While en route to the park to take Roxie for a walk this morning I had a rather scary moment. I noticed something in the inside lane - I was in the outside lane - and, as I approached it, determined that the objects were a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks, one of which was standing with its wings cupped and very obviously protecting something white. The scary part came when, just as I got to them, a faster car came up from behind in the inside lane (where the birds were) and the hawk that wanted whatever the other hawk was protecting took flight. In my direction. I watched it just clear the bed of my truck in the rear view mirror. Fortunately the hawk that remained on the highway stayed put while the other vehicle swerved into a turn lane in order to avoid it.

I quickly decided to make a u-turn at the first opportunity and get whatever they had off of the highway and, hopefully, save a hawk from almost certain death. It was only a minute or two when I got back to the scene and found that the white object was the remains of a Cattle Egret (probably hit by a car). The hawks at that point were perched in nearby trees and were likely pondering how to get that egret out of the street with Sunday morning traffic starting to pick up. I looked around and found a stick which I then used to "sweep" the remains about 30 feet off of the road - now they could at least eat in relative safety.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

To paraphrase Kenn Kaufmann in Kingbird Highway, "Any day could be a special day when their is a Painted Bunting in your yard" and this female Painted Bunting - the answer to last week's quiz - made one of my Spring days a special one a while back.

For this week we have one of Florida's winter residents, a rather nondescript little bird that I can almost always find in a city park - just as I did with this one a couple of days ago.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ah, the holiday season. A time to celebrate with family and friends, but also a time for gift giving (and receiving). And no holiday season would be complete without a visit from Sandy Claws, bringing us a whole sack full of gifts from our fellow birders in the form of some great blog posts. Welcome to I and the Bird #39

Pale Male II And Other Stories from Jenn at Invasive Species Weblog tells of gifts received by Texas birders when a light pink flamingo (an escapee from Kansas we learn) turned up at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge earlier in the year - and showed up again recently with a companion from the Yucatan.

Having just visited Aransas myself I know how remote it is, but Duncan from Ben Cruachan Blog shows us in both words and pictures how some of the best presents can be found right around home in Some Odds and ends . . .

With Northward Range Expansion of Tropical Birds - further evidence of Global Warming? we learn from Bill at Gulf Coast Bird Observatory how some bird species are expanding their ranges northward (and, in some cases, their ranges are shrinking because they have to move up to higher elevations).

In Keep an eye on the skies, Wayne at Earth, Wind & Water reminds us with a story and photos that sometimes ol' Sandy Claws will stuff our stockings and hang them in some unlikely locations - like a car park, for instance.

Charlie of Charlie's Bird Blog "gifts us" with a piece from September about his adventures birding The Tanqua Karoo: Karooport and the R355 towards Calvinia (South Africa). Lots of great photos, including some beautiful wildflowers, make for a wonderful ride with Charlie.

Obviously in a festive mood and ready for an evening of caroling, Snail (A Snail's Eye View) offers up a humourous look in Not the twelve days of Christmas by pondering which Australian birds "would fit the bill" were they to be substituted for the original European birds in the song.

In a similar vein, Eddie, the Birdfreak, treats us with his rewrite of "The Night Before Christmas" in his post Merry Christmas to All! In his interpretation Eddie also reminds us of some important bird conservation issues in this whimsical retelling of the classic holiday poem and, for that, Sandy Claws (and I) thank him! A very busy person with both birding and blogging, Eddie also sent along his accounts of participating in a couple of Christmas Bird Counts at Rockford and Kishwaukee as well as a link to his first of a 2-parter on the Cranes of the World.

Mike at 10,000 Birds also helped out with a CBC and in his story Christmas Bird Count Coincidence tells first of his frustrations finding his "target" birds and finally his discovery of some ducks near the same location he'd last seen that species during a CBC in 2003. While Mike asks the question "Coincidence or Christmas Bird Count Miracle?", methinks only Sandy Claws knows for sure . . .

Winging his way south across the Atlantic, or intrepid bringer of gifts takes us to Tanzania where James of Birdman presents a beautifully written piece, Bird-streaming. I have yet to bird outside of North America and felt like I could hear those birds - many of which I had never even heard of - singing, too.

From Africa we zip back across the globe (Who needs reindeer when you have a great pair of wings, right?) to California where Lisa at The Bird Nerd Journal received a Red-tail Bonanza just in time to share her words and photos with us. (Lisa's good fortune must be counterbalanced by my lump of coal because those hawks never let me get that close!)

While his wings are probably getting a little tired from all of this globetrotting, things are starting to wind down for our gift giving friend and our next stop is Papua New Guinea where David of Search and Serendipity unwraps Kumul Lodge, Part One, where he shares with us the birds of that island paradise.

From the Tropics we travel to cooler climes, this time to Northern Ireland and Craig of Peregrine's Bird Blog (our host for the next edition of I and the Bird) shares his story and photos about his gift of a Great Northern Diver then takes us on a very long drive to see an Iceland Gull.

And finally to me. My gifts were good ones (hawk-shaped lumps of coal notwithstanding): First and foremost the opportunity to host IATB and bring these great blog posts to you. Second, my "bird of the day" on Christmas Day was a Roseate Spoonbill in an area I would not normally expect to see one - foraging in a retention pond adjacent to a residential area just a couple of blocks from where I used to live (and in a driving rain, too). Thanks to everyone who participated and here's to a great year of birding (the gift that keeps on giving every time you step outside) in 2007!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

PEACE for a troubled World

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 07:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday as I was driving south on Interstate 95 approaching the interchange with I-4 I came upon a familiar sight. Most days would find me in this area while driving to or from work and, during nesting season, I would regularly see a Bald Eagle soaring - or on occasion perched - near the large retention ponds not far from that interchange. I even recall seeing one carrying a rather large fish barely clearing the top of a tractor-trailer as it flew east over the road, all but certain that I would see a collision that I did not want to see. I have often wondered if there is a nest in the wooded area southeast of there. Interesting that I would be welcomed "home" by the species primarily responsible for getting me started with birds.

This morning as I was consuming my morning dose of caffeine and pondering what to do on what will be an otherwise dreary day (the front I had been playing cat & mouse with all the way from Texas having arrived during the night), I was soon surrounded by a chorus of familiar sounds. Sounds that were a daily occurrence at the old homestead just a few miles up the road.

It began with the churr-churr-churr (or chig-chig chig per Sibley) of a Red-bellied Woodpecker, followed by the metallic chipping of a Northern Cardinal. Soon a Northern Mockingbird was heard scolding someone or something, then a Blue Jay decided to chime in, too. Then that little bird with what is probably the loudest voice ounce for ounce of all the birds joined in too - a Carolina Wren. Perhaps they were unsettled by the presence of 2 Red-shouldered Hawks who soon began calling back and forth. Before it was finished I would hear from 2 more woodpeckers: Pileated and Downy. The only thing missing was the Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles squabbling around the feeders.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 07:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since I am now back in Florida this week's quiz bird was always one of my favorite yard birds. Just about the only place in the state you might be lucky enough to see one this time of year would be The Everglades but in a few months they will be winging their way north again (you might find them later in Texas, too).

Last week's bird was a little confusing for me at first because when I looked at field marks one of the differences was the streaking on the breast and I had a little difficulty seeing a major difference that would allow me to say with absolute certainty. The field mark I found to be most relevant was the bill: The Brown Thrasher's lower mandible is light with the upper mandible dark or black while the bird in the photo - a Long-billed Thrasher - has a bill that is dark on both mandibles. Upper feather color would be a good indicator as well but quite often you will find thrashers lurking in the shadows and understories around trees and bushes. Ling-billed will be less rufous than Brown Thrasher when observed in good light.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So what’s been happening these past couple of days is that I left the Rio Grande Valley, then found a place to stay not terribly far from Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in my quest for Whooping Cranes. It was very overcast when I arrived and expected to deteriorate so decided the next morning to push on in the direction of Florida though I did run out to the refuge on the afternoon of my arrival. Some White-tailed Deer were around and I did take a few shots but had to ramp up the ISO rating so high that the shots are pretty noisy. It was terribly dreary and - to add to my pain - this young buck had a little sparing match with another that appeared to be about the same age. It would have been great to shoot had there been any light because they went at it for several minutes (yeah, I tried flash but their eyes lit up like Roman candles as deer eyes always do).

Tonight we are just east of Tallahassee after 2 grueling days of driving and, by early afternoon tomorrow, we will be arriving at our home for the next few weeks in New Smyrna Beach (just south of Daytona). Given the fact that the weather I have been driving in and out of the past couple of days is heading to where I am heading, I doubt that there’ll be much photography going on. And I think I will probably need to allocate a little time for friends and family, anyway – some 7 months and nearly 40,000 miles later (a haircut is high on the list of priorities as well).

Birding from behind the wheel: One short stretch of the route I took from RGV to Aransas was along Texas Hwy 141. The first 12 miles were through open range; in that stretch I counted 18 raptors: 10 Red-tailed hawks, 4 Crested Caracaras, 3 American Kestrels, and 1 Harris’s Hawk. That works out to 1.5 raptors per mile and I would not have been surprised if there were more (but I had to watch the road at least part of the time and Roxie wasn’t counting birds of prey for me). Speaking of caracaras, I am certain I saw more along that entire route (starting from RGV) than I saw in over 6 years in Florida.

Also: Just a gentle nudge to remind everyone that I will be hosting the year’s final I and the Bird next Thursday, December 28. Please send your entry by Tuesday to:

kevin AT naturalvisionsphoto DOT com

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Throughout our lives there are many people who impact us in many ways. In most cases, and certainly in mine, our parents play a great part in who or what we become. Sometimes the influential people are those we meet and, other times they are those we never meet but we know through the media.

Beginning with the television series Cosmos, Carl Sagan became one of those who was not only influential, but also inspirational. Long interested in space – several family members, including my mother, were involved in the space program – Cosmos opened my eyes to the wonders of astronomy and, though I do not get out and do it enough, I still enjoy an evening of “stargazing” when the chances come.

In awe of the wonders to be found right here on the planet that is our home, through Cosmos (and later Pale Blue Dot) I found that I was more aware of them, too. For me, at least, I learned to look at things in new and positive ways and developed a more acute sense of the fragility of life in all its forms.

I would like to share one particular passage from Dr. Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot. It is something I have read countless times and it never fails to send a chill up my spine when I read it:

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It's been said that astronomy is a humbling, and, I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

The Carl Sagan websites

Suggested reading:

Cosmos
The Demon Haunted World
Pale Blue Dot

And if you have never seen the television series you should rent, buy, or borrow the complete Cosmos. It is "reality TV".

The Carl Sagan Memorial Blog-A-Thon

Wife Ann Druyan's shares some of her memories in Ten Times Around the Sun Without Carl and son Nick Sagan's blog post, Memories of My Dad is here.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was the last day I will be able to spend here in the "RGV" for this trip and it was good even though the cloud cover moved in pretty quickly. Acting on the recommendation of the folks at the World Birding Center HQ we rode out to the WBC site at Edinburg Scenic Wetlands to look for the elusive Least Grebes. As I climbed from the truck I noticed American White Pelicans zipping by overhead which prompted me to grab my camera and make a few images of them. When I saw this cormorant coming I thought "why not shoot it too?" and when the camera acquired focus I realized it was not one I was familiar with (though in the info I had read about this site I knew to expect Neotropic Cormorant). That was cool - a new bird without even leaving the parking lot.

Not the much sought after grebe, this one, but a Pied-billed Grebe. I found it in a canal along the trail which lead to the pond where I hoped to find the Leasts. The crayfish certainly seems like it would be quite a meal for such a little (13") bird but I do not know if the grebe ever managed to get it down - they disappeared behind some vegetation and I went to seek other quarry.

With the Pied-billed/Crayfish show over I headed on back to the north pond where the nice folks at the visitor center told me would be the best place to look for the Least Grebes. As I searched - seeing lots of Pied-billed - I paused briefly to snap off some shots of a pair of roosting Neotropic Cormorants. I finally happened upon some mighty small looking grebes; as soon as I put the lens to them I noticed the yellow eye and remembered that was an important field mark (I could also see that the bird I was looking at was gray while the PBGR is brown). I managed only a few shots before some of the park maintenance workers began trying to move some logs which sent everything - including some Lesser Scaup that were coming my way - to the center of the pond and out of camera range. Thick clouds were beginning to roll in which meant it would soon be time to go anyway (I have probably mentioned this before but, if not, gray clouds reflected in calm waters is not a pretty mix).

Sometimes It Doesn't Hurt To Ask Department - This image is from a couple of days ago and I have been trying to be extra careful when shooting butterflies because it seemed that they were almost more numerous than the butterflies. I was curious about the species as I had never seen a wasp that looked quite like this before; they are usually quite drab and sinister looking (not that this insect isn't kind of sinister looking). So today I asked one of the volunteers at the birding center and he kind of halfway chuckled. Yes, it looks like a wasp and even flies like a wasp - but it is a moth. To be more specific, a Texas Wasp Moth (Horama panthalon texana). Sheesh. All that anxiety about the possibly of being stung for nothing.

Tomorrow morning will find us on the road heading northeast toward Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and the Gulf Coast where, weather permitting, we will catch a boat out to the Whooping Cranes on Wednesday. See ya there!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 07:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My thinking for the day was to spend a short time n the morning at Bentsen Rio Grande State Park then take a short trip to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. But I ended up taking a couple of trips into Bentsen first in the morning and then back in the afternoon. Most of the same birds i had been seeing on my previous visits; this Great Kiskadee came from the afternoon session. Tomorrow morning will find me in another location since I still want the Least Grebes while I am down here and did get a tips on a couple of locations for them.

Best of the morning session was easily this Altamira Oriole. This oriole is primarily a resident of Mexico and Central America; the Lower Rio Grande Valley is the only place to see these birds in the U.S. A pair of them were making regular visits to the feeding area nearest the park entrance and luckily this one landed briefly and posed out of the way of the tangle of branches where they were usually seen. I couldn't have been in a more perfect position either for if I had been slightly right or left I would probably have been cursing rather than smiling. The reason I say this is because there was a seed feeder and its pole between us; the pole was cane shaped and I had just the right angle of view to shoot through the hook at the top. It is so nice when things go your way . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today didn't exactly go as planned. The trip to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge did not produce the hoped for species with White-faced Ibis and Least Grebe nowhere to be found while the ducks were present but much too far away to be anything but mere specks with 20X magnification. Still the day was not a loss by any means with Harris's Hawks being seen perched on wires along the route to the refuge. And at the photo blind near the visitor center there was a White-tipped Dove that came out into the open for one shot.

The big attraction for most visitors to the blind was, of course, the Green Jays. I have included this image kind of as comic relief. It wasn't often that they would land on or near the perch that I want them too but, when this one did it had a mouth full of seed/nuts (I count 5 in the barely open bill) and also decided to fluff up a little before finally flying away. One of those images that I probably shouldn't keep but will just because it is a little different.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The correct answer for last week's quiz would be female Ring-necked Duck. The easiest and best way for me to identify this bird was by looking at the bill. Surprisingly there were a couple of them on the same pond with white heads and I have often wondered if they were from the same brood.

This week's bird is a Rio Grande Valley specialty so take out your field guides and good luck!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fog seems to be a popular item around here and today started out quite gray with the stuff before eventually turning into a nice Green (Jay) kind of day. Once the fog lifted it was somewhat ordinary, plain really - as in Plain Chachalaca. And the "plain' part of their name really is quite descriptive. I wasn't expecting them to be as large as they are, though I suppose I could have looked at the field guide a little more closely before setting out. They certainly are noisy, too.

Just as the Chachalacas were getting there fill from the feeders just inside the entrance to Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park and beginning to leave, a couple of Great Kiskadees decided to make an appearance. They seemed to be quite cautious when approaching the area and as near as I could tell, only one came to a feeder (suet). A few minutes later they came back out some 50 feet from where I had set up and could be seen sitting high in a tree, occasionally dropping down to snag some unsuspecting insect from the ground.

Though the volume wasn't quite that of the Chachalacas, when the Green Jays decided to show up they certainly made sure that everyone and everything knew they were coming. They were tough to shoot because it seemed as if they were in perpetual motion; constantly flitting about, from perch to feeder, then back into the woods. At one point I had one all set up for what could have been a great shot ("Finally!", I thought to myself) and the park tram decided it was time to make a grand entrance and run everything off. There was plenty of food so I knew they'd be back - and they were.

I returned to the same location in the afternoon but I guess I must have arrived a bit too early because there was very little activity. Once things started to happen there were some good birds beginning to show up - beginning with more Green Jays followed shortly by 3 or 4 Inca Doves. Soon after that a couple of Black-crested Titmice came around - mere seconds before the arrival of the interloper (who was not even mildly interested in seed or suet). Naturally all the birds scattered and so I had to play the waiting game again. Just as things were starting to pick up - this time including the Plain Chachalacas - the hawk made another another unsuccessful run. At least this time it let me take a picture. (After much deliberation I have decided on juvenile Cooper's however I would be most grateful to receive a correction if it is in fact a Sharpie.)

Tomorrow morning I think we will trek down to the Gulf Coast and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge to see if we can locate a few ducks, a couple of grebes, and, maybe, a White-faced Ibis.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On this second day in the Rio Grande Valley the weather, at least to this point in the late afternoon, has not been as forecast and it has been dry for the most part. Tried to get out once late in the morning but stopped short when a light rain began to fall and the sky was really threatening. What held me back was that the state park is a walk-in only park and I didn't want to be stuck out there in a downpour with 30 pounds of camera gear. Shoulda went for it as it turned out, but tomorrow is another day; a better forecast and the same birds will be around. At least I got to shoot this Hummingbird Moth when it came to the Lantana next to the trailer.

There had not been much bird life around the RV park to speak of - other than hordes of Great-tailed Grackles. Today was at least a little different when a flock of 6 Great Kiskadees passed through this morning. What a great looking species - can't wait to get some shots. Quite a vocal bunch, too, calling out "kisk-a-dee, kisk-a-dee!" rather loudly in announcing their arrival.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 05:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 38th edition of I and the Bird, the Blog Carnival for Bird Lovers, is being beautifully hosted this week by Duncan at Ben Cruachan Blog.

Being one who lacks any natural writing skills, the bad news is that, following relentless (but gentle) prodding, I will be hosting the next edition, #39 (which conveniently matches my age upon my birthday the following week - NOT!) on December 28. So gather up all your best stories about birds for that week and send them by 12/26 to: kevin AT naturalvisionsphoto DOT com.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We completed our long drive yesterday, arriving right at sunset in Mission, Texas. The RV park is just outside the entrance to Bentsen- Rio Grande Valley State Park and across the street from the World Birding Center. All those Texas specialty birds just waiting for me and what do I do the first day? Shoot images of butterflies. And a couple of dragonflies, a strange beetle-like creature, a wasp, and a grasshopper.

I noticed all the butterflies on my visit to the WBC on my fact-finding mission to find out the best places to find the species on my hit list. Once that has handled I went back for the camera gear and, upon my return, just started flailing away at the butterflies. They were just too hard to resist. The area just in front of the center has lots of native plants and is simply swarming with butterflies; a Queen is at top. After filling up two cards I went back to the trailer to download the images while I was grabbing a bite to eat then went to the next logical place - the North American Butterfly Association's International Butterfly Park is almost next door to the RV park. At left is an Elada Checkerspot, quite small with a wingspan of less than 1-1/4 inches.

I finished up the day with images of some 18 species of butterfly, 14 of which were new to me - with 4 of those still to be to identified (I've spent more time with the task of ID'ing than I did shooting). I guess the "butterfly of the day" has to be the Mexican Bluewing at right. Dosen't open the wings much but when it does - wow!

It looks like the weather will be a bummer for the next couple of days but I will see what can be done in between rain showers. If the weather is simply too bad there is plenty of preparation to be done for the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival next month and I can always be doing that.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Roxie and I were off and running before sunrise this morning headed for Big Bend National Park. It was a nice ride interrupted by a few patches of fog along the way and the first bird of the day was across the road from the visitor center - a Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

From there we headed east toward Rio Grande Village since I had heard that would be a good place to look for Javelina. As it turned out I never did see the Javelinas and we were in the vicinity nearly the entire day, leaving just as the Sun dropped behind the mountains. Still, the birding was good and I ended up with 6 species including Greater Roadrunner, White-winged Dove, and one other bird that I am going to hold on to as a possibility for the week's quiz. One that got away was Golden-fronted Woodpecker but I should have another chance down in Mission (heading in that direction tomorrow).

Except for the Ladder-backed Woodpecker, the other birds were found around the campground and picnic area. In the afternoon we went up toward Boquillas Canyon to seek out Canyon and Rock Wren with no luck - but did find some butterflies for our trouble. So far I have been able to identify 2 of them (Common Buckeye and Lyside Suplhur). This one, however, is a bit troublesome. It looks to me like a member of the Sulphur family but I have been through the Kauffman guide a couple of times and cannot find it anywhere. It looks pretty worn and that may be part of the problem. I'll check again in the morning; maybe my eyes are just too tired.

Almost forgot to mention that I found one of these in the campground today, too.

I know, you're probably thinking the same thing I was thinking while getting the image: "Ho-hum, it's just another boring Vermilion Flycatcher . . . "

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am certainly happy at this point about my decision to stay here at the Marathon Motel & RV Park. The day started out pretty foggy (as forecast) but when it burned off I didn't have to walk more than about 200 feet to be mixing it up with the birds. There is a pond tin which quite a few birds were splashing around - including this Curve-billed Thrasher. I tried to will it into being a Crissal Thrasher to no avail - maybe next time (or tomorrow at Big Bend N.P.)

When I first caught sight of this little bird I snapped a couple of images just so I could make an ID but, a couple of pishes, later it flew behind me. Once I had moved into a position where the light was working in my favor, the House Wren popped up into a nice location and I was able to get off a couple of good frames. This would be the first of 2 new species for me on the day and one that, for whatever reason, I did not expect to find out here in the desert.

This wren, on the other hand, I would expect to find in the desert. My old friend from Arizona the Cactus Wren. I saw 3 of them, this one flying over to see what the pishing that was so effective with the House Wren was all about. The Cactus Wrens seem huge compared to the House Wrens (~8.5" to ~4.75 inches) though an attribute that is certainly not unknown among avian families. So far this one has not tried to get in my truck.

They must hunt Scaled Quail here in West Texas because this one turned out to be a challenge. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts at slowly approaching the covey of about a dozen of them, I resorted to another plan: use my truck as a blind. I drove around to their last known location in the park and at first I thought it wouldn't work when most of them trotted off. Who knows why but this one flew up to the top of a fence post and started calling. New species #2.

I was not trying to sneak up on a Vermilion Flycatcher when I heard singing in that tree. Honest. Now that we have that cleared up, the singing was coming from a flock of about 6 Cedar Waxwings, another unexpected surprise out here in the desert.

Other birds that I saw here at the park but did not photograph included: Northern Mockingbird, White-crowned Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Pyrrhuloxia, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, House Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle, and two species of Bluebirds (there were definitely Mountain Bluebirds in the mix; cannot say for sure whether the others were Western or Eastern - the maps show overlap in all of their ranges and maybe all three were present).

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

How evil are you?

Some of the blogs I read occasionally have these goofy quizzes that I take just for fun when I should be doing something more productive. This morning PZ over at Pharyngula posted a link to the How Evil Are You?http://home.att.net/~slugbutter/evil/ quiz. Though not surprised by PZ's result (smile), I expected mine to be at least a little evil. So there you have it ladies: Single and the world would be a better place with more people like me . . .

It's on the Internet so it must be true.

Meanwhile, we have arrived in the Trans-Pecos/Big Bend area of Texas and await the lifting of the fog so we can look for some of the local Avifauna. We are staying in Marathon, TX about 60 miles from the north entrance to Big Bend National Park. It is a pretty small town (approx population 500) but the Marathon Motel & RV park still offers WiFi (and free cable so I was able to watch the shuttle launch last night). The proprietors are wildlife watchers and there is a pretty impressive list of birds that can be found on the property though yesterday afternoon all I saw were cowbirds. This morning I'll have a look once the fog lifts - Scaled Quail and Golden-fronted Woodpecker would be great; too bad the Painted Buntings and hummingbirds are south this time of year. Tomorrow is our day to trek down to Big Bend National Park.

U.S. 90, the highway we took once we left I-10 (I wish there would have been a bypass around El Paso - that song has been in my head ever since.

Out in the West Texas town of El Paso
I fell in love with a Mexican girl.
Night-time would find me in Rosa's Cantina;
Music would play and Felina would whirl.

Good thing I didn't stay there, I would have been asking where Rosa's Cantina was . . . ).

Anyway, U.S. 90 should probably be called "Raptor Road" because it seemed like there was one just about everywhere I looked. Mostly Red-tailed hawks but also Northern Harriers, American Kestrels, and that "raptor wannabee", Loggerhead Shrike. And there is the one that will always be a mystery because it is hard to get a good look at 60 miles per hour - was it a Krider's Red-tail or a Ferruginous? Those would be the prime candidates for this area, all I saw was plain white belly as I zoomed past. I'll never know for sure.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The repairs have finally been completed on my truck (ouch!) and my trusted friend and I will be on the move again tomorrow (Saturday). It took a little longer to have the driveshaft rebuilt and what was estimated to be a "same day" job turned out to be 3 instead. Truth be told the break from travel and chasing photo ops turned out to be not such a bad thing - I managed to make some significant progress on a couple of different projects that are in the works and also missed out on some crap weather that I would have been smack in the middle of had I been where I wanted to be (Big Bend & Trans-Pecos areas of Texas).

I learned today that there will be a Carl Sagan Memorial Blog-A-Thon on December 20th, the 10th anniversary of Dr. Sagan's passing. Beginning with the greatest "reality show" of all time, Cosmos, and from reading his books, I do not doubt for a second that I learned much from Carl Sagan. I hope to find some time over the next couple of weeks to participate.

Meanwhile, every once and a while something gets me fired up and over at one of the blog's I read from time to time, Who Hijacked Our Country, Tom writes about Florida Panthers and some of the lunatics who are none to thrilled about the fact the panther population is increasing(contains "strong" language). So freakin' stupid - people buy or build next to the wildlife refuge and then complain about the panthers. This is even dumber than the people who buy or build next to an airport and then complain about the noise. NEWSFLASH! They didn't name it Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge because there are a bunch of little fuzzy bunnies running around. Idiots.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If your answer to last week's quiz (#24) was "Brewer's Sparrow" then you were correct.

This week's quiz might be a little trickier since we have a partially albinistic individual that I photographed around this time last year in Florida. Still, there are some field marks that should lead you in the right direction.

Good luck and have fun!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In June I was in North Dakota and remember a blog post from Bill of the Birds in which he talked about (and provided a photos of) what is billed as the World's Largest Sandhill Crane.

Well, not to be outdone, how could I pass up sharing with you what has to be the world's largest Roadrunner or, as l like to call it, the Greatest Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus maximus).

This giant cuckoo - for those of you who are non-birders, roadrunners are members of the Cuckoo family - is all "recycled materials" (or "trash") held together with wire. It probably stands about 15 feet tall and can be viewed up close (if you really have to) in a rest area on the eastbound side of Interstate 10 a few miles west of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

In the detail image above, the left side is from the body and includes plastic oil cans, a fishing rod, the saddle from a Wonder Horse rocking horse, and just visible toward the bottom right, a computer keyboard. The right side is of the upper leg and it, like most of the underside of the body, is made up of old tennis shoes and assorted bits of other junk. The feet were made of pipes and rebar.

Now where is that giant Coyote . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was so looking forward to my visit to Bosque del Apache this week. It was to be my third visit to what had become one of my favorite places. Things, however, did not turn out as I had hoped for more that a couple of reasons. Turns out that one of the great places to shoot Sandhill Cranes (the "Crane Pools") had been drained because of some kind of problem with bacteria so that particular avenue of pleasure would be gone. There should still be plenty to shoot and I could deal with that disappointment for one year knowing that the welfare of the birds was the reason.

Sunday morning I headed out before dawn for the flyout of Snow Geese but it turned out to be something of a ho-hum sunrise - again no big deal, there would be other mornings and sunrises (and/or sunsets) aren't always glorious. I decided to take the opportunity to go into Socorro and take care of some errands and that is when things got interesting.

On my way back to the campground where I planned to drop off the groceries before driving back to the refuge, the truck started vibrating rather nastily and would no longer accelerate. Turns out that a U-joint decided to self destruct and leave me stranded on I-25. And, of course, this had to happen on the one morning I hesitated about leaving my cell phone on the charger back at the trailer but still left without it anyway. In below freezing weather. The first option at that point would be to walk 2 miles back to Socorro but I resisted that idea for 2 reasons: what to do with the dog, and do I leave my truck on a not too busy interstate loading down with all my camera gear? The second option - and the one I chose - was to wait for a trooper to come by. That only took about 20 or 25 minutes and so was pretty painless (except for the bruises from beating my head against the steering wheel over having forgotten the phone). He called a tow truck and I spent a good portion of the rest of the day working on my truck.

Monday we were back in business and I spent some time at the refuge both in the morning and the afternoon, though despite the claims on the refuge's weekly count, I was really quite disappointed in the numbers of geese and cranes that are present on the refuge. Several photographers I spoke with said the same thing - there just aren't as many of either as in past years. The biggest thing I saw was that the first pool on the left as you enter the wildlife drive was full of geese on my prior visits and this year they were concentrated on the north end of the pool and covered less than half of it.

I finally decided to give up a day earlier than planned after having a water line freeze up early Tuesday morning, a situation that was ultimately caused by my own pigheadedness. Sort of like the old saw about men not asking for directions where, against my own better judgment I determined through a series of miscalculations that I would have plenty of propane to get me to warmer climes only to run out around 4 in the morning when the outside temp was about 14. The good news is that no water lines burst. The next bit of news is that I never made it to my next destination because on the way down the road I could tell that the driveshaft still was not right. So, based upon recent experiences, I decided that it would be good to stop at the first larger city and have things put right. As I write this the truck is being repaired - looks like the failure of the first component was going to lead to premature failure of a couple of others - and I am going to go out and do some unplanned birding around Las Cruces, New Mexico with a rental car (another interesting saga; I'll spare you the details other than to publicly state that, after this morning, the last company I would ever consider for a rental car would be Enterprise Rent A Car).

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The answer to last week's quiz is Abert's Towhee. This week we'll keep it in the family (Emberizidae), though this week's little bird from Whitewater Draw is not a Towhee.

Good luck!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)