.Our trip didn't start well, as we had to drive the first 150 miles towards San Antonio in torrential rain. However, the rain stopped and the sun emerged before we reached Mitchell Lake, the Audubon-maintained birding area south of San Antonio.
The Bird Pond had a nice range of ducks, including Gadwall, Ruddy, Bufflehead, Ring-necked, American Wigeon, Blue Winged Teal and Northern Shoveler (below).
The trail by the pond was lovely but the only birds we saw were a Red-shouldered Hawk and some Turkey Vultures (below).
After half-an-hour we got back in the car and continued to Uvalde, where we were going to spend two nights. As it was only mid-afternoon, we drove past the motel and along to Cook's Slough, the town's premier birding site.
On our previous trips the area around the slough was clearly semi-arid land. This time, because of the recent rains, it was mainly covered in thick vegetation, making some of the trails impassable.
We were greeted by about 100 Black Vultures circling overhead and perching on utility poles.
Other birds were few and far between. A couple of Eastern Bluebirds and Verdins were too quick for me to photograph. I did better with a pair of Great Kiskadees.
We were entertained by two Black-bellied Whistling Ducks which were taking a late afternoon bath.
Rather disappointed by the low number of birds, we were walking back to the car when there was a sudden flurry of activity. Several White-crowned Sparrows accompanied by a Field Sparrow popped up in a nearby bush, while Red-winged Blackbirds flew over the road. Just ahead of us a male Vermilion Flycatcher perched on a utility wire. As always, the red of the plumage was almost too intense for my camera to handle.
As we reached the car, a bird flew onto the trunk of a tree at the side of the road. A Ladder-backed Woodpecker, one of our target birds for the trip and a good sighting with which to end the day.
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We arrived at Mitchell Lake at 9:00 a.m. Sunday, intending to spend an hour or so there before heading home. However, we enjoyed the site so much that we ended up spending over three hours there!
We started at the visitor center, which is surrounded by a really beautiful garden.
The staff were excited because an Audubon's Oriole had been seen nearby. We walked around the garden but saw only White-crowned Sparrows and White-winged Doves.
Out on the auto trail, we stopped at the first pond and were treated to some excellent birding, even though many of the birds were too far away for photos. The water had American Coots, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, Lesser Scaup and a solitary American Wigeon.
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| American Coot |
We were hoping for Least and Eared Grebes and we saw several of both species, as well as lots of Ruddy Ducks.
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| Female Ruddy Duck |
The edges of the lake had Double-crested Cormorants, Eastern Phoebes, Spotted Sandpiper and Vermilion Flycatchers. There was a Belted Kingfisher as well as both Great and Snowy Egrets. Killdeer wandered by the trail, too.
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| Great Egret |
Further along the trail we parked the car and walked up between two more large ponds. We again enjoyed seeing Eastern Phoebes and Vermilion Flycatchers but the main attraction here was a group of White Pelicans. We watched for a while as they fished. Their technique is very different from that of Brown Pelicans. The latter fish by diving into the water from the air. White Pelicans are much more sedate. They float along and fish by ducking their bills into the water. They often work as a group, forming a ring around a shoal of fish.
Several patches of trees had Savannah Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers, while American Pipits were grazing on the path itself.
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| Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Back at the car, we saw more Golden-fronted Woodpeckers and then a Ladder-Backed Woodpecker.
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| Ladder-backed Woodpecker |
We'll certainly return to Mitchell Lake in the winter, when more ducks and sparrows shoud have arrived.
Note:
Our weekend trip hadn't been quite as productive for new year species as I had hoped but it raised my US total to 273 and my Texas year list to 235 species.
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Saturday morning I was up bright and early to explore the 10 acres of woodland around the B&B. I was too early for the birds, in fact, and didn't see anything except deer for the first hour. So I went in for breakfast - and, of course, that was when the birds started appearing.
First up were Black-crested Titmice, birds we had seen only once before and that very briefly. Unfortunately, the light was still poor for photos.
As the light improved, I walked back down through the huge Bald Cypress trees behind the house.
An Ash-throated Flycatcher was too quick to photograph but Eastern Phoebes were more obliging.
Several Golden-fronted Woodpeckers are very vocal but very hard to see.
After breakfast we drove back over to Cook's Slough, to be greeted by more Vermilion Flycatchers and a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.
An hour's walk around the main pond turned up more Vermilion Flycatchers and Eastern Phoebes. Then we came upon a mixed flock of House Finches and White-crowned Sparrows. The sparrows perched for photos.
The pond itself was quiet except for a few very skittish Blue-winged Teal and Gadwall. However, we were both thrilled to get a distant view of a Black Phoebe, a favorite bird from our days in California.
We spent another hour walking the paths of the refuge, seeing little except Northern Cardinals.
In spite of the lack of birds, we enjoyed the walk.
At one point we came across a large rat-like animal swimming along a water channel. I assume it was a nutria.
It was now time to start heading to San Antonio,where we were going to spend the night. As we walked to the car, we had good views of a Great Kiskadee having a late breakfast. A nice sight with which to end a pleasant but rather unbirdy morning.
As always, San Antonio was busy with visitors, especially around the Alamo.
We had lunch in a restaurant on the Riverwalk.
We shared our food with several Rock Pigeons and House Sparrows which seemed adept at sneaking in around the tables in their hunt for scraps. It's amazing just how bold and adaptable these birds are!
Then it was off to the motel for night's sleep before heading back to Houston on Sunday. On the way, we were planning to visit the Audubon center at Mitchell Lake. I'll report tomorrow on our time there.
