded Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Summer Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and several Gray Catbirds. The latter were the most numerous species overall and we soon lost count of how many individuals we came across.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The best bird was a Kentucky Warbler which strolled about on the trail right in front of us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">We crossed the road to check out the garden of the guides' house and immediately added an Inca Dove to our list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The trees there had a score of Cedar Waxwings while a bottlebush plant was hosting a Nashville Warbler.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">An open patch nearby had not one, not two but seven Indigo Buntings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">By the time we had finished watching the Buntings, it was noon and so we set off on the guided trip to Bolivar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We got to Rollover Pass before the rest of the group and parked as close to the far end of the beach as possible. Although there were plenty of birds in the air - including many Brown Pelicans - the water seemed to be largely empty except for a group of maybe 150 American Avocets in the far distance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then a couple of Laughing Gulls landed near us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">They were followed by a Ring-billed Gull.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">I pulled the car forward a little and we realized there were a lot birds gathered on a parch of beach that hadn't been visible. We quickly IDed five Tern species: Royal, Forster's, Sandwich, Black and Least.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">We were delighted to see that the group also included several dozen Black Skimmers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately, as we and our fellow birders were scanning the beach for other birds, we spotted this Royal Tern with a broken wing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The water now had a couple of Snowy Egrets (below) and a Great Blue Heron.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">A Tricolored Heron was fishing further away, along with some Black-necked Stilts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Black-belllied Plover posed by the water's edge while a Semipalmated Plover explored the sand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Three Ruddy Turnstones were living up to their name and turning over most stones that they came across.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">A group of Short-billed</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Dowitchers marched past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">A single Sanderling pottered about nearby.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Two Western Sandpipers also appeared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Willets patrolled the shallow water in numerous places.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">However, the best sighting of all was of a Clapper Rail that walked across the beach right in front of our car, in clear view of the whole group of birders. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">From Rollover the group went to Yacht Basin Road, which had a nice selection of birds including Whimbrel, American Golden Plover, Wilson's Plover and Gull-billed Tern.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We left the grup there and headed up to Winnie to check into our motel, the excellent Winnie Inn & Suites. Dee wanted to rest while I was planning to drive back to High Island to take part in the afternoon birdwalk at Smith Oaks. I was hopeful that more migrants would appear - and they did!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">.</span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-78338574952488645422016-04-15T06:00:00.000-05:002016-04-15T06:00:03.190-05:00Early Morning Birding<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sunday I was up and out of the house by 5:30 a.m., heading for the Attwater NWR. I'd been meaning to do another visit there for a while but what made me choose this day was that this weekend was the one weekend of the year when you can be sure of seeing Greater Prairie Chickens.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got to the refuge in time to ride in one of the tour vans out to one of the areas where the male birds display and boom in hopes of attracting females. Unfortunately, as it was a little foggy and the birds were several hundred yards away, it was impossible to get a good look at them. After 20 minutes I decided I'd had enough of watching birds I could hardly see and so I took a van back to the visitor center. Good decision! Halfway back the driver stopped to let us admire a solitary male Greater Prairie Chicken that was displaying and booming on a small mound. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back at the visitor center, the Purple Martin house seemed to be fully occupied.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got in my car and drove up to the bridge that gives (on foot) access to the refuge's lake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was quiet. The only waterbirds I could see were Common Gallinules and American Coots (below). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Great Blue Heron momentarily brightened up the scene by perching for a minute on a nearby treetop. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next I drove the auto loop, hoping for Northern Bobwhites among other birds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Northern Harriers were busy quartering the area in search of prey. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Eastern Meadowlarks were perching on bushes and fences everywhere and singing their hearts out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhSxAHpD7IO8vvoUrjjw7gfn3NlJ4yz970ckTTuL1oNHsuRSILoU5Ort7CJ2TGH_Y9qObSSv8oEqf08T_xxk6j-FF3SGmzk-1KtBfjWLshn8DnEh-Wq2ck5F_y0PBN-loAmUm/s1600/IMG_7691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhSxAHpD7IO8vvoUrjjw7gfn3NlJ4yz970ckTTuL1oNHsuRSILoU5Ort7CJ2TGH_Y9qObSSv8oEqf08T_xxk6j-FF3SGmzk-1KtBfjWLshn8DnEh-Wq2ck5F_y0PBN-loAmUm/s640/IMG_7691.JPG" width="476" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Killdeer were busy patrolling the edges of the road and exploring some of the muddy areas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of those muddy areas also had a Wilson's Snipe, a bird I see fairly often but rarely get to photograph. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another wet area had five Least Sandpipers, distinguishable from other small sandpipers by their yellow legs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Finally a pair of Northern Bobwhite showed by the roadside but disappeared into the vegetation before I could get a photo or even just admire them. I hate how they do that! As luck would have it, though, it wasn't long before another popped up some distance away from the road.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlm09xv2FE_SYtghEsGZYBaZmKLa51Lkd9gw3ymBq32VOSnIbjaSW4khvFMoXCJ_x2HSxgFYmWpm5XAg_vcBljVFWpH-8J0fA-1Bqff3fFaAKSKNwBps8QMXSpKlSbFyEb44o/s1600/DSC_4807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlm09xv2FE_SYtghEsGZYBaZmKLa51Lkd9gw3ymBq32VOSnIbjaSW4khvFMoXCJ_x2HSxgFYmWpm5XAg_vcBljVFWpH-8J0fA-1Bqff3fFaAKSKNwBps8QMXSpKlSbFyEb44o/s400/DSC_4807.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I left the refuge and headed home, pausing on the way only to grab a quick photo of my first Swainson's Hawk of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As we'll be leaving the States in a couple of months, I don't suppose I'll ever get out to Attwater again. Still, previous visits have given me many happy memories of the refuge and this trip added a few more.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span> </span><br />
<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-45223301497573193822016-04-11T10:02:00.003-05:002016-04-11T10:02:25.106-05:00Birding the CyFair Campus<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">April is my final month working at Lone Star CyFair and I'm hoping to see some spring migrants here before I leave. I haven't had too much luck so far, though.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There are plenty of our common residents around, including innumerable Northern Mockingbirds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This one gave me a very hard look as I was photographing it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our Purple Martin gourds are pretty much fully occupied now.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Af4rAkl17g5YjJhwHii8xe2YNcstlugyTix4rZta_vaMfrS2CuT_GUdHFaiE19_2RCyThawOJdOJTHtcP4zQjM5B3datyrCZ4nxpY3EGAe_NvyHGXFEb9gOaJF94B_uzJ70z/s1600/DSC_4592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Af4rAkl17g5YjJhwHii8xe2YNcstlugyTix4rZta_vaMfrS2CuT_GUdHFaiE19_2RCyThawOJdOJTHtcP4zQjM5B3datyrCZ4nxpY3EGAe_NvyHGXFEb9gOaJF94B_uzJ70z/s400/DSC_4592.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbtZULvSnE09brxjwBEjOyVrP9s4woLaM5Pi_fs6Lyw3FEIp0HVNrG0PQpYNpepvYeu5d-7nBKXSBD0X2KuV3TgvFGoUtKk75hGaIUHNCl8eDGN-R7KciNQbilppSvfuFqzbu/s1600/DSC_4593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbtZULvSnE09brxjwBEjOyVrP9s4woLaM5Pi_fs6Lyw3FEIp0HVNrG0PQpYNpepvYeu5d-7nBKXSBD0X2KuV3TgvFGoUtKk75hGaIUHNCl8eDGN-R7KciNQbilppSvfuFqzbu/s640/DSC_4593.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Double-crested Cormorant occasionally pops in to see what the fish situation is like in our ornamental pond.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssFPjzGoqBNSsg7gOkduY2FYV7Vsl27D5r6w_qoejjOe6LzevQXU8NJXab2CrowDwPwEev64su60F45Rtjqs1hw7zIGv7hGRP5MLVHRubfrk_pyoRe68JgAlM-VOCYqz9_f_l/s1600/DSC_4589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssFPjzGoqBNSsg7gOkduY2FYV7Vsl27D5r6w_qoejjOe6LzevQXU8NJXab2CrowDwPwEev64su60F45Rtjqs1hw7zIGv7hGRP5MLVHRubfrk_pyoRe68JgAlM-VOCYqz9_f_l/s400/DSC_4589.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The nature trail - now much reduced by ongoing constriction work - has had plenty of resident birds, including N Cardinals and Blue Jays, but until Friday the only migrants I had seen were Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgks52hSeIWEE9P68LZZ-w2dp9oaQZN4mYjMvISs-XTB4rfLjm0Q-QVLu2HWOtTjYeGjlxRZQDHG9FDAFqxON5L2MlSeAaT894cbe6ndl08SIECTDTfYhIVDkpImhOYRfQCqg/s1600/DSC_4595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgks52hSeIWEE9P68LZZ-w2dp9oaQZN4mYjMvISs-XTB4rfLjm0Q-QVLu2HWOtTjYeGjlxRZQDHG9FDAFqxON5L2MlSeAaT894cbe6ndl08SIECTDTfYhIVDkpImhOYRfQCqg/s400/DSC_4595.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The two small wetland areas on the nature trail both have water and so I've been checking them for migrating Waterthrush. On Friday I finally got lucky when I spotted a Louisiana Waterthrush by the water's edge.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjke0lGb2IxWP39WnpDSfxcuQAnfCdEnowqgDfnyeiNVjktOXOBPDmAkaA3y_HhJzUPCfnOfrIqLrSIbUZLdElaoPuxzfs_UFt2ps_ym745x50Lc5_B1ZS2tD_thmJBG5_j1FSh/s1600/DSC_4629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjke0lGb2IxWP39WnpDSfxcuQAnfCdEnowqgDfnyeiNVjktOXOBPDmAkaA3y_HhJzUPCfnOfrIqLrSIbUZLdElaoPuxzfs_UFt2ps_ym745x50Lc5_B1ZS2tD_thmJBG5_j1FSh/s400/DSC_4629.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhea98faIcoc6EwGRRhRgHuAuq9F9NIWWMmRdgz_pSl17zW8CMJhv01X0wl-3Lx4jSUgAK8FMRL3x7RhC4JqHpo6VDUiFfPyabLZZbChymCfqMV15egAB_txvd4i4pJzTxt80hX/s1600/DSC_4620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhea98faIcoc6EwGRRhRgHuAuq9F9NIWWMmRdgz_pSl17zW8CMJhv01X0wl-3Lx4jSUgAK8FMRL3x7RhC4JqHpo6VDUiFfPyabLZZbChymCfqMV15egAB_txvd4i4pJzTxt80hX/s400/DSC_4620.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Surprisingly, it was part of a group of birds that also comprised two Northern Cardinals, a Blue Jay, three Great-tailed Grackle, three White-throated Sparrows and a Swamp Sparrow (below). </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-HniOGKyDYWKXbayV6EFThmcYCYebwSOyeSbnutfDolx6UFl0F_Som_O_I7K7N-7MkRG0P-q02k8pDPz6v2gg25Y7KlgX7lhW7lS75-RHf69RnabxOm8rdbPvrwXA1g2BS6i/s1600/DSC_4626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-HniOGKyDYWKXbayV6EFThmcYCYebwSOyeSbnutfDolx6UFl0F_Som_O_I7K7N-7MkRG0P-q02k8pDPz6v2gg25Y7KlgX7lhW7lS75-RHf69RnabxOm8rdbPvrwXA1g2BS6i/s400/DSC_4626.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mixed flocks of birds are common but this seemed like a very odd mix of species. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-7853706003586734692016-04-05T16:23:00.001-05:002016-04-05T16:23:40.793-05:00Sheldon Lake State Park<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As the weather forecast for Sunday morning was good, we drove over to Sheldon Lake State Park. The weather did turn out to be excellent but, partly because of this, the park had many more visitors than usual and this seemed to make many birds keep their heads down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We started off with a quick stop at the old parking lot at Carpenter's Bayou and were delighted to see that the water there was no longer completely covered by vegetation. I was hoping to see Wood Ducks but had to be content with Anhinga, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, American Coots, Common Gallinules and Blue-winged Teal (below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3ceogMxMH_7M6g9GWUd9hc4WMKNayJP4uYayTf1Wpsy3kFXA4jZR3SrGQVNa6cVJxlSEfu3tBXNrn7SdIk4om-6h3-gJZCR4K-BgAlb5ZRk1Y9jErLZ_ehw1lG1XMhsj_znc/s1600/DSC_4465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3ceogMxMH_7M6g9GWUd9hc4WMKNayJP4uYayTf1Wpsy3kFXA4jZR3SrGQVNa6cVJxlSEfu3tBXNrn7SdIk4om-6h3-gJZCR4K-BgAlb5ZRk1Y9jErLZ_ehw1lG1XMhsj_znc/s400/DSC_4465.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When we reached the main entrance, we were greeted by a beautiful Eastern Bluebird.</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfxsafxn6LGDB5687uDfG7NM6-TKAVdh9FvPXnTnbBDknAexjNa1wxaR9LIPl2fbQ30maYD3XRmFx4W6CMk4xxXk-ls3d7B5Y66CKlgrVmKvFEHSq7KCn423Tbrn1_RpymnwH/s1600/DSC_4468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfxsafxn6LGDB5687uDfG7NM6-TKAVdh9FvPXnTnbBDknAexjNa1wxaR9LIPl2fbQ30maYD3XRmFx4W6CMk4xxXk-ls3d7B5Y66CKlgrVmKvFEHSq7KCn423Tbrn1_RpymnwH/s400/DSC_4468.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Further along the entrance road the ponds had Black-necked Stilts, Greater Yellowlegs, Snowy Egrets, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron. Even more exciting, there were three Red-breasted Mergansers, one of our favorite bird species.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZL33p4jVS1yjVzYD2ydn8gxujGzfUMBroXSNTUCX9-tn9xoNEVtqtfEtYvfJuS2fgilciPnmJkeB3RAP6g_m_mGLp3PYlUGA-cSypMQjgC6WZLtum9TikLIYSI2pL3f0QQ45e/s1600/DSC_4471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZL33p4jVS1yjVzYD2ydn8gxujGzfUMBroXSNTUCX9-tn9xoNEVtqtfEtYvfJuS2fgilciPnmJkeB3RAP6g_m_mGLp3PYlUGA-cSypMQjgC6WZLtum9TikLIYSI2pL3f0QQ45e/s400/DSC_4471.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The ponds at the environmental center had only a few birds. We saw half-a-dozen Yellow-crowned Night Herons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5DqigDUQemFScvFzSUX02gsOs9z6eFHYSAV1kQiTyQkvQ8DzSS_d_Mk7tmqKbaLh-b2xVr4__kqyUwdjfVMn5IzzKBGll83HH5HwAR85ElQCV7kXQ76DlUqfjLpdDPv3rEih/s1600/DSC_4497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5DqigDUQemFScvFzSUX02gsOs9z6eFHYSAV1kQiTyQkvQ8DzSS_d_Mk7tmqKbaLh-b2xVr4__kqyUwdjfVMn5IzzKBGll83HH5HwAR85ElQCV7kXQ76DlUqfjLpdDPv3rEih/s640/DSC_4497.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Eight Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were hanging out in one pond. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiho-DC061ElPn_6Yng1FsCWClhfQX-_kjLyM1RAS72XufJ9B7ciCXsVHLTSG-mqTPSodBWJj4iRj6V3iW7W0o_WGW5TKQUgTgE3pZ5qBPEKd7ajAMSb7l6EzpTSMK33BJSoU_p/s1600/DSC_4495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiho-DC061ElPn_6Yng1FsCWClhfQX-_kjLyM1RAS72XufJ9B7ciCXsVHLTSG-mqTPSodBWJj4iRj6V3iW7W0o_WGW5TKQUgTgE3pZ5qBPEKd7ajAMSb7l6EzpTSMK33BJSoU_p/s400/DSC_4495.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In another a Little Blue Heron was posing amid the reeds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikCk7VrTvzATykSo8v9ulnuJdyW6gjL_D_0joePMwZ2G5jYUkQf_5uA1qI-G6XohyRuvdygH3arzecF52o3eosym5YcaTg2zO2EyAbvMNQjee_qa7ce-WLOttJy2z1K9Bzfk-J/s1600/DSC_4507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikCk7VrTvzATykSo8v9ulnuJdyW6gjL_D_0joePMwZ2G5jYUkQf_5uA1qI-G6XohyRuvdygH3arzecF52o3eosym5YcaTg2zO2EyAbvMNQjee_qa7ce-WLOttJy2z1K9Bzfk-J/s640/DSC_4507.JPG" width="476" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the highlights was when a Bald Eagle circled overhead in the company of three Broad-winged Hawks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzaFvuw1Y1Yn0AbhtBJgAXyoTm_B2wUCeK1aOTHPADF1ylS57LJ-OXK67wRroKknpjCNZGbfzRBuOTL7l0J16JDhBeEpx87Ggn686Tu_9A0d5vKxe2B2z3sD27fgI8Q8r4XyQ/s1600/DSC_4484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzaFvuw1Y1Yn0AbhtBJgAXyoTm_B2wUCeK1aOTHPADF1ylS57LJ-OXK67wRroKknpjCNZGbfzRBuOTL7l0J16JDhBeEpx87Ggn686Tu_9A0d5vKxe2B2z3sD27fgI8Q8r4XyQ/s640/DSC_4484.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another highlight was spotting a Great Kiskadee. I had heard this bird on my previous visit but hadn't managed to see it. This time both Dee and I got looks at it and I even got a (not very good) photo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDXf5BKx2czL-OT5q18Xg09eX1PB50jdqmRmZpFgtw6cKS9Yj-_aSUSF4RQ9flK9AczmWtJsjFbVx3V7ESkBLXG5TtRP64alAp9G3-9X61iTxbbNcXxj7NLlNMqvqajl3gkHY/s1600/DSC_4502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDXf5BKx2czL-OT5q18Xg09eX1PB50jdqmRmZpFgtw6cKS9Yj-_aSUSF4RQ9flK9AczmWtJsjFbVx3V7ESkBLXG5TtRP64alAp9G3-9X61iTxbbNcXxj7NLlNMqvqajl3gkHY/s400/DSC_4502.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If birds were scarcer than usual, other wildlife was not. This little chap popped up right in front of us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFErWCVPPHIIZ47rwqyRNZeWYn9vMClyCXH19O9xR8xn8psKL58-jJbedtMpp8rK4foGNrk1GTUT6PxtdGPe308scvMysXBBn6FLXINPOC7dweSMLTYoLRJ3leTh5l3yb_J8Jo/s1600/DSC_4493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFErWCVPPHIIZ47rwqyRNZeWYn9vMClyCXH19O9xR8xn8psKL58-jJbedtMpp8rK4foGNrk1GTUT6PxtdGPe308scvMysXBBn6FLXINPOC7dweSMLTYoLRJ3leTh5l3yb_J8Jo/s400/DSC_4493.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Two of the ponds each had an alligator. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP5osGT9T808Krv2SujV6mSOntxNBOF03FRVG5W8yKD7PSXljkYl55zBqzIM69deLGVhh2YJvP_0L2UbpiTCE_hkYk1Kzn6pZnH62qhaSkBK1sh0NP8QahypzjDCFcTxazkxj/s1600/DSC_4492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP5osGT9T808Krv2SujV6mSOntxNBOF03FRVG5W8yKD7PSXljkYl55zBqzIM69deLGVhh2YJvP_0L2UbpiTCE_hkYk1Kzn6pZnH62qhaSkBK1sh0NP8QahypzjDCFcTxazkxj/s400/DSC_4492.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When we passed one pond, Dee noticed that a broad-banded water snake was resting on a log. </span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUPm7Xg2PnpnbWO_8jCpGKliukq2_ZtVkZNAdvrQyWrOPBoBVul6RO67OhAnBCJmwgYOmcjKxvmxRmEYp0B0gIi6eikCAp6uPqQC4qsq2Tydj66xJvrjioi2PRGf20hyAyusk/s1600/DSC_4476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUPm7Xg2PnpnbWO_8jCpGKliukq2_ZtVkZNAdvrQyWrOPBoBVul6RO67OhAnBCJmwgYOmcjKxvmxRmEYp0B0gIi6eikCAp6uPqQC4qsq2Tydj66xJvrjioi2PRGf20hyAyusk/s400/DSC_4476.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When we passed the spot a little later, we saw it had been joined by a larger relative.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-svbu33C2_USJu3wzxI68kgGrNp6ektqJSRDmFwnFapGdDCb06RslWjfYTwN33peEPi-UFG9pWpMvHzGgjUEpZ-uwNjaCyyKGhzvEMNOKCkjtNUgS8N1msTZvJzLD96hcAb1K/s1600/DSC_4499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-svbu33C2_USJu3wzxI68kgGrNp6ektqJSRDmFwnFapGdDCb06RslWjfYTwN33peEPi-UFG9pWpMvHzGgjUEpZ-uwNjaCyyKGhzvEMNOKCkjtNUgS8N1msTZvJzLD96hcAb1K/s400/DSC_4499.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not sure how many red-eared sliders we came across but this was the handsomest of all the ones we saw. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CgkJ_Iy0TdI30qoF8CSS2uWaUzthGyhFA1ZDH5BKQZdeZyly3WMRyO8_cbaCol-tAW8mmJDUbUb2K_8NVetPGRbZMvoxvTKymLkKs-PoFkqDksmHyQAFxGscEZnvFj_T0OO3/s1600/DSC_4474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CgkJ_Iy0TdI30qoF8CSS2uWaUzthGyhFA1ZDH5BKQZdeZyly3WMRyO8_cbaCol-tAW8mmJDUbUb2K_8NVetPGRbZMvoxvTKymLkKs-PoFkqDksmHyQAFxGscEZnvFj_T0OO3/s640/DSC_4474.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When we leave Texas for Spain this summer, I'm afraid that birds won't be the only wildlife that I'll miss!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-8630683471458154722016-04-01T13:03:00.002-05:002016-04-01T13:03:54.647-05:00Anahuac Yet Again<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On the way back from High Island we took our friends for their first visit to Anahuac NWR, our favorite nature site in southeast Texas. We didn't get there until mid-afternoon and so there were fewer birds visible than usual. However, there was still enough to see to make for a very pleasant afternoon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We started by driving down to Frozen Point. The Burrowing Owl didn't appear but the field where it lives had plenty of Black-necked Stilts and Willets (below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDPeQ_8tT_X6X0s4ZEirG1buhvXDJ7muXH-FhVmLjRCUO2VSiFB86Pdo3js8vl0P0pPMH4S453cdR1bGs39SkZlO2WaaFdVCNt1nqruBcpI0I_GRKUtgKF7FQm3eMEdcdbPfx/s1600/DSC_4415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDPeQ_8tT_X6X0s4ZEirG1buhvXDJ7muXH-FhVmLjRCUO2VSiFB86Pdo3js8vl0P0pPMH4S453cdR1bGs39SkZlO2WaaFdVCNt1nqruBcpI0I_GRKUtgKF7FQm3eMEdcdbPfx/s400/DSC_4415.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Killdeer were much in evidence, too, looking for tasty morsels in the cow pats.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5qhDM621Be2e_rX4S-sRhw9PsSqbclG8dv3Xktbd_jmDK292M3sV6rw1ibvporbqSJwwTWf9DF0cyKg8K8SkeKc6ZMiLM2phjP6q2ROm9aOWCG1ypwX6mCKLBcVRYoc-Wfcr/s1600/DSC_4407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5qhDM621Be2e_rX4S-sRhw9PsSqbclG8dv3Xktbd_jmDK292M3sV6rw1ibvporbqSJwwTWf9DF0cyKg8K8SkeKc6ZMiLM2phjP6q2ROm9aOWCG1ypwX6mCKLBcVRYoc-Wfcr/s400/DSC_4407.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We had lunch in the old Visitor Center. Unfortunately, no swallows had yet arrived to nest there and the Vermilion Flycatcher was a no-show again. However, we did run into a very pretty bullfrog. Although I've heard thousands since we moved to Texas, this was the first one I'd actually seen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfWFLQveNpfJOXzorQwyO6H6Ye1-fdZRmxq7nFQWDvRhhZfSYhniHsA6WC8PqMREu519QgLgMm4xHxVEmP2zcUaGFlXd6rlwiuVSUq-TyQNwsRkwEw4PVidq05FAdezryl46C/s1600/DSC_4405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfWFLQveNpfJOXzorQwyO6H6Ye1-fdZRmxq7nFQWDvRhhZfSYhniHsA6WC8PqMREu519QgLgMm4xHxVEmP2zcUaGFlXd6rlwiuVSUq-TyQNwsRkwEw4PVidq05FAdezryl46C/s400/DSC_4405.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A slow drive around Shovelers' Pond turned up nothing except some of the most common birds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Great Blue Heron was the only heron we spotted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most birds that we saw were Common Gallinules and American Coots (below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSMpIjw4k1V5KhanXo9qvnohH7XhQYB0N0RMCOoVGGwcvA9_tfRIIgqrQpRbvYelyJiDiIK1-LEA-4qSGp8h4nwf3Ccs5MiHGAwAVLRoBYA6XT0RpR5j-IpcbqTeMHxtRNsMY/s1600/DSC_4425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSMpIjw4k1V5KhanXo9qvnohH7XhQYB0N0RMCOoVGGwcvA9_tfRIIgqrQpRbvYelyJiDiIK1-LEA-4qSGp8h4nwf3Ccs5MiHGAwAVLRoBYA6XT0RpR5j-IpcbqTeMHxtRNsMY/s400/DSC_4425.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Great-tailed Grackles were also present in large numbers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our final bird was this Pied-billed Grebe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xUwRh8iXlPbdzrGYxYbKEcj3W98HdqKtGJJJm_PSQ4D4fO5sdLNkq4LvHVaAsMrSfBhy9K1BS9vfQOwTwwibR8Dhz1TIxSLfucdFFY4nlkRzimIWjDlsDfEGAKCFy4Rk1cRY/s1600/DSC_4432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xUwRh8iXlPbdzrGYxYbKEcj3W98HdqKtGJJJm_PSQ4D4fO5sdLNkq4LvHVaAsMrSfBhy9K1BS9vfQOwTwwibR8Dhz1TIxSLfucdFFY4nlkRzimIWjDlsDfEGAKCFy4Rk1cRY/s400/DSC_4432.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm hoping that more birds will be around when we visit the site in April on our way to look for spring migrants in High Island.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-85187533993140514782016-03-28T11:21:00.004-05:002016-03-28T14:45:39.274-05:00Getting Busy at the Rookery<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Our friends were late arriving on Sunday and so we didn't reach High Island until noon. The Smith Oaks rookery was very busy - with both birds and people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There weren't only birds and people either, because a large alligator was lurking across from the first observation platform</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiX9bHJxgcxqsIDcnvmQrA-XAk-6n3QqpHUOqXMSfARZLeDj7U0TVR1xAVFWxFrzny9eCFU_R553H1HVhRzCv363CK0S2tJJW0w1tSS72Pjqfy8zl8pJfIs8figE1cISbd016_/s1600/IMG_7565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiX9bHJxgcxqsIDcnvmQrA-XAk-6n3QqpHUOqXMSfARZLeDj7U0TVR1xAVFWxFrzny9eCFU_R553H1HVhRzCv363CK0S2tJJW0w1tSS72Pjqfy8zl8pJfIs8figE1cISbd016_/s400/IMG_7565.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nearby there were a couple of Common Moorhens and Blue-winged Teal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErE7L-FFOxgbPuVFJ3h-A9bFB6tz4rPSFbZrOhxFblgVG0h-ZCzGrUnsoqoYaWzb9taUB-WWLjuMAc9Q5ILOjEeOGrkyZKH-17zuf8NTwlSiblXnYkryCTee_4iLGKUaDK5K_/s1600/IMG_7561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErE7L-FFOxgbPuVFJ3h-A9bFB6tz4rPSFbZrOhxFblgVG0h-ZCzGrUnsoqoYaWzb9taUB-WWLjuMAc9Q5ILOjEeOGrkyZKH-17zuf8NTwlSiblXnYkryCTee_4iLGKUaDK5K_/s400/IMG_7561.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As usual, the first area with nests was largely occupied by Neotropic Cormorants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHX3EYkG3cBgZxcLmdhYCfAODcTVgKLEn0GAp7X1i5Aaelot9oEVFVCKnCQOu-WeplmmUsAep5SzXbG1uH2QuFXdULQ3h-mh-x-Xu22g3nYgRv3PQbgVw61wRKzG4UumTkxMU/s1600/DSC_4394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHX3EYkG3cBgZxcLmdhYCfAODcTVgKLEn0GAp7X1i5Aaelot9oEVFVCKnCQOu-WeplmmUsAep5SzXbG1uH2QuFXdULQ3h-mh-x-Xu22g3nYgRv3PQbgVw61wRKzG4UumTkxMU/s400/DSC_4394.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Several Snowy Egrets were prowling near the water's edge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4Grnd7m1JFlD_03hH0ig_xxkTDIcTONIlF_rdKtCJkMDUS7P2Isy7iLjBhN7pUMnNU4oSyvEg9PVvEOOj4_CQ6l8N-LE5LwzWz0hTkFdNIeZf7w-nY2cw98XcNrHWhajIgTC/s1600/DSC_4392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4Grnd7m1JFlD_03hH0ig_xxkTDIcTONIlF_rdKtCJkMDUS7P2Isy7iLjBhN7pUMnNU4oSyvEg9PVvEOOj4_CQ6l8N-LE5LwzWz0hTkFdNIeZf7w-nY2cw98XcNrHWhajIgTC/s400/DSC_4392.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since our previous visit the number of Roseate Spoonbills had increased significantly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9Osqbb-WFWc5oBYUGWUe4sXthHZvWSbyJDRTHruyGN85Gd-gwC7txETgHTZF-Pvfrko5Pwuqw9gAUJoPQSQMVwTcN6v3qvKzEtlQcjQpWMmWpmuBcDCELlT7e0WtSbjcbhkv/s1600/DSC_4332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9Osqbb-WFWc5oBYUGWUe4sXthHZvWSbyJDRTHruyGN85Gd-gwC7txETgHTZF-Pvfrko5Pwuqw9gAUJoPQSQMVwTcN6v3qvKzEtlQcjQpWMmWpmuBcDCELlT7e0WtSbjcbhkv/s400/DSC_4332.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2phCEyk72l8mgfFwEWsp_xtuIZB8KM5mNUXbZpp_1B7lYv1y8Or1Bh8D2p9o5bb44gomCrGvbO7DmJ2GjGudvm79EC8d_1VpNcQjtqcnACyBNF9fnsotg7m_APt5YSCEoe4T/s1600/DSC_4397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2phCEyk72l8mgfFwEWsp_xtuIZB8KM5mNUXbZpp_1B7lYv1y8Or1Bh8D2p9o5bb44gomCrGvbO7DmJ2GjGudvm79EC8d_1VpNcQjtqcnACyBNF9fnsotg7m_APt5YSCEoe4T/s400/DSC_4397.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For me, as I'm sure for many other people, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the rookery is to watch Roseate Spoonbills as they fly into and out of the nesting areas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEispTeAtVas1cFkgkfU0lisXB7ryveFd354AyuQHaT8f24gEnpZ0J5Z-uRBE0WJrAuUWy3lL_Ur4LsEuY7tieMOPh0VfbhQMXMyCOJLaT5qsyLoEvmhenMXr5xGOShJBqN2-cxS/s1600/DSC_4366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEispTeAtVas1cFkgkfU0lisXB7ryveFd354AyuQHaT8f24gEnpZ0J5Z-uRBE0WJrAuUWy3lL_Ur4LsEuY7tieMOPh0VfbhQMXMyCOJLaT5qsyLoEvmhenMXr5xGOShJBqN2-cxS/s400/DSC_4366.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTqk2CX5AM7GDieys4dZ32jSc0w0UtJC7KUWlLP2CaR_ZKwBcKeDT4cz6aLbKAAPBbiwYR2Wy_ng-hVZJPcd0tFWmk63AFgLcTr2R7LjTzYg2rb7qEKYzH3YfP4Q2YADYE0Aq/s1600/DSC_4313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTqk2CX5AM7GDieys4dZ32jSc0w0UtJC7KUWlLP2CaR_ZKwBcKeDT4cz6aLbKAAPBbiwYR2Wy_ng-hVZJPcd0tFWmk63AFgLcTr2R7LjTzYg2rb7qEKYzH3YfP4Q2YADYE0Aq/s400/DSC_4313.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By far the most numerous of the nesting birds on this visit were again Great Egrets, most looking splendid in their breeding plumage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is always great fun watching these magnificent birds as they fly back to the rookery with nesting materials. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuyV_FKJh5ikWYSowedOCgmOfdqFptNTQnHNbi4dE3h0nGu9l7bdGmIoQ_zJfOFGJ5ZJyAe-3exeaBiCoT9_bLjM_iY9Pn2zM6jewE-eC0VpvbMS1GCK3GCsylVW6DsJ_2BES/s1600/DSC_4255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuyV_FKJh5ikWYSowedOCgmOfdqFptNTQnHNbi4dE3h0nGu9l7bdGmIoQ_zJfOFGJ5ZJyAe-3exeaBiCoT9_bLjM_iY9Pn2zM6jewE-eC0VpvbMS1GCK3GCsylVW6DsJ_2BES/s400/DSC_4255.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of the materials the Egrets bring in are impressively large.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9cNuK4jDo-hb9VNh86chxyYW-SPdq-NqlT9-4kaKGmD61Ui6ZKY8xZb0oj0FGNDzsQZ9gJ6KXiQtP8Z_oKNeK_88OmHGZs96UltqCaaNUfLxX7m523B8mpV9F2JMvTpn6TQYW/s1600/DSC_4347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9cNuK4jDo-hb9VNh86chxyYW-SPdq-NqlT9-4kaKGmD61Ui6ZKY8xZb0oj0FGNDzsQZ9gJ6KXiQtP8Z_oKNeK_88OmHGZs96UltqCaaNUfLxX7m523B8mpV9F2JMvTpn6TQYW/s400/DSC_4347.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Others are, well, much less impressive.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78xBPP2MBolYY3J2oofDvaJfFUv_r3MsAqquETbeQMaQCsgKFK6jKz-lUqLTdK45Kse6iQFykLaET3uTLccXI0sccCEzKm1pvWhmT-eA_NmOMGDZOLaUZJdz8Hb9UPQkKjD63/s1600/DSC_4328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78xBPP2MBolYY3J2oofDvaJfFUv_r3MsAqquETbeQMaQCsgKFK6jKz-lUqLTdK45Kse6iQFykLaET3uTLccXI0sccCEzKm1pvWhmT-eA_NmOMGDZOLaUZJdz8Hb9UPQkKjD63/s400/DSC_4328.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Whatever the size of the contributions, each bird's partner is waiting at the chosen site to take charge of the materials and add them carefully to the growing nest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjYu8rXILO2v9s8x7g1Hh93wZRpPt9DxGHc5iK3vgsfVCJUVFYcT-sAp_Bc5mAhFVGhHLxgpoE4EmLA7yNqOJv2Hpe11dNyTcuamfKXbDcWQkUsAmOI7SjFsnTEOlkhGc1ukm/s1600/DSC_4352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjYu8rXILO2v9s8x7g1Hh93wZRpPt9DxGHc5iK3vgsfVCJUVFYcT-sAp_Bc5mAhFVGhHLxgpoE4EmLA7yNqOJv2Hpe11dNyTcuamfKXbDcWQkUsAmOI7SjFsnTEOlkhGc1ukm/s640/DSC_4352.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNqQsRG_gohSFDXI_ZYGXzLckluNnnNefG08jGZdmUFRqN9gRbLWnDXmwau3OOZCpIPadavvX_2D6yCDPSvzd7NPlSK4BAVCEVkDdYUndhO7PVYuljWT_uXzqLk23o9TOfkUZ/s1600/DSC_4354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNqQsRG_gohSFDXI_ZYGXzLckluNnnNefG08jGZdmUFRqN9gRbLWnDXmwau3OOZCpIPadavvX_2D6yCDPSvzd7NPlSK4BAVCEVkDdYUndhO7PVYuljWT_uXzqLk23o9TOfkUZ/s400/DSC_4354.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBarb-ID4Aq8DQJSIQLgiamj10qmsWpENBBaB-qzEh_PxufYMiUS2IDLtDpRwnfS-dmkiMfs18Ww23db5oxVYrnctnOmplMqT8tD9ojtoGNZG3JYM0k8J36vuShDHbIRmhOy4f/s1600/DSC_4355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBarb-ID4Aq8DQJSIQLgiamj10qmsWpENBBaB-qzEh_PxufYMiUS2IDLtDpRwnfS-dmkiMfs18Ww23db5oxVYrnctnOmplMqT8tD9ojtoGNZG3JYM0k8J36vuShDHbIRmhOy4f/s400/DSC_4355.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Great Egrets and Spoonbills made a nice contrast with the numerous Black Vultures that kept passing overhead. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Rb3n17OHSANGvgCz9wgMxP5Hn8eh55_orR6c_zR5iUl-Zx-NlKonZtCI0M_aDhsYRaE8j5aznE858fEd-_nfPq-0Bbrf8U7N7YwWROoDnBQ3S8KRA0s1F5HicVa4AeKtQhO9/s1600/DSC_4372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Rb3n17OHSANGvgCz9wgMxP5Hn8eh55_orR6c_zR5iUl-Zx-NlKonZtCI0M_aDhsYRaE8j5aznE858fEd-_nfPq-0Bbrf8U7N7YwWROoDnBQ3S8KRA0s1F5HicVa4AeKtQhO9/s400/DSC_4372.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After an hour at the rookery we left High Island to fit in another visit to Anahuac NWR before we headed for home.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-37470932388675556292016-03-24T08:15:00.000-05:002016-03-24T08:15:20.398-05:00Dawn on Bolivar<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sunday morning I was up early and arrived at Rollover Pass on the Bolivar peninsula before dawn.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_1pNtrG3pzC0FNa_YM6F5r75K0I695g2NqhXdEAg0w-sT3xnb5hRy1b27lLaoCEnyFoGrRpE9hOA6of5b5s-W0-2Li8nc2Wq-JcJQfF1tDVDnBSXMrjqRRPwP7V-UzmQpJ0l/s1600/DSC_4159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_1pNtrG3pzC0FNa_YM6F5r75K0I695g2NqhXdEAg0w-sT3xnb5hRy1b27lLaoCEnyFoGrRpE9hOA6of5b5s-W0-2Li8nc2Wq-JcJQfF1tDVDnBSXMrjqRRPwP7V-UzmQpJ0l/s400/DSC_4159.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As on our February visit, there were plenty of birds but almost all of them were far from the beach. An additional problem was that there was such a strong wind that it was impossible to hold binoculars or camera still. So after taking a blurry photo of a group of American Avocets, I headed further along the peninsula in hopes of finding a more sheltered spot and more birds.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoq3jUS1e_t8gq4zkVypS28_Z7A4dJPELdVTAtQ4PBc9Umei5TGLW9yVb-4_V6tgIm8N7VpdYp62zyDtLopu-eR5tWwqIlfwy_tG3Us4-zXZr4T_nGoxC5Aa3QxZP42SgK72D/s1600/DSC_4162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoq3jUS1e_t8gq4zkVypS28_Z7A4dJPELdVTAtQ4PBc9Umei5TGLW9yVb-4_V6tgIm8N7VpdYp62zyDtLopu-eR5tWwqIlfwy_tG3Us4-zXZr4T_nGoxC5Aa3QxZP42SgK72D/s400/DSC_4162.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I ended up at the end of Yacht Basin Road, where several Willets were looking unhappy as they stood facing into the wind.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi9R9ZGoi5Wnv0ZMiW_79HLkgoqCIUJA3vcMxsamrLLAf6yAV-sMfnrPYePZmf1cvSBFYcoRiV_8GcHCoSHM2JnpxJEUGuKOR6uBiyJ8e4h6i9bWRTsDRhG_5s5pEomgnvSrU/s1600/DSC_4169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi9R9ZGoi5Wnv0ZMiW_79HLkgoqCIUJA3vcMxsamrLLAf6yAV-sMfnrPYePZmf1cvSBFYcoRiV_8GcHCoSHM2JnpxJEUGuKOR6uBiyJ8e4h6i9bWRTsDRhG_5s5pEomgnvSrU/s400/DSC_4169.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A solitary Red-breasted Merganser was bobbing around nearby. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoTBjRpmnpPwEL5PTAz-CT3BPraEdJTYDFSicqeWe2SNeKTDmSSgKgnXtLwzsSjbuaHMsogFWQ-2QIYPQmG_EtDOVfFO3zsuaITecRCpTNGxO2TTU5Fz2VYebrYW8xvV_srqM/s1600/DSC_4171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoTBjRpmnpPwEL5PTAz-CT3BPraEdJTYDFSicqeWe2SNeKTDmSSgKgnXtLwzsSjbuaHMsogFWQ-2QIYPQmG_EtDOVfFO3zsuaITecRCpTNGxO2TTU5Fz2VYebrYW8xvV_srqM/s400/DSC_4171.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By now the light was much better and the wind seemed to be decreasing somewhat, so I headed back to Rollover Pass. Although most birds were still well out of reach, there were a few on the beach. This Black-bellied Plover was one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> This Willet was another.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Occasionally a Brown Pelican would glide majestically by, only feet above the water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Disappointed by the comparative lack of birds, I started driving out through the parking area but had to stop when I noticed a Snowy Egret fishing in a small pool next to the rusted siding of the main water channel. I can never resist the chance to watch and photograph Snowies!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Egret was sharing the pool with a Willet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gBHZN6nQFsQz5XOfX100Io97ZVVKJrsDTdSKq7l7wfGaOFz8zspX1PAqNbLrUY6E9LstfHu9tTrmmsYJRVm8bgxv0H7BNmtOMEoogoRIgElklDleHY-iBKyySbPenIQhB9Ff/s1600/DSC_4198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gBHZN6nQFsQz5XOfX100Io97ZVVKJrsDTdSKq7l7wfGaOFz8zspX1PAqNbLrUY6E9LstfHu9tTrmmsYJRVm8bgxv0H7BNmtOMEoogoRIgElklDleHY-iBKyySbPenIQhB9Ff/s400/DSC_4198.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was so busy watching the Snowy Egret and the Willet that I almost missed noticing a Great Blue Heron that was standing motionless only a few yards away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkzw5JLc7BlNKgqnwvvsjVSfvzU1dt-tn3MN0Agv7KvWQh7tYZB_3FPRBU0EEKP-Y2WQHxP27CcTXsKDW0s_H1JKGvnmCf1MqpxuX8RAjkEACpVtII2cpHT-YqRW5m_d16JE7/s1600/DSC_4203x.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkzw5JLc7BlNKgqnwvvsjVSfvzU1dt-tn3MN0Agv7KvWQh7tYZB_3FPRBU0EEKP-Y2WQHxP27CcTXsKDW0s_H1JKGvnmCf1MqpxuX8RAjkEACpVtII2cpHT-YqRW5m_d16JE7/s400/DSC_4203x.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After thanking the Heron for being such a cooperative photo subject, I headed back to Winnie to collect Dee. Our plan after that was to hang out at High Island until our friends showed up.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-63051397556871311632016-03-21T13:36:00.002-05:002016-03-21T13:40:45.622-05:00Another Coastal Trip<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We
finally got enough free time to fit in a weekend birding trip. Although
the weather was wild and windy, we decided to visit Anahuac NWR on
Saturday and then High Island on Sunday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We started our visit by driving down the road to Frozen Point. Most birds were keeping hunkered down out of the wind but lots of Red-winged Blackbirds were congregating in the fields or displaying on fence posts. I just love the male Blackbirds' call and the way they fluff up their red epaulets. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first parking area on the bay gave us good looks at a Whimbrel, one of my favorite shorebirds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In our first ten years in Texas we rarely saw Whimbrels but we have seen plenty of them the past couple of years. I don't wknow whether they have become increasingly common or whether we've just gotten better at noticing them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Black-bellied Plover was nearby. It won't be long now until they turn up in their spectacular black and white breeding plumage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the third parking area we looked unsuccessfully for the Burrowing Owl. However, the bay there had several birds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Ruddy Turnstone, always a pleasure to see, wandered along the rocks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Willet and a Greater Yellowlegs were competing for prey in the same patch of shallow water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Willet soon tired of the competition and drove away the Yellowlegs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Laughing Gulls were flying low over the waves and I noticed they kept dipping their feet into the water as they did so. I'm not sure if they were fishing or just playing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When a sparrow popped up on one of the rocks, I thought for a moment I was looking at a Seaside Sparrow. Then I realized it was just a Savannah Sparrow. A pretty bird all the same!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We headed up to do the Shovelers' Pond loop, stopping on the way to do a quick and unsuccessful search for the male Vermilion Flycatcher that winters near the Visitor Center.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">While the wind was still keeping most birds hunkered down
out of sight, the landscape was as beautiful as usual.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Shovelers' Pond had mainly American Coots.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of the Coots were clustered in large rafts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were quite a few Common Gallinules also, although these were hanging out in pairs or small groups.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Numerous dark Ibis and several Forster's Terns were flying about but none came near enough for photos. So I had to make do with one of the Savannah Sparrows that common among the spring flowers along the edges of the road. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As the weather was not really conducive to productive birdwatching, we decided to cut short our day and drive up to Winnie, where we had booked a room for the night at the excellent Winnie Inn & Suites.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Our plan for the following day was for me to do a little dawn birding on Bolivar and then for us to go to High Island to meet up with some friends and their children who had never seen the Smith Oaks rookery. </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-90384246436582531602016-03-15T11:35:00.003-05:002016-03-15T11:35:30.346-05:00More Owls<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In a typical year, I don't get to see many owls. So after seeing the Burrowing Owl at Anahuac NWR, I wasn't expecting to see any more owls for a while. However, a few days ago I noticed that someone had spotted Great Horned Owls very near CyFair College and I decided to go and look for them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It didn't take me long to see that there was a large nest in the area where the owls had been reported.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I approached the nest, I was delighted to see that it was occupied by an adult Great Horned Owl and a juvenile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A couple of days later I went back to check on the nest and I was surprised to see that there were actually two young birds in it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvELyRue9N9uP5jPfaZH0vYXqCkowtYTBLZtiM8xnPmmGMBRB04AmwFNuoTAzYE-w9H0FGDHC7Nuu13PooAUeI_KHEU3PKMOVkBdaG21cWhHRVp-gp_zgafGOcvPZ0bWQ-It1/s1600/two-ghos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvELyRue9N9uP5jPfaZH0vYXqCkowtYTBLZtiM8xnPmmGMBRB04AmwFNuoTAzYE-w9H0FGDHC7Nuu13PooAUeI_KHEU3PKMOVkBdaG21cWhHRVp-gp_zgafGOcvPZ0bWQ-It1/s400/two-ghos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I scanned the branches around the nest but couldn't see any sign of the parent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then as I turned to leave, I realized that the adult owl was perched just a few yards away and was obviously watching me. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpw1mRRKSMlOewqS0Jm-5Y8CILPjPpjqgeN0mNOKynLN9aXjfSV3jwZ7XTOsuhwYCfJ8JeRaQoS8h6xXNhkGDsv6i2CLRQPRfwEAUJbf_88W8S36m7RPgTmu-V9XcM6pVdOXF0/s1600/gho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpw1mRRKSMlOewqS0Jm-5Y8CILPjPpjqgeN0mNOKynLN9aXjfSV3jwZ7XTOsuhwYCfJ8JeRaQoS8h6xXNhkGDsv6i2CLRQPRfwEAUJbf_88W8S36m7RPgTmu-V9XcM6pVdOXF0/s400/gho.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope to get back to the nest later this week to see how the two owlets are developing. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">.</span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-26691290643599787992016-03-08T06:00:00.000-06:002016-03-08T06:00:12.947-06:00Coastal Trip: Part 4<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After largely dipping on birds on Bolivar, I wasn't too optimistic about Galveston. However, although birds were fairly scarce, there were some good ones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was too slow stopping and getting out of the car to get photos of a pair of White-tailed Kites on Stewart Road but three Sandhill Cranes on 8 Mile Road were more obliging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sportsmen Road is normally an excellent place for watching and photographing Egrets, Herons and other large wading birds. On this trip, though, there was only a single White Ibis in the channel next to the road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPfVGmV6sch3ijazmHV06qnWedJ6nI_J1F2paAlcm2c4xdD5kp_lIGDeIK5V4I1uFxeGzRxbQJLTX7Ys-hkx22181N62ZNIWlEmwiOQJwnpOFj8ALToDmgC8D7PHaXKKGl5Xp/s1600/DSC_3545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPfVGmV6sch3ijazmHV06qnWedJ6nI_J1F2paAlcm2c4xdD5kp_lIGDeIK5V4I1uFxeGzRxbQJLTX7Ys-hkx22181N62ZNIWlEmwiOQJwnpOFj8ALToDmgC8D7PHaXKKGl5Xp/s400/DSC_3545.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nearby was a rather forlorn-looking Osprey. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkNNPoSJaiB0EDfsXNCgKrn0VF4sdyBbefXGYtgIhujF-yOBKGPT99OLaDoTrQHxvi-7-I7VnrTCIYZHF6w5EI7K2QIEs5CQElh-JkdfgEfUBl6qjRXYATK71-ACJROQokTCr/s1600/DSC_3537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkNNPoSJaiB0EDfsXNCgKrn0VF4sdyBbefXGYtgIhujF-yOBKGPT99OLaDoTrQHxvi-7-I7VnrTCIYZHF6w5EI7K2QIEs5CQElh-JkdfgEfUBl6qjRXYATK71-ACJROQokTCr/s400/DSC_3537.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our final stop was at the end of 8 Mile Road. In spite of the fact that the area was busy with anglers, there were several Ruddy Turnstones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUxb0NqRQFZjeFYywmTnZgqAP53Ysdqas6OXef3UBPI1P5Qo3U1tHyjAfWgCmfDCHuIyhICaSCARBV5LrT0j5Gl51orcKhId7RqObC_z8IMvYu4J_ABOFt5mHm6a85lfLL3Dl/s1600/DSC_3554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUxb0NqRQFZjeFYywmTnZgqAP53Ysdqas6OXef3UBPI1P5Qo3U1tHyjAfWgCmfDCHuIyhICaSCARBV5LrT0j5Gl51orcKhId7RqObC_z8IMvYu4J_ABOFt5mHm6a85lfLL3Dl/s400/DSC_3554.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A solitary Willet also seemed to be oblivious to the people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmvt3jd4f6qSugSPngsqr7zu51L9hvnpoWiE85TI9zmvMm9OkRieOq6fzulF8R0cj5ToArkvu2C_dQoI3iV-JgzoxMXdI1h4gawHzOYpp_LQxxQwiVr_enZTAtFuQUWO1dtD_/s1600/DSC_3543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmvt3jd4f6qSugSPngsqr7zu51L9hvnpoWiE85TI9zmvMm9OkRieOq6fzulF8R0cj5ToArkvu2C_dQoI3iV-JgzoxMXdI1h4gawHzOYpp_LQxxQwiVr_enZTAtFuQUWO1dtD_/s400/DSC_3543.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUWX99XLJV-YDt5JdxnVnNEHPRA8xswknBnBGAsTpkG2muwocIIHkG7eNewxMpSigdj42V8cL-tmmJC_y64NfSEbZoRzA3SE2rUv9-6WS_brM15XibvO5UzPqBk_Ry2on_U9l/s1600/willet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUWX99XLJV-YDt5JdxnVnNEHPRA8xswknBnBGAsTpkG2muwocIIHkG7eNewxMpSigdj42V8cL-tmmJC_y64NfSEbZoRzA3SE2rUv9-6WS_brM15XibvO5UzPqBk_Ry2on_U9l/s640/willet.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was hoping that the site would still have the Common Loon that we'd seen there at the end of last year. Sure enough, there it was again. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ez63MvmxMBkk-P7cm9PMT8aKXSy2Om8mMmEu4CPuwnlmnKd56_tsDFY-oa2havMGUFR0hyphenhyphenIISWe6rIQzMtxkAnaRy9YqCLe7CNFTZGpEgQvOSwGeFGOal9Wzr20J60UypdIJ/s1600/DSC_3549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ez63MvmxMBkk-P7cm9PMT8aKXSy2Om8mMmEu4CPuwnlmnKd56_tsDFY-oa2havMGUFR0hyphenhyphenIISWe6rIQzMtxkAnaRy9YqCLe7CNFTZGpEgQvOSwGeFGOal9Wzr20J60UypdIJ/s400/DSC_3549.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Of course, I can't really be sure that it was the exact same bird but it seems likely to me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">By now it was time for lunch at our favorite Galveston restaurant, Mario's on the Seawall. And after that we would have to start the drive home. However, we'll no doubt be doing the same trip again at least twice in April, when spring migration should insure that we see many more birds than we managed this time.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-1644894763113625162016-03-06T06:00:00.000-06:002016-03-06T06:00:00.195-06:00Coastal Trip: Part 3<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We didn't have a lot of luck with birds along the Bolivar peninsula on Sunday morning. Rollover Pass had thousands of birds but all of them were on sandbanks far away from the beach.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The beach at Retillon Road wasn't much more productive either. All we saw were Brown Pelicans, a Long-billed Curlew and Ring-billed Gulls.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdZA9oN9yAihSANg5ZOKZdJ5zgGCjAqJ6jlFlnsnGHrA6T156KA54uwz9siZHThh-xGRnimf1OAzYkDJs5IpX0wyDChyphenhyphenJtUQWC5CgHZV6V9nZF0U3ctRI4dqZd4SfZlAR2dVJ/s1600/DSC_3460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdZA9oN9yAihSANg5ZOKZdJ5zgGCjAqJ6jlFlnsnGHrA6T156KA54uwz9siZHThh-xGRnimf1OAzYkDJs5IpX0wyDChyphenhyphenJtUQWC5CgHZV6V9nZF0U3ctRI4dqZd4SfZlAR2dVJ/s400/DSC_3460.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uGjpRjVzlGZFJI26t1-M2JN5rAls4n-7duCqDIdTiV6vZuQmH-sfsfo-bTbrddW7dFJMoBwbQptlxTrjrDvze201PWLEOHyr-zIiKqV0TThMY0f12uk5JXBqIUF6DhfPdgNy/s1600/DSC_3463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uGjpRjVzlGZFJI26t1-M2JN5rAls4n-7duCqDIdTiV6vZuQmH-sfsfo-bTbrddW7dFJMoBwbQptlxTrjrDvze201PWLEOHyr-zIiKqV0TThMY0f12uk5JXBqIUF6DhfPdgNy/s400/DSC_3463.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Things picked up when we reached the ferry harbor, which had many handsome Brown Pelicans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRajaP-0z5xa1B0kCOg3KS3b3RiiyJoUzAKQ4YawHInx5mm1pUnPIL3mOV8VjEVgR47N-HylV-OAPFsqjnsj3wJaa3zGbm2N9EE1c690Xju_kRltLfNzz-rX7C_9rgEgtzAqx7/s1600/DSC_3486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRajaP-0z5xa1B0kCOg3KS3b3RiiyJoUzAKQ4YawHInx5mm1pUnPIL3mOV8VjEVgR47N-HylV-OAPFsqjnsj3wJaa3zGbm2N9EE1c690Xju_kRltLfNzz-rX7C_9rgEgtzAqx7/s640/DSC_3486.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were also several groups of American White Pelicans, most of which were busy grooming. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf42iQOjwNbq-jqK_nesw6nEnl2Lmadu2p3X-S09GC-DO97RO0g5zKtIR0qewS_wxHr6rBZhdRBxY_J-0rEkyCs4m-tTxEw6A3tMIJj-ev8XoWqAVRM1JE7qmkVMu5uXo7Vxqe/s1600/DSC_3501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf42iQOjwNbq-jqK_nesw6nEnl2Lmadu2p3X-S09GC-DO97RO0g5zKtIR0qewS_wxHr6rBZhdRBxY_J-0rEkyCs4m-tTxEw6A3tMIJj-ev8XoWqAVRM1JE7qmkVMu5uXo7Vxqe/s400/DSC_3501.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7of3Hx_zVXzlTuQKspeCsAFpTRqj3RiOv6HzdzEYOyyz7O-UqV2NxASI2rvcsdt7iuv4N9F67yzMpwwcxZT7sg_invS8Izd0nxIy1Rx9xNVQVmFW8VioHKY66hIt99cbBkGxC/s1600/DSC_3484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7of3Hx_zVXzlTuQKspeCsAFpTRqj3RiOv6HzdzEYOyyz7O-UqV2NxASI2rvcsdt7iuv4N9F67yzMpwwcxZT7sg_invS8Izd0nxIy1Rx9xNVQVmFW8VioHKY66hIt99cbBkGxC/s400/DSC_3484.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfD7hnX9_B28KbYKX5hWVTuPEnsXY7tQnbHrwD6LI9uUkKeOOvRbWAjKvEGNif1pWTM1JRjAk_IB4XQyN_zWxWCVVIN0uGP3OmYu37y9pCDmEm-IUj7V9cFJUE6v9aB-uoB4n/s1600/DSC_3496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfD7hnX9_B28KbYKX5hWVTuPEnsXY7tQnbHrwD6LI9uUkKeOOvRbWAjKvEGNif1pWTM1JRjAk_IB4XQyN_zWxWCVVIN0uGP3OmYu37y9pCDmEm-IUj7V9cFJUE6v9aB-uoB4n/s640/DSC_3496.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Only one of the American White Pelicans was fishing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqG9lWJn4lZmzl3qc7LH4xc9R5koFGUeGT8iSzEr1Dk1_FO68hMGRuVYaxUjHS_Eu8OC0Y-SLVoYZ1eTGrsc8ybICQ83YUyJDREcZfErb0EAJuAx0Ahycz0RndAZ8Wc9EiFWtc/s1600/DSC_3487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqG9lWJn4lZmzl3qc7LH4xc9R5koFGUeGT8iSzEr1Dk1_FO68hMGRuVYaxUjHS_Eu8OC0Y-SLVoYZ1eTGrsc8ybICQ83YUyJDREcZfErb0EAJuAx0Ahycz0RndAZ8Wc9EiFWtc/s400/DSC_3487.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcnez9aJ-ZzhbFuiUR9MgNDWpf9so0Yjd8ZKJYQdLHEw8sO2s61T9YI3UUT7QcAK3Q1is4AAQx2n0h_POdywJkmGV_IHl31ooFBDaDQgE34sTfo7J5HcjpTCjx2iOWXLoxXm4/s1600/DSC_3488-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcnez9aJ-ZzhbFuiUR9MgNDWpf9so0Yjd8ZKJYQdLHEw8sO2s61T9YI3UUT7QcAK3Q1is4AAQx2n0h_POdywJkmGV_IHl31ooFBDaDQgE34sTfo7J5HcjpTCjx2iOWXLoxXm4/s400/DSC_3488-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As usual, the ferry ride over to Galveston provided lots of opportunities to photograph Laughing Gulls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dPAx2Ucds7YqXexC0i-oXV8wgbBli4GLrJXgzH2W62lmPhKcmLFo3uEufUInKr9rURhNLa70Kbq78XbBqzu86Vkt7zAnQmYG5ra41x9Ro4mj2miqJ8OJcnQK9uT3s2eBdiL5/s1600/DSC_3480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dPAx2Ucds7YqXexC0i-oXV8wgbBli4GLrJXgzH2W62lmPhKcmLFo3uEufUInKr9rURhNLa70Kbq78XbBqzu86Vkt7zAnQmYG5ra41x9Ro4mj2miqJ8OJcnQK9uT3s2eBdiL5/s400/DSC_3480.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03h-OtFMNLO7p5JY24O-ocEjw4DBCf2tfjk09red4f-Hggez6fWVzyBdsP7_I9kA2kmzZkfMzn8MXEtihC4HSjR60A0xcfSM0pDl4IhnlN4JuRwUaL1q5AZLoaE83xEBSSnIt/s1600/DSC_3483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03h-OtFMNLO7p5JY24O-ocEjw4DBCf2tfjk09red4f-Hggez6fWVzyBdsP7_I9kA2kmzZkfMzn8MXEtihC4HSjR60A0xcfSM0pDl4IhnlN4JuRwUaL1q5AZLoaE83xEBSSnIt/s400/DSC_3483.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was very taken by the beautiful eyes of this Ring-billed Gull, as I'd never before noticed the red eye-ring. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvTJJu0yiyvMTFQ8mQYvbDnUk9IyOpXQ3Rpo4MOVWyAacd_Pnr8t784aNOL8E4Bkj2p0_rux33OW88BJe9UmUKEqgxEgTTYAVUsIVaJxNKWpq-1tarV4Ke_6qJens2fHPe2_s/s1600/DSC_3479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvTJJu0yiyvMTFQ8mQYvbDnUk9IyOpXQ3Rpo4MOVWyAacd_Pnr8t784aNOL8E4Bkj2p0_rux33OW88BJe9UmUKEqgxEgTTYAVUsIVaJxNKWpq-1tarV4Ke_6qJens2fHPe2_s/s400/DSC_3479.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Luckily, I had remembered to bring along some Triscuits and so Dee was able to have fun feeding Laughing Gulls from the stern of the boat.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cD5Cyi73-PYPA6KLbaHTYACUJ6QZvIY7NrDA2-G2EkbQv50thODvx1NOQaX8YSyLzExRl7r_c4OGSO8f0pD9ZH30kJpdlZtdmW93ChOi_MRKfgf89XjCA1iu8hG60c6Mjovj/s1600/DSC_3510-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cD5Cyi73-PYPA6KLbaHTYACUJ6QZvIY7NrDA2-G2EkbQv50thODvx1NOQaX8YSyLzExRl7r_c4OGSO8f0pD9ZH30kJpdlZtdmW93ChOi_MRKfgf89XjCA1iu8hG60c6Mjovj/s640/DSC_3510-001.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span><br />
<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-91341238133237751612016-03-03T18:00:00.000-06:002016-03-03T18:00:10.685-06:00Coastal Trip: Part 2<span style="color: #274e13;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After leaving Anahuac on Saturday, we paid a brief visit to Smith Oaks in High Island.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was amazed to see that the rookery was already busy with hundreds of nesting birds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvdMvyoAAx3-EHNKmfk7cATEqsCVIfM9b7Xe80KA0z8MXwUbK7fXsyq2kNtkpuhYSt_7tpTR2eZ_EJVUXENdFWrEVlLfU3md4Js9r7gz1XQtb8q7fXHQ01hsKNFI3IjkzFeCV/s1600/DSC_3229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvdMvyoAAx3-EHNKmfk7cATEqsCVIfM9b7Xe80KA0z8MXwUbK7fXsyq2kNtkpuhYSt_7tpTR2eZ_EJVUXENdFWrEVlLfU3md4Js9r7gz1XQtb8q7fXHQ01hsKNFI3IjkzFeCV/s400/DSC_3229.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were some Roseate Spoonbills, but only a few and they hadn't started nest-building yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RNFkymAvc-qgXek_yRoc-nUpr95ye9YNID8mbpqh20BB8P2Y5V0mbl5GWqXXXCzvkWc5QJBagtqiWDNyLF5ZkozVD76DlvtA3Smb_GYqRXNSv5W9DY0uei0NQEho8OyIsjbh/s1600/DSC_3244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RNFkymAvc-qgXek_yRoc-nUpr95ye9YNID8mbpqh20BB8P2Y5V0mbl5GWqXXXCzvkWc5QJBagtqiWDNyLF5ZkozVD76DlvtA3Smb_GYqRXNSv5W9DY0uei0NQEho8OyIsjbh/s400/DSC_3244.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In contrast, there were scores and scores of both Double-crested and Neotropic Cormorants, some of which were nesting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R41Kw_rlgdY4zvPJKzXOLJ9LfEk1CHyYbLR1mljEnFJ7bohf6OKpial5lN24onwu51BxObeKAWLSCoqV6hGv9f37h9lQR6sTA3SvRZ9vaaAxgER69Nh4BxtcHtOT29EVsCTu/s1600/DSC_3351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R41Kw_rlgdY4zvPJKzXOLJ9LfEk1CHyYbLR1mljEnFJ7bohf6OKpial5lN24onwu51BxObeKAWLSCoqV6hGv9f37h9lQR6sTA3SvRZ9vaaAxgER69Nh4BxtcHtOT29EVsCTu/s400/DSC_3351.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's a Neotropic Cormorant, identified by the white line at the base of its bill. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDU8eIpgltFktdWoCLPcgAHAxZMdA8d7M2oH97W9yLvE8C76jm9V-WLR_Dz8DWvjaBXveMJIXlZHAO94mxPIfII4fyTn6k-v74MB6t5LXfYX6wFsZARfplJe_AcM6EjxPWEhw/s1600/DSC_3349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDU8eIpgltFktdWoCLPcgAHAxZMdA8d7M2oH97W9yLvE8C76jm9V-WLR_Dz8DWvjaBXveMJIXlZHAO94mxPIfII4fyTn6k-v74MB6t5LXfYX6wFsZARfplJe_AcM6EjxPWEhw/s640/DSC_3349.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Outnumbering all other species were Great Egrets. They were in full breeding plumage and had adopted their green faces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkAb15Q2nnZJhoNblwt9jqBd1rdao-ucU0FNqg5XGja0SghJOtXEoLO_d_aSAN6VdZEvLHm9CR-VordnrWGVbQcWjajdRvZ8YUjWFcU8gTItwHITsGYN8g39nexHc0vnEhkoG/s1600/DSC_3247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkAb15Q2nnZJhoNblwt9jqBd1rdao-ucU0FNqg5XGja0SghJOtXEoLO_d_aSAN6VdZEvLHm9CR-VordnrWGVbQcWjajdRvZ8YUjWFcU8gTItwHITsGYN8g39nexHc0vnEhkoG/s640/DSC_3247.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfx7gYz75CGZRDwKEaueN_49n-oLOLC_NT1VyvvlzipFRQz-ZTkYAC5PHT3nCOQC3YvrLiJa1rfbqEiYA0MNMJKXsEEtjsu3ROUDKRJY1p92ywaenoiBWqsWmPJV6deP6tTRl/s1600/DSC_3338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfx7gYz75CGZRDwKEaueN_49n-oLOLC_NT1VyvvlzipFRQz-ZTkYAC5PHT3nCOQC3YvrLiJa1rfbqEiYA0MNMJKXsEEtjsu3ROUDKRJY1p92ywaenoiBWqsWmPJV6deP6tTRl/s400/DSC_3338.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Several pairs were busy mating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the wonderful things about Smith Oaks is that you always get wonderful looks at Great Egrets (and, later, other large waders) as they fly in and out of the rookery.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4IN0vS6ieQFXokpxmaC_N9ANkBmO9TAmnABHqkcqQxvE0W44rB8UOEV9EiBALMW3VlJcJUga2atWqaMSNSoEKcJfgwPVwLXeTIF6aQ12CKQH2z5vMJa6jnfutygkW8NVxMgI/s1600/DSC_3254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4IN0vS6ieQFXokpxmaC_N9ANkBmO9TAmnABHqkcqQxvE0W44rB8UOEV9EiBALMW3VlJcJUga2atWqaMSNSoEKcJfgwPVwLXeTIF6aQ12CKQH2z5vMJa6jnfutygkW8NVxMgI/s400/DSC_3254.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqMySm7wUepld8QF_kyxko88XlotZJdXNg1QWAtBc83D4U5Zg1hOZT4f7zo1ywBc11Fc1bhrFg-Kdp90JTWIck-6ad9zoQQGuUgSOenJ5YL81obdBDOdih7HL0gb2UWv3mkQ3/s1600/DSC_3268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqMySm7wUepld8QF_kyxko88XlotZJdXNg1QWAtBc83D4U5Zg1hOZT4f7zo1ywBc11Fc1bhrFg-Kdp90JTWIck-6ad9zoQQGuUgSOenJ5YL81obdBDOdih7HL0gb2UWv3mkQ3/s640/DSC_3268.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love watching them as they come in to land on top of the trees.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ufD1T-verLKX2vqvKZaORRIu3s1cIWqBwSDLUZP9XQNznwtZNZJP6E4TfbzQ2_0x5K0THhJRE2PeZmB7DAasfpfumJOdmlmdcaNwvmMwZNZofvTrEc6iK2rdtMYVL1oIpvOX/s1600/DSC_3296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ufD1T-verLKX2vqvKZaORRIu3s1cIWqBwSDLUZP9XQNznwtZNZJP6E4TfbzQ2_0x5K0THhJRE2PeZmB7DAasfpfumJOdmlmdcaNwvmMwZNZofvTrEc6iK2rdtMYVL1oIpvOX/s640/DSC_3296.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTd-XpStMcbea1DXJhYxA3zCm8fcxEqn2IbCATWzYblAnOVIh5EJjZLsjYJtxotYGkRdwxjy_QyqzlUTvINWDX78fc6QzDQ11uKNtdo7kwOH2Wyd-7Qc-WYudCzQimHVAiq0W/s1600/DSC_3297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTd-XpStMcbea1DXJhYxA3zCm8fcxEqn2IbCATWzYblAnOVIh5EJjZLsjYJtxotYGkRdwxjy_QyqzlUTvINWDX78fc6QzDQ11uKNtdo7kwOH2Wyd-7Qc-WYudCzQimHVAiq0W/s400/DSC_3297.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmakBA47xuiZyBXXkRoZqfFwPWH_PvpaEQTlJGRTOe-Pss5o1ZwN-V_SWNa3IF9dKz3ig-OtGmlLn9Q2GFqWWzHFglHeeymsYI9UcAQOaeH8tHjZoYUW70si6rswQLzJGck8uZ/s1600/DSC_3298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmakBA47xuiZyBXXkRoZqfFwPWH_PvpaEQTlJGRTOe-Pss5o1ZwN-V_SWNa3IF9dKz3ig-OtGmlLn9Q2GFqWWzHFglHeeymsYI9UcAQOaeH8tHjZoYUW70si6rswQLzJGck8uZ/s400/DSC_3298.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On Sunday many of the Egrets were flying in with twigs and branches that they had collected for nest-building.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimB9ZOmqNlNnsJSbKCcvaZjGvrWtMrIgmA0TXrOe2gNEaJCsD_AnMUM77DvzAtcl-dFDhRkWfL0MM1GDkh-tgmiRmg91T_EGIApI-qO5w4lRMKWNfPGvS0AtLm3C5hOrITvPuU/s1600/DSC_3285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimB9ZOmqNlNnsJSbKCcvaZjGvrWtMrIgmA0TXrOe2gNEaJCsD_AnMUM77DvzAtcl-dFDhRkWfL0MM1GDkh-tgmiRmg91T_EGIApI-qO5w4lRMKWNfPGvS0AtLm3C5hOrITvPuU/s400/DSC_3285.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhbt6LAuxDCip3hefu-utmbqInNacr_XksXvv_xsv9Qe3fOD63qR9EdnYYhEwTqEdtgV9C3oFJKdKImbBiWYk8YxGCic-OMfBzJYdBWeq_43kMpBpiVbcndboGvsWRiYKxEqV/s1600/DSC_3335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhbt6LAuxDCip3hefu-utmbqInNacr_XksXvv_xsv9Qe3fOD63qR9EdnYYhEwTqEdtgV9C3oFJKdKImbBiWYk8YxGCic-OMfBzJYdBWeq_43kMpBpiVbcndboGvsWRiYKxEqV/s400/DSC_3335.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JSXoeh72gX7GgcbHKCYFzumWRxXopkTPYl_Mwdnn1p-CQUU0u2jQCzlR7saA9I9chB6bSOKeevUesvnEaIxmc3gxyinNou65hosqI6uBekvltDl0RcT6bLZsjHZSoNECAclM/s1600/DSC_3237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JSXoeh72gX7GgcbHKCYFzumWRxXopkTPYl_Mwdnn1p-CQUU0u2jQCzlR7saA9I9chB6bSOKeevUesvnEaIxmc3gxyinNou65hosqI6uBekvltDl0RcT6bLZsjHZSoNECAclM/s400/DSC_3237.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's fun to watch the way the birds waiting at the nest-site react when their partners fly in with their contributions. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghACujmdLtX205UCen4XOgnq7j4cOaNPgOn-2llzSDMQh_dh60BBK8cAutd15NH8hK2UtAzTU6_RVslUa4tQGguCvG1Le_wJZ33uY_aMsOy9c4kHJwleZXQdBd0uTBSB_AQD46/s1600/DSC_3292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghACujmdLtX205UCen4XOgnq7j4cOaNPgOn-2llzSDMQh_dh60BBK8cAutd15NH8hK2UtAzTU6_RVslUa4tQGguCvG1Le_wJZ33uY_aMsOy9c4kHJwleZXQdBd0uTBSB_AQD46/s400/DSC_3292.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's fun, too, to see the care with which the birds place the twigs and branches.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBBinncZQVrPEENEcfNjiktJ0qyZq859UwfsRAwzKBRAPjjb9K8piEqBsk_CnWn3eUW61MsZgrVqJlxKxYksmKQO7wFi3WbgsprlCw1ssRtu5XIz9PfQCqtu9EOSlIETof188/s1600/DSC_3258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBBinncZQVrPEENEcfNjiktJ0qyZq859UwfsRAwzKBRAPjjb9K8piEqBsk_CnWn3eUW61MsZgrVqJlxKxYksmKQO7wFi3WbgsprlCw1ssRtu5XIz9PfQCqtu9EOSlIETof188/s400/DSC_3258.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope we'll be able to visit High Island several times in April, by which time the rookery should be absolutely packed with nesting Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Cormorants and other large birds. It's the best springtime show in Texas, bar none.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-79564254693323067842016-03-01T08:25:00.003-06:002016-03-01T10:33:51.855-06:00Coastal Trip: Part 1 <span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We took the opportunity of having a free weekend to do our favorite birding loop: Anahuac NWR, High Island, Bolivar and Galveston. To give ourselves plenty of birding time, we arranged to spend a night in Winnie after visiting High Island.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Shoveler Pond at Anahuac looked as beautiful as ever.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzec7BIy8IW1A1ZFEg8AiwhCRnazcsVRX4KlRzUOsXsFdLQkPkftTpauWu_q4209E8FYgG-cmSradgLabmBdnENmNNDlzw7DUeWnuBuvYZ5gBo5OET9P7f-bPQJWF5NuKTJ7UJ/s1600/DSC_3165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzec7BIy8IW1A1ZFEg8AiwhCRnazcsVRX4KlRzUOsXsFdLQkPkftTpauWu_q4209E8FYgG-cmSradgLabmBdnENmNNDlzw7DUeWnuBuvYZ5gBo5OET9P7f-bPQJWF5NuKTJ7UJ/s400/DSC_3165.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Surprisingly, though, there were many fewer species of birds around the pond and elsewhere on the refuge than usual. Probably at least 80% of all the birds we saw were American Coots. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMOAugkQLV363qpEk2-Bay11K2YihpGeZ6nHA4m8qcz6dSOey6RGdtbUqAJlvuzmUEtZVordX3VdmWWPTSFhEx-zlGZjvVyVy49K1poCwG_sFgsISJzgfVREOYscJv6yf4EML/s1600/DSC_3179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMOAugkQLV363qpEk2-Bay11K2YihpGeZ6nHA4m8qcz6dSOey6RGdtbUqAJlvuzmUEtZVordX3VdmWWPTSFhEx-zlGZjvVyVy49K1poCwG_sFgsISJzgfVREOYscJv6yf4EML/s400/DSC_3179.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pied-billed Grebes provided a little variety.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxKdAUVIXYsrfJme_ac4dcXzyKOuQGCv0ZxFlSiWvXVoumv-5ALr_LF8sqwUikhlitTHIwsOtirfcSM_05GDepNZhLAbinLUiCUC4btlE6eTGcpnWy5biwY7342D0YiLAAdRy/s1600/DSC_3167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxKdAUVIXYsrfJme_ac4dcXzyKOuQGCv0ZxFlSiWvXVoumv-5ALr_LF8sqwUikhlitTHIwsOtirfcSM_05GDepNZhLAbinLUiCUC4btlE6eTGcpnWy5biwY7342D0YiLAAdRy/s400/DSC_3167.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Geese were totally absent and the only ducks we spotted were a few Northern Shovelers and a handful of Ring-necked Ducks (below).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNMLwMtgbFCY2Li41FAdcuVsI_gNFcLP8_Uk2v-kZXT_2eQ6jQPeK_zdz6Irca5oaX5Z5cCXTu6e7PjC2KyQxoVnOYOUknRAPGl4yXcfeBQ7rGwNqxrbibBr_8hA147vToXvr/s1600/DSC_3181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNMLwMtgbFCY2Li41FAdcuVsI_gNFcLP8_Uk2v-kZXT_2eQ6jQPeK_zdz6Irca5oaX5Z5cCXTu6e7PjC2KyQxoVnOYOUknRAPGl4yXcfeBQ7rGwNqxrbibBr_8hA147vToXvr/s400/DSC_3181.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This Snowy Egret was a welcome sight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZk4k3Dfpx3EB_I4S68RVbVRe_LKj8wOskzW78UCDvDwbhIUoCUzdVVH7l2vioyWYZbxlC089b7sDR8N1ZwkXiwGG54QHkjETwyoYlY0a6xjP7-GFyPIM0IqtyctGH0Po7-a6/s1600/DSC_3189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZk4k3Dfpx3EB_I4S68RVbVRe_LKj8wOskzW78UCDvDwbhIUoCUzdVVH7l2vioyWYZbxlC089b7sDR8N1ZwkXiwGG54QHkjETwyoYlY0a6xjP7-GFyPIM0IqtyctGH0Po7-a6/s400/DSC_3189.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, too, was this Double-crested Cormorant, which we spotted when we were unsuccessfully looking for the Groove-billed Anis that had been reported earlier in the week.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTCJdcR-2di5yMoRpe3F8h-eaPDjE1ePazcOPYaAJt5AwKf8aqWDNxb0swsEZC_lxm7oF8FOp1x-PvrudKS-JQ6rhl6IBi0aGUlG6hjNpKvxr-6nePPWfMVhpt7OzrlLoL9nI/s1600/DSC_3196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTCJdcR-2di5yMoRpe3F8h-eaPDjE1ePazcOPYaAJt5AwKf8aqWDNxb0swsEZC_lxm7oF8FOp1x-PvrudKS-JQ6rhl6IBi0aGUlG6hjNpKvxr-6nePPWfMVhpt7OzrlLoL9nI/s400/DSC_3196.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On this trip we only saw one alligator on the Shoveler Pond loop.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UTDjFc_ychKtgI9c1wLgCwXwwkk1duANh0li09fBLcozNG4PkYD4IoBJHrHauBvQOCfD7OVJSggVWvrUoFfxBK3ZItFbWDbhx1xhZHr7d6v60EcIcJ8-7TZdfSVaaYh7gozi/s1600/DSC_3176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UTDjFc_ychKtgI9c1wLgCwXwwkk1duANh0li09fBLcozNG4PkYD4IoBJHrHauBvQOCfD7OVJSggVWvrUoFfxBK3ZItFbWDbhx1xhZHr7d6v60EcIcJ8-7TZdfSVaaYh7gozi/s400/DSC_3176.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, we did also see what looked like a very handsome cottonmouth. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9K5Ff0HLFCa1n2wQlsQCCDXiYX3qZ5kSYN-VgzmuOv-V6M_iaDylTwOsZQGPrz2LPCDCQI9sMDc2lUAihf9pAGc37ivSmEmjqjcu60NgzVPm_U0di95CbEYvM_LGkIZ1WkpZ/s1600/DSC_3169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9K5Ff0HLFCa1n2wQlsQCCDXiYX3qZ5kSYN-VgzmuOv-V6M_iaDylTwOsZQGPrz2LPCDCQI9sMDc2lUAihf9pAGc37ivSmEmjqjcu60NgzVPm_U0di95CbEYvM_LGkIZ1WkpZ/s400/DSC_3169.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I looked for the male Vermilion Flycatcher that spends each winter near the Visitor Center but he was nowhere to be seen. So we headed down towards Frozen Point. On the drive we saw plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds along with Boat-tailed and Great-tailed Grackles (below)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBq4hZFeuwtEXubgyut1npvJlE_2JxRd0RRo6FRYlRIAZsM6xkmavuOwE-u4MFaAj1rRkClNaAGJUmy0KGTIbNPaA5GkmVMhRCcAeQJAL2qmKUXjr8d9d51Bv1X79G2AAuEmPI/s1600/DSC_3146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBq4hZFeuwtEXubgyut1npvJlE_2JxRd0RRo6FRYlRIAZsM6xkmavuOwE-u4MFaAj1rRkClNaAGJUmy0KGTIbNPaA5GkmVMhRCcAeQJAL2qmKUXjr8d9d51Bv1X79G2AAuEmPI/s400/DSC_3146.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When we reached the bay, we were disappointed to find no shorebirds and just a solitary Ring-billed Gull.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_HXpiSZfqQBdxQgU3VJjsvS8wwFto5xMI9dJKfx8LywkPGdVt3_spBMzci2E9QEPlBWDDw3ReC8EmpayQT2wMqebzbyCF9ohludTajfR6ySLwqG5FVTW1K_4MsWn_xnHFLtu/s1600/DSC_3145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_HXpiSZfqQBdxQgU3VJjsvS8wwFto5xMI9dJKfx8LywkPGdVt3_spBMzci2E9QEPlBWDDw3ReC8EmpayQT2wMqebzbyCF9ohludTajfR6ySLwqG5FVTW1K_4MsWn_xnHFLtu/s400/DSC_3145.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The main reason for driving down to Frozen Point was to see the Burrowing Owl which has been delighting local birders recently. Unfortunately, although we found the owl's burrow, the bird itself never appeared and so we headed for High Island, to check out the Smith Oaks rookery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll blog about High Island another day but let me finish here by saying how I started the following day.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sunday Owling</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sunday morning I was at Anahuac well before dawn, in hopes of finding owls along the entrance road. However, three drives along this road in thick fog didn't produce anything at all! So I headed down to Frozen Point in search of the Burrowing Owl.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Several other birders were already waiting for the owl to show. I waited with them and it wasn't long before the bird started to peep out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlW1ANa_YLlnCgZGQ22R2x1IoT_MBvISWEVSLcVLIQ7AptrSLY7rlAH7OPUMsoQzgHNRKNMBrit-AXpjo6_G28y2zG8utNUcV-57m8n0JKVYsBgnRfJZYCwkAaN7HrAdV6lKN/s1600/DSC_3359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlW1ANa_YLlnCgZGQ22R2x1IoT_MBvISWEVSLcVLIQ7AptrSLY7rlAH7OPUMsoQzgHNRKNMBrit-AXpjo6_G28y2zG8utNUcV-57m8n0JKVYsBgnRfJZYCwkAaN7HrAdV6lKN/s400/DSC_3359.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ten minutes later it began to move further out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjpKIBy8cLKxpNMB8YH3or7SoxZKMwW8jALzaWyqOKNDiVnyAQDlge3iwEM5Nhs1xEbniCUemtbfOyblSOmbD8kDcIZI6FQm14I6I3N6MbZpLGaaHIWHkrBbBKpz3DY-2Jptu/s1600/DSC_3377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjpKIBy8cLKxpNMB8YH3or7SoxZKMwW8jALzaWyqOKNDiVnyAQDlge3iwEM5Nhs1xEbniCUemtbfOyblSOmbD8kDcIZI6FQm14I6I3N6MbZpLGaaHIWHkrBbBKpz3DY-2Jptu/s400/DSC_3377.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And finally it came completely out into the open and wandered around near the entrance to its burrow.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQ0wq9Frq1a7W7NVPwBO475aN7UIORVr2zGo2IaPySiQ9T4rx-zA6CTOovRvOeGAhdidk1iK7BGoIULncxJd4QQnodIxFgMVZp6lZvZZ2r0LClbZ1CEhszS9ZQtxKP0XJnS9x/s1600/DSC_3401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQ0wq9Frq1a7W7NVPwBO475aN7UIORVr2zGo2IaPySiQ9T4rx-zA6CTOovRvOeGAhdidk1iK7BGoIULncxJd4QQnodIxFgMVZp6lZvZZ2r0LClbZ1CEhszS9ZQtxKP0XJnS9x/s400/DSC_3401.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had seen several Burrowing Owls when we lived in California but this was my first look at one in Texas. It was certainly made getting up at 5:30 a.m. and driving around in thick fog worthwhile!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-28185622800182981252016-02-25T06:00:00.000-06:002016-02-25T06:00:30.633-06:00Last Week on the Prairie<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As well as some early morning trips in search of Sandhill Cranes, I also managed a very quick lunchtime trip on the Katy Prairie last week. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Midday is hardly the best time for birds but there were a few around. This Eastern Meadowlark was nice enough to pose for a couple of photos. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQ55oKlxQzMju8LnzalEesRB5iOMyj4jI3CbvhxwqRBZ5GQ73zzD061ekd9QmN4ooCF0P_hW-dupwTPJXG-2jt3Rxt_WqsyDn5BjsOKr6Fr21A8iK6mt4z9qNnnS66vrhTsGZ/s1600/DSC_2884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQ55oKlxQzMju8LnzalEesRB5iOMyj4jI3CbvhxwqRBZ5GQ73zzD061ekd9QmN4ooCF0P_hW-dupwTPJXG-2jt3Rxt_WqsyDn5BjsOKr6Fr21A8iK6mt4z9qNnnS66vrhTsGZ/s400/DSC_2884.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KqvrHytqnbUAEKRs18Vg2YYfGZhihqHYr6eIx65Y28MSRdMiew1RL-0lC36aKsEuRNFKKM1XkN4QuDRRO_thNnR0dS2RsLeflfRbNI5KDSU1erGB5ozhNKATsKHEr6XAl1RA/s1600/DSC_2886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KqvrHytqnbUAEKRs18Vg2YYfGZhihqHYr6eIx65Y28MSRdMiew1RL-0lC36aKsEuRNFKKM1XkN4QuDRRO_thNnR0dS2RsLeflfRbNI5KDSU1erGB5ozhNKATsKHEr6XAl1RA/s400/DSC_2886.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, too, was this Eurasian Collared Dove, although I wished it had chosen a more photogenic perch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirk_zLRHLAayzMsiWguNGssLG3E2DWHQ4KzuXq1eTnkA5ltZtTNu3SS4OeTHvUJNnHFntj_YxfExWGw5ZDM9g2ZkpKaNU0QNo2izRoBKAhs2QrN5sCW28VdXzUOOcDbeZX4QXN/s1600/DSC_2890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirk_zLRHLAayzMsiWguNGssLG3E2DWHQ4KzuXq1eTnkA5ltZtTNu3SS4OeTHvUJNnHFntj_YxfExWGw5ZDM9g2ZkpKaNU0QNo2izRoBKAhs2QrN5sCW28VdXzUOOcDbeZX4QXN/s400/DSC_2890.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Loggerhead Shrike struck a watchful pose for me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDn_UBafWTgyFBIkscZ9PXcdt1xNR8xUUpfFm0cMKm4tqhVxzezgyorAmnnD6rqCD7-NXwNP1NIbUR7MP_6LxA01LzPIHQbwTdRL5-W6qC_EPYIPeUDu5dvbBOz7vo7WLZg8ga/s1600/DSC_2978-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDn_UBafWTgyFBIkscZ9PXcdt1xNR8xUUpfFm0cMKm4tqhVxzezgyorAmnnD6rqCD7-NXwNP1NIbUR7MP_6LxA01LzPIHQbwTdRL5-W6qC_EPYIPeUDu5dvbBOz7vo7WLZg8ga/s640/DSC_2978-001.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This Crested Caracara stayed just long enough for me to grab a quick shot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01Y3sZ0wgEFICw20QiPqwl7qEOu9ILVmlJlYDny_Uc4Bh5Yvj1vK0EyDWlgeC9IJIhesLNRAMTJjjOi6tFiyEjlLkZbc6DoB7YwSN7wpXOuDwyOtuZw18PiSOLBs6iWPtdmhE/s1600/DSC_2987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01Y3sZ0wgEFICw20QiPqwl7qEOu9ILVmlJlYDny_Uc4Bh5Yvj1vK0EyDWlgeC9IJIhesLNRAMTJjjOi6tFiyEjlLkZbc6DoB7YwSN7wpXOuDwyOtuZw18PiSOLBs6iWPtdmhE/s640/DSC_2987.JPG" width="482" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A large flock of Cedar Waxwings was in trees on Sharp Road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3D4LpxeFh2RO1SYzzZJugk6LOoROh9uIIg0g9TpOGRCD0XDaZD7x-L2Rr5UMeW6ekT9qF2aFDphEopt6DpjafOgPGxPz79QF6-XG6qTOLCjwwHOiSAKt_s3xALDRkblXuDTh5/s1600/DSC_2968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3D4LpxeFh2RO1SYzzZJugk6LOoROh9uIIg0g9TpOGRCD0XDaZD7x-L2Rr5UMeW6ekT9qF2aFDphEopt6DpjafOgPGxPz79QF6-XG6qTOLCjwwHOiSAKt_s3xALDRkblXuDTh5/s400/DSC_2968.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72rC06dDl_mKIRBBnnLQkC1JmI9jaW8Gsi1PZusHYNWUbzEvX9fIMvhDy9M9HVS_IoL5PcK9diuRQ1t3vtBNonxQpd1sPWjZA3h6vHwtbWow_AfpKUADVEvUzgW9av8N3pNUz/s1600/DSC_2970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72rC06dDl_mKIRBBnnLQkC1JmI9jaW8Gsi1PZusHYNWUbzEvX9fIMvhDy9M9HVS_IoL5PcK9diuRQ1t3vtBNonxQpd1sPWjZA3h6vHwtbWow_AfpKUADVEvUzgW9av8N3pNUz/s400/DSC_2970.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most of the birds were just hanging out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLwE8DHB0KCw_QmGAcAKpfjQ-oGMBQrm30f8Jw4kxMj2IRSsU4gqwKl9sEPQnabM4jBHoyRDX9heFmR-8n54toGWnhu1350TmSuA6Vyj5JgefD6oOXq6FUMsghBZ65STNvfLK/s1600/DSC_2906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLwE8DHB0KCw_QmGAcAKpfjQ-oGMBQrm30f8Jw4kxMj2IRSsU4gqwKl9sEPQnabM4jBHoyRDX9heFmR-8n54toGWnhu1350TmSuA6Vyj5JgefD6oOXq6FUMsghBZ65STNvfLK/s640/DSC_2906.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwe3SRrNsvFv0bsGndImUiy1z7VBsOxgkV3mp3rpSw-SJCTte7OTIkjK2apmVzJJ8XanVCy0vI_ldLGFbA15_yWWzTHLybhKF1cfZov2zJ7PsLowlom4c9QeyLyTMnIw_zPf_n/s1600/DSC_2931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwe3SRrNsvFv0bsGndImUiy1z7VBsOxgkV3mp3rpSw-SJCTte7OTIkjK2apmVzJJ8XanVCy0vI_ldLGFbA15_yWWzTHLybhKF1cfZov2zJ7PsLowlom4c9QeyLyTMnIw_zPf_n/s640/DSC_2931.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, a few were busy eating breakfast.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3dfV2DjlwSpnydrf6vFi6e3ynKI6VQ7-FcCKGmgwC_ZXoPeNpodg__cZBDr9LIRwq9oOE7GqKQgyW1aaNZypSOuZoMf504B1Yx-zx5nRTrTI2yppQtuUvUuz6DVeyxkx54vT/s1600/DSC_2957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3dfV2DjlwSpnydrf6vFi6e3ynKI6VQ7-FcCKGmgwC_ZXoPeNpodg__cZBDr9LIRwq9oOE7GqKQgyW1aaNZypSOuZoMf504B1Yx-zx5nRTrTI2yppQtuUvUuz6DVeyxkx54vT/s640/DSC_2957.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So while my brief trip didn't turn up anything special, I did get to see some beautiful birds.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Weekend Away</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So far this year what little birding I have done has been restricted to Harris County but now it's time to go (a little) further afield. On Saturday we're heading out for a weekend trip to Anahuac, High Island, Bolivar and Galveston. With any luck, I'll get in several hours of birding and will see a good range of species. I may even get to see the now-famous Burrowing Owl at Anahuac NWR! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span> </span><br />
<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-86309311310645445012016-02-22T06:00:00.000-06:002016-02-22T06:00:19.674-06:00Dawn Patrol<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Friday morning I left for work before 6:00 a.m. because I wanted to drive in via the Katy Prairie. I'd heard that large numbers of Sandhill Cranes roost there and I was hoping to see some of them as they left their roosting site to go out foraging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got to Hebert Road before dawn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEE6l7m_-9ZhRQbRkZnGroedFLyj152gtD1wBXAfKstGUTJ9bItEdKBStBVH5nhlGWJpg9WIdyxRaWT4AtY-cBM6zY2WXM9yWm6f11YePf_HqCAUvqYuH2oKTopAbC1j6vBDr/s1600/DSC_3009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEE6l7m_-9ZhRQbRkZnGroedFLyj152gtD1wBXAfKstGUTJ9bItEdKBStBVH5nhlGWJpg9WIdyxRaWT4AtY-cBM6zY2WXM9yWm6f11YePf_HqCAUvqYuH2oKTopAbC1j6vBDr/s400/DSC_3009.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although I could hear many Cranes in the distance, I didn't see any birds until the sun appeared.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxOMs5ueg2RSIzWUAgy1eEvA2kKTVyGJg3sxApocXiuvz4k72DJKWMFMzectCnQJE-nEuPoLiNc7NDeffZ-JhFZ13HZct4nbsLSKPmywBIHkomNa4Hrl0DWxfKqA10j3UMmXR/s1600/DSC_3020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxOMs5ueg2RSIzWUAgy1eEvA2kKTVyGJg3sxApocXiuvz4k72DJKWMFMzectCnQJE-nEuPoLiNc7NDeffZ-JhFZ13HZct4nbsLSKPmywBIHkomNa4Hrl0DWxfKqA10j3UMmXR/s400/DSC_3020.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">First up were some flights of Snow Geese.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61qNj9gU4xXYXbTU1wv7rTQU8yCYuxce5Q3cAX8hSDsNCbkjoOsFVTSKNn2Im62AxBA6s9DzUEC1j461ryL5dUSUiP1AvYt2nuGCNXvwXQt6Ih8G1HM4znMJnM-q6H39isYEA/s1600/DSC_3022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61qNj9gU4xXYXbTU1wv7rTQU8yCYuxce5Q3cAX8hSDsNCbkjoOsFVTSKNn2Im62AxBA6s9DzUEC1j461ryL5dUSUiP1AvYt2nuGCNXvwXQt6Ih8G1HM4znMJnM-q6H39isYEA/s400/DSC_3022.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then a Crested Caracara cruised by, with just one wingtip illuminated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYoW-oeue2azS9pO1RxgRJKw-BT4uTm5jwovTkJ4QsGng23ke6qMOv4DcDt6MJjK2TfWjh_hRkizmm1xQUvxvwEEcb63Z24o9AdUnGCbrlK7OiKc93Z9jVMznrJDXhmlV0sgcK/s1600/DSC_3094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYoW-oeue2azS9pO1RxgRJKw-BT4uTm5jwovTkJ4QsGng23ke6qMOv4DcDt6MJjK2TfWjh_hRkizmm1xQUvxvwEEcb63Z24o9AdUnGCbrlK7OiKc93Z9jVMznrJDXhmlV0sgcK/s400/DSC_3094.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As the sun cleared the horizon, the Cranes started fly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVW33KQJjHyCb6hzKhLcHZ42Dufx-bQTdkUgSDBMkC9EINJHCFztmkpj17VMQdT5Voqem6iSXyYitf9PjEeinECuhe3Ti2Nm6A3aDgWCKyjcKRB9nQblqttxjx0FoLLabftU4/s1600/DSC_3076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVW33KQJjHyCb6hzKhLcHZ42Dufx-bQTdkUgSDBMkC9EINJHCFztmkpj17VMQdT5Voqem6iSXyYitf9PjEeinECuhe3Ti2Nm6A3aDgWCKyjcKRB9nQblqttxjx0FoLLabftU4/s400/DSC_3076.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPLkbMwp55dtN2itg7Bn11WxoadeivGkEpmVYdMjn_1CS4f6F9j_NCdOL9l0IaYhYhPFqfswYx4ht_qAXoRXVoqCyhPCUZePGa0X0y5n_PMBTI8YFt3XDqU7cjZCmcQaFALEo/s1600/DSC_3080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPLkbMwp55dtN2itg7Bn11WxoadeivGkEpmVYdMjn_1CS4f6F9j_NCdOL9l0IaYhYhPFqfswYx4ht_qAXoRXVoqCyhPCUZePGa0X0y5n_PMBTI8YFt3XDqU7cjZCmcQaFALEo/s400/DSC_3080.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnf8l5C6Wa5BLL4SS9expDh_K_SEFAIMNw_DxWGNP0trynyHyS-ntnujm3ZI1Tl7uFs5hqe6uMoAkWPytOfUdEa5KguYWbjZxtfNMLksM1sD8hWl66Z1aONiENv8uTdKqBCVH/s1600/DSC_3082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnf8l5C6Wa5BLL4SS9expDh_K_SEFAIMNw_DxWGNP0trynyHyS-ntnujm3ZI1Tl7uFs5hqe6uMoAkWPytOfUdEa5KguYWbjZxtfNMLksM1sD8hWl66Z1aONiENv8uTdKqBCVH/s400/DSC_3082.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxZbVFa15Jl78jXClr6uPw53LtzwVvTdkIl4zQzs2heJn0sNT41mibKfrAiBMCTebZQQgHFcjX6vxrD3PX5CJ-m5dtglxBiOFpeyNy3UksoiZBgeEuHHpdIRgknbnj-YpcpXK/s1600/DSC_3077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxZbVFa15Jl78jXClr6uPw53LtzwVvTdkIl4zQzs2heJn0sNT41mibKfrAiBMCTebZQQgHFcjX6vxrD3PX5CJ-m5dtglxBiOFpeyNy3UksoiZBgeEuHHpdIRgknbnj-YpcpXK/s400/DSC_3077.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7asaIz930SE_usLZNFqH8HIsxZRI8NAVLotysM3wgfFTX0kYp_up51fOlqxzxN1Uhg_G9Vwkovs_eFMX6Z5kwpK4Kh3HTYqkhrPM7kkVXZfXVPM1cLX6xhwlSyQ_3myppivAH/s1600/DSC_3085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7asaIz930SE_usLZNFqH8HIsxZRI8NAVLotysM3wgfFTX0kYp_up51fOlqxzxN1Uhg_G9Vwkovs_eFMX6Z5kwpK4Kh3HTYqkhrPM7kkVXZfXVPM1cLX6xhwlSyQ_3myppivAH/s400/DSC_3085.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I came close to sensory overload as I stood and watched wave after wave of these magnificent birds pass noisily overhead in the dawn light.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvfZfvUdWsc8BHbiT8G6riNOBlo-0I5ofzc4vNzfUwsWd4KnemR6WP2TCStpCP1XlAvSDys4iWftYw3iHgvF94kp0WBepUDOJi2_xt4Uca4ZzkjbH7f4FIoGPS2NYn0kyqYzn/s1600/DSC_3142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvfZfvUdWsc8BHbiT8G6riNOBlo-0I5ofzc4vNzfUwsWd4KnemR6WP2TCStpCP1XlAvSDys4iWftYw3iHgvF94kp0WBepUDOJi2_xt4Uca4ZzkjbH7f4FIoGPS2NYn0kyqYzn/s400/DSC_3142.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrLXpL-uHVWpG6DHg1bSEcXp3-83tX2M5PW0syHQ1CTSiIhjVQOL7AHrx3tCU4OyAN3JE9wXFj7-6p8GM2ufFUy9aGNyUARd1wiAMRFYmGVVHvsvvMmEaHNOaenzDE4e5Fd2S/s1600/DSC_3143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrLXpL-uHVWpG6DHg1bSEcXp3-83tX2M5PW0syHQ1CTSiIhjVQOL7AHrx3tCU4OyAN3JE9wXFj7-6p8GM2ufFUy9aGNyUARd1wiAMRFYmGVVHvsvvMmEaHNOaenzDE4e5Fd2S/s400/DSC_3143.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are a few more of the pictures that I took.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWjTCJjSrF7pl7-DbYs5OXkvkNxrZmVSDD6pndkBwYbvqap35JS30o7MxhySeT7j7xhXNIGlSoYdhPScg9_GlMf1CJefCNGHOrYgBrqe8PpAcNbLu8NXh4iJJoqjrMsGgTPdp/s1600/DSC_3091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWjTCJjSrF7pl7-DbYs5OXkvkNxrZmVSDD6pndkBwYbvqap35JS30o7MxhySeT7j7xhXNIGlSoYdhPScg9_GlMf1CJefCNGHOrYgBrqe8PpAcNbLu8NXh4iJJoqjrMsGgTPdp/s640/DSC_3091.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOh18bewT8lraRsFeJZMDQz_yESYXmUDNIm2kLKqecPx641FO_XLXNb9y2qcvkAw2qSvkAaiJ-_DlrP3w1OegD_oa-Nf0reUQEJfgJaGOAEX2QG3KaaHWTjRPnMduNzRrsOOi/s1600/DSC_3109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOh18bewT8lraRsFeJZMDQz_yESYXmUDNIm2kLKqecPx641FO_XLXNb9y2qcvkAw2qSvkAaiJ-_DlrP3w1OegD_oa-Nf0reUQEJfgJaGOAEX2QG3KaaHWTjRPnMduNzRrsOOi/s640/DSC_3109.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdg5I-xpk0oJSmK7hjv6oTHvXSxIIr4EJdIdolqrwlyEzOtP3huFxVBOLWJ2U1lecoG4EQLXi1YgDL7G5s2-OxcLPCZrZ147qAv0YQuu8_LGj4KRAHWHTY680QIOFtoRUkrDfI/s1600/DSC_3131-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdg5I-xpk0oJSmK7hjv6oTHvXSxIIr4EJdIdolqrwlyEzOtP3huFxVBOLWJ2U1lecoG4EQLXi1YgDL7G5s2-OxcLPCZrZ147qAv0YQuu8_LGj4KRAHWHTY680QIOFtoRUkrDfI/s400/DSC_3131-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj22TV8t2X2K6TV8O8qAC2VbZNrrZ9qnTS8g-B436BoB-4SBS65jw1cQSEXcibT4z_wxIC2hcPhncg9RxTEFFByyFZAzgFQEKGowOxIppRcozL_X5tclJXKnTfG9slTYI8BqkY/s1600/DSC_3130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj22TV8t2X2K6TV8O8qAC2VbZNrrZ9qnTS8g-B436BoB-4SBS65jw1cQSEXcibT4z_wxIC2hcPhncg9RxTEFFByyFZAzgFQEKGowOxIppRcozL_X5tclJXKnTfG9slTYI8BqkY/s400/DSC_3130.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyV_Gwb4kxNozk0iBpGHnK8lfa-73hYg47O1hge7f7wzaMqITup7_KKccnijtB6MDpqnGZdzWlQI9q28T_FuR8RajLACDzV4WlRDzTlqZXM00oq-9NsplCOp36qlD_ACppexWL/s1600/DSC_3115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyV_Gwb4kxNozk0iBpGHnK8lfa-73hYg47O1hge7f7wzaMqITup7_KKccnijtB6MDpqnGZdzWlQI9q28T_FuR8RajLACDzV4WlRDzTlqZXM00oq-9NsplCOp36qlD_ACppexWL/s400/DSC_3115.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-15473867659258335862016-02-19T06:00:00.000-06:002016-02-19T06:00:03.894-06:00Just Down the Road<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Grabbed an hour on Sunday morning to check out the birds around the Longwood detention pond on Huffmeister Road. I was particularly keen to see how the nesting Bald Eagles were getting on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Double-crested Cormorant was looking very regal on a perch out in the water. Or was it looking very lonely?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4mMdiYaGAEpFkiQO6_m4DXtG1mWOYLMW_dG8Gy_vc1WDS11WGsMLCKDOhhs1hZGV3ekBVq5vv8j3K_Ajxn6sfPjngP0CfRhQ1g2hmogj4s6q9d3nVXxhzoJa2UhR4yT7g7MH/s1600/DSC_2741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4mMdiYaGAEpFkiQO6_m4DXtG1mWOYLMW_dG8Gy_vc1WDS11WGsMLCKDOhhs1hZGV3ekBVq5vv8j3K_Ajxn6sfPjngP0CfRhQ1g2hmogj4s6q9d3nVXxhzoJa2UhR4yT7g7MH/s400/DSC_2741.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If it was lonely, it wasn't for long, as seven more Cormorants soon flew in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SD8zR__B0Fk9CbXL31Nb9nii-xYkoeXxRdlEPTSbQBvfyN_YkhzqJJvYpmo3rxp027gcrCCXpk3KdyTnECk1VKPV-YdJ7m5rSwhFNIsZevxoOyOsqYMi-4p63GZeqUZ2TEU_/s1600/DSC_2760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SD8zR__B0Fk9CbXL31Nb9nii-xYkoeXxRdlEPTSbQBvfyN_YkhzqJJvYpmo3rxp027gcrCCXpk3KdyTnECk1VKPV-YdJ7m5rSwhFNIsZevxoOyOsqYMi-4p63GZeqUZ2TEU_/s640/DSC_2760.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The fence by the side of the trail was hopping with Field Sparrows. I think I've seen more of these sparrows this winter than in all my previous winters here together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapd4F4GASpzFPixHHRBET-P2kyIbpdwsrtKTjL35vX5lmxC1FKd3F4gvcgVDCCt9eBWiQme3_16OjQtzEe65w_FAqvRY0LV9x4EAYqiKDEHubxb5pLrgzT_wEo0z_k2RgrPa2/s1600/DSC_2746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapd4F4GASpzFPixHHRBET-P2kyIbpdwsrtKTjL35vX5lmxC1FKd3F4gvcgVDCCt9eBWiQme3_16OjQtzEe65w_FAqvRY0LV9x4EAYqiKDEHubxb5pLrgzT_wEo0z_k2RgrPa2/s400/DSC_2746.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The only other sparrow I got a good look at as a soitary Lincoln's Sparrow skulking in the bushes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpdCi-xe_hoL-f9TWDqmaBBf15p7Cbz5oTlCOxC2Kcd4kZXRLXtlLU_xOrHqydr3R8hZsBnr8-jyVEc_a6X_D7ro2tKxaIS3DOnRQo2Uc9BJAzVfZh7PwHJlyEKv6DConxJ1x/s1600/DSC_2761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpdCi-xe_hoL-f9TWDqmaBBf15p7Cbz5oTlCOxC2Kcd4kZXRLXtlLU_xOrHqydr3R8hZsBnr8-jyVEc_a6X_D7ro2tKxaIS3DOnRQo2Uc9BJAzVfZh7PwHJlyEKv6DConxJ1x/s400/DSC_2761.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The resident Great Blue Heron looked splendid in the morning light.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7xe3BODVwpv-U0OoQ3MmuxPW4cleb_n6Xfi7L3h686hxElvMvEz2TwDOuy5A3K4zJP1NnxR6qrqzxR7VM9jilNI4cOZwhIbgRgPUDw-yD8xbvnuf3jRKC8wE9y6xbPPhjq0C/s1600/DSC_2764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7xe3BODVwpv-U0OoQ3MmuxPW4cleb_n6Xfi7L3h686hxElvMvEz2TwDOuy5A3K4zJP1NnxR6qrqzxR7VM9jilNI4cOZwhIbgRgPUDw-yD8xbvnuf3jRKC8wE9y6xbPPhjq0C/s640/DSC_2764.JPG" width="476" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It moved to the other side of the pond when an angler got too close.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6nSh2liA_T87sZiwMT9ZTXFhYadfhYrL5zr7xX7zwXo3OqgGKCNsuejESAjX9Z5Xb8Z80wy9Dw0CAhsKRodIv1P_N5Td489AxyQXtvUZGWtiWgY2ShaDJRFJeNi5CKMa082N/s1600/DSC_2801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6nSh2liA_T87sZiwMT9ZTXFhYadfhYrL5zr7xX7zwXo3OqgGKCNsuejESAjX9Z5Xb8Z80wy9Dw0CAhsKRodIv1P_N5Td489AxyQXtvUZGWtiWgY2ShaDJRFJeNi5CKMa082N/s640/DSC_2801.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfrWYdy-1MqocMTEb6BRoxBG9PsU50LVRQQoGElv767g3p3hO1jFewjWmICGWlvl36NElrah_uwzEF6ehS4SJGLqEeis2HNEdRMsUury8YeoUjhqZz27VYqjLF3yKv8smr5Au/s1600/DSC_2787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfrWYdy-1MqocMTEb6BRoxBG9PsU50LVRQQoGElv767g3p3hO1jFewjWmICGWlvl36NElrah_uwzEF6ehS4SJGLqEeis2HNEdRMsUury8YeoUjhqZz27VYqjLF3yKv8smr5Au/s400/DSC_2787.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When another fisherman turned up, it flew back to its original location.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNLwRh2xyRoi4nm7-Gj1qiSfNysDRLZ5mEQJSSd2xyzz-i_RNPw-FyaKKfz-gpDtts0Jauh_8NNghuG3ApFvYJ0dOPvylo-aq8F8Vs4fpPOb-pe06_RwlWi9cpsIC0ZKytG_j/s1600/DSC_2803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNLwRh2xyRoi4nm7-Gj1qiSfNysDRLZ5mEQJSSd2xyzz-i_RNPw-FyaKKfz-gpDtts0Jauh_8NNghuG3ApFvYJ0dOPvylo-aq8F8Vs4fpPOb-pe06_RwlWi9cpsIC0ZKytG_j/s400/DSC_2803.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I approached the best viewpoint for the Eagles' nest, one of the nesting pair flew past overhead, much too high to photograph. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A couple of minutes later, the Eagle flew by again, this time much lower. Only it had now morphed into a juvenile Crested Caracara.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPnQyr1AvkTyXb8GBSgshiSOu4Q71DgHb1tph87pStyuPvAfELU5tOyRMOatWAcGg3a0vlfMcTsFBPBvpGbQz94NGRU0N6apo0ceV6yORpBXlGgVeEYPMd00lHGGusX9Brt7JF/s1600/DSC_2768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPnQyr1AvkTyXb8GBSgshiSOu4Q71DgHb1tph87pStyuPvAfELU5tOyRMOatWAcGg3a0vlfMcTsFBPBvpGbQz94NGRU0N6apo0ceV6yORpBXlGgVeEYPMd00lHGGusX9Brt7JF/s400/DSC_2768.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Eagles' current nest is in a much less visible site than their old one, which blew down in November. So this is the best photo I could get. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxNvhITfmCvtCEKUHD-cGckHYTDVMjfZ1hIiVcz_Ec8Gz6wix_e-_xvYRI0JO3Ij387-5jP1shVI_0CWAdt0ZSZ3aPvAJE3b2qBbrdmgc1n7VTNi7VmU-luw7srq1k5o4m2Ic/s1600/IMG_7361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxNvhITfmCvtCEKUHD-cGckHYTDVMjfZ1hIiVcz_Ec8Gz6wix_e-_xvYRI0JO3Ij387-5jP1shVI_0CWAdt0ZSZ3aPvAJE3b2qBbrdmgc1n7VTNi7VmU-luw7srq1k5o4m2Ic/s400/IMG_7361.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although the photo shows the two adult birds, I also briefly saw the head of a young bird.So it looks like this pair is once more enjoying a productive breeding season. In each previous year they have successfully raised two young. It will be interesting to see whether they have two young in the nest again this time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back near the parking area, a Northern Mockingbird was singing like crazy and doing his jump-up-and-flutter-down display.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQoeluIDuT02sdGmKjADNYGHpa51XVrDaX8ah1x39kCR6JubRpQPuL46dY4Vq7l8uzyKztIh2ru-Tqua6me0c21KuPoI-aArcJk79dm7rOMspJJn-1HHU4yCHX2T3Axn8HwxQ/s1600/DSC_2809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQoeluIDuT02sdGmKjADNYGHpa51XVrDaX8ah1x39kCR6JubRpQPuL46dY4Vq7l8uzyKztIh2ru-Tqua6me0c21KuPoI-aArcJk79dm7rOMspJJn-1HHU4yCHX2T3Axn8HwxQ/s640/DSC_2809.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few feet away a European Starling was watching the Mockingbird's antics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZhjIGUQVM3V7dnK_TqKPmKHeFgOGvrjKFa-RN0rWIdO9gl_fuqlAFpHSmnmzUtV0oPfT04h1gmHn1sS_2exyWd5rNOw2s6IaTybxTAVeKaC1FRzuY4-eF5Pb4SXPkByy-QKO/s1600/DSC_2813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZhjIGUQVM3V7dnK_TqKPmKHeFgOGvrjKFa-RN0rWIdO9gl_fuqlAFpHSmnmzUtV0oPfT04h1gmHn1sS_2exyWd5rNOw2s6IaTybxTAVeKaC1FRzuY4-eF5Pb4SXPkByy-QKO/s640/DSC_2813.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As usual at this location, my final sighting was of a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a utility pole by the road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYg4HqxZP3iobpa5YCYelXs4nJNe9lJWy91Mtnm9q3pIJdzCLPVKTgx3E0EbkTB-JnBCbY53QoMWBLC-OdIZLqtkFo8vCpE6sCAZG3z8dtmwWYbnxmVaRZfGI4_gXENoXzOSM/s1600/IMG_7382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYg4HqxZP3iobpa5YCYelXs4nJNe9lJWy91Mtnm9q3pIJdzCLPVKTgx3E0EbkTB-JnBCbY53QoMWBLC-OdIZLqtkFo8vCpE6sCAZG3z8dtmwWYbnxmVaRZfGI4_gXENoXzOSM/s400/IMG_7382.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-10111193873430280342016-02-16T12:58:00.001-06:002016-02-16T12:58:05.159-06:00Kleb Woods - and Our Backyard<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I set out on Saturday morning to drive up to the weekend birdwalk at Kleb Woods. However, I'd only gone a couple of hundred yards before I had to pull over to admire a Red-tailed Hawk perched by the road side. Although I already have many - too many - pictures of Red-tailed Hawks, I still feel obliged to stop and try to photograph every one I see! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7N34BGBV3cTL9DYuk0GAIEQ_hyphenhyphenfooiOwgGVcGnXrVzQ3zBGRCratYJU73uhNP_yJy5gdp5U7F9lSogyPvOQFvGWoMai9ayNI26rkm0nPLKgysaj2ehNbHffeKSRR0qWywbKn/s1600/DSC_2679-002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7N34BGBV3cTL9DYuk0GAIEQ_hyphenhyphenfooiOwgGVcGnXrVzQ3zBGRCratYJU73uhNP_yJy5gdp5U7F9lSogyPvOQFvGWoMai9ayNI26rkm0nPLKgysaj2ehNbHffeKSRR0qWywbKn/s640/DSC_2679-002.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most of the birds I see during the birdwalk were common residents, like this female Northern Cardinal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QYfbn5FxzqGedREif-gQZWxXdWhNS6pCKH1KQSjvDEBm43PmROed9CkFoGY_Sa90tDB2LGDPTTbAtKhf1s_gu0HCf286dD02E-XbhRUiTt7U3PnUg6P85Vt_zKHkIobbdTXb/s1600/DSC_2692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QYfbn5FxzqGedREif-gQZWxXdWhNS6pCKH1KQSjvDEBm43PmROed9CkFoGY_Sa90tDB2LGDPTTbAtKhf1s_gu0HCf286dD02E-XbhRUiTt7U3PnUg6P85Vt_zKHkIobbdTXb/s640/DSC_2692.JPG" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were several less common birds, though. Two Brown-headed Nuthatches were a pleasant surprise, as was a Dark-eyed Junco. While I dipped on photographing those, I had better luck with one of three Pine Siskins hanging out with scores of American Goldfinches.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lN5ckjYhO7VKHALhFY8zR6vDtTdhV2x6cg7MGJwZytNwVwgtZFfhPkRDqGfy6huaWqCZsm8cup1Lt_e65dbDIgYE8p_yT3gV4A9sigaYD0rNmAgVkKrEPg0xFUqrlpeReiUp/s1600/DSC_2702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lN5ckjYhO7VKHALhFY8zR6vDtTdhV2x6cg7MGJwZytNwVwgtZFfhPkRDqGfy6huaWqCZsm8cup1Lt_e65dbDIgYE8p_yT3gV4A9sigaYD0rNmAgVkKrEPg0xFUqrlpeReiUp/s640/DSC_2702.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back at home the birds were busy visiting our feeders and birdbath.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A couple of Blue Jays kept flying in to grab peanuts and then to drink from the birdbath. What magnificent birds they are!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP9yxwYfJQ-6dqRCj0cMyKf5oy1WaZxh_IRszaVuYtXKY7uWfZ-xZZ0PYe2Cw169cFMAenR2p17RqPkIW3PoR5HLqfQ7RvKr_XLx89PW3uhQqcBQGVtimZYv6hHMSr-aOumBK/s1600/DSC_2848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP9yxwYfJQ-6dqRCj0cMyKf5oy1WaZxh_IRszaVuYtXKY7uWfZ-xZZ0PYe2Cw169cFMAenR2p17RqPkIW3PoR5HLqfQ7RvKr_XLx89PW3uhQqcBQGVtimZYv6hHMSr-aOumBK/s400/DSC_2848.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Several Northern Cardinals regularly visit our yards. This is one of the males.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1UiTl6FkkOho_pxCNQyI_Juq4JtFynGhzFirR7PLxHQLY0Y9YQEDhWRl-CaaiXrysXgbCy0izOcv-e_ymeEhQNqybcRX9D1jI5gozd6CFUHpUzlF5YKhp_f2Y5N1-CV5TBIa/s1600/DSC_2834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1UiTl6FkkOho_pxCNQyI_Juq4JtFynGhzFirR7PLxHQLY0Y9YQEDhWRl-CaaiXrysXgbCy0izOcv-e_ymeEhQNqybcRX9D1jI5gozd6CFUHpUzlF5YKhp_f2Y5N1-CV5TBIa/s640/DSC_2834.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Several House Finches come to our feeders every day. One of the males is an orange variant.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHL3NYVv-8sVi3Kp6QKQLmERI8VtCpM_g5Q0aXLpY3AyiVFnNEQR608fKsPOksAmTRvVrWg-hczq33j8nlZM0DJnSVf-ZymVp34y7yOGz8b5q1OduBQzfqTxAfyFvTpf4hJSJ/s1600/DSC_2849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHL3NYVv-8sVi3Kp6QKQLmERI8VtCpM_g5Q0aXLpY3AyiVFnNEQR608fKsPOksAmTRvVrWg-hczq33j8nlZM0DJnSVf-ZymVp34y7yOGz8b5q1OduBQzfqTxAfyFvTpf4hJSJ/s640/DSC_2849.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This winter more than any other, Yellow-rumped have been frequent visitors to our feeders. I don't usually think of Yellow-rumps as being feeder birds but this year's crop seem to be very fond of our suet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's easy to see why Texans call these dainty little birds "butterbutts". </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span> </span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31357943.post-71926161760113355052016-02-12T14:37:00.003-06:002016-02-12T14:37:33.770-06:00Friday Fotos<span style="color: #0c343d;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Except in our backyard, I don't normally spend much time watching Northern Cardinals. However, the other day at the college I just had to stop and watch a male Cardinal as he delicately picked food from a nearby tree.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17345056860110319818noreply@blogger.com1