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Fell on Black Days

Welcome to November everyone!  Every day I wake up, do a mental check of all the things on the to-do list and then look over at the calendar for a cold shot of reality – where in the hell has this year gone!?!  Already checked that I didn’t get shorted calendar pages – yep, 12 pages, each full of squares representing a timespan of life you will never get back. . Minute after minute of lost opportunity (mostly to that ultimate waste of productivity – sleep).  It doesn’t help that we already had snow on the ground and my list is full of outside work earmarked to get done BEFORE the white stuff invades. Add to that a back that is still mending and you have a recipe for the blahs.  Seems like a perfect time to feature the color black.

Black Vulture found outside Rockport, Texas in December 2016

How’s that for some bleak?  The black robed ministry of the dead.  In my parts, we are subject to their more flashy kin, the Turkey Vulture (link here).  Essentially the same profile – long black bodied, purpose designed bill and featherless head, however, the Turkey was given a decorative red head (not to be too harsh, but seems like lipstick on a pig if you ask me).  The Black Vulture is .. wait for it … wait for it… all black.  Kudos to the individual responsible for naming this creature for choosing a moniker you can associate in the field with very little effort.

Black

Caution – some scenes after the jump will not be appetizing.

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Friends in Low Places

Greetings everyone!  Back from my trip up north and therefore now have access to my personal bird reference library.   What to do, what to do… oh, how about a post featuring another new check on my North American birding list.  My count has received a serious steroid injection this month thanks to some very productive trips to the Lone Star state.

Crested Caracara shot in Rockport, Texas December 2016

This particular find was encountered while visiting Rockport, Texas back in December 2016.  Specifically, this was located in a small coastal neighborhood near Goose Island State Park.  We became acquainted with this area thanks to a very friendly and helpful hotel clerk we befriended on a previous trip to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.  We were bummed we had not spotted a particular bird while checking out the refuge earlier in the day.  Noting our disappointment she bestowed an extremely useful piece of information. We’ve been every visit since then.

Crested Caracara shot in Rockport, Texas December 2016

Hit the jump to read more about “The King”

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