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Jun152018

Rednosed Reedbird

Welcome to race day eve.  Tomorrow the alarm will ring at 4:45am to signal the start of another day of racing.  Fortunately, this one is a slight downgrade from the half to a 15K – now, for the record, it is the toughest 15K in Illinois thanks in part to a repeat loop with a wicked hill.  That doesn’t concern me much thanks to a lot of hill work during training, but what does concern me is that two word weather term HEAT INDEX.  Earlier this week the night temps dropped into the high sixties.  No luck keeping that around.  The heat index is supposed to get around 105F.  Wish me luck, ever since the heat stroke episode, my internal thermostat has been very touchy.  Always helps me to relax to sit down and get a post out.

Common Gallinule found at South Padre Island Bird Viewing and Nature Center, December 2017

Unlike the  bulk of the posts lately (more like this year), the featured waterbird is not a new bird for my list.  Nope, they were previously featured not once, but twice here already (link here and here).  Not to mention, every time I see this bird the first thing that pops into my head is the image of my brother Ron trying to get into a good position to get a picture of one only to end up falling halfway down a large embankment and rolling to the bottom.  Think my laughter ended up scaring the bird and for all that work, nothing to show in the tin – although a memory to last a lifetime.

Common Gallinule found at South Padre Island Bird Viewing and Nature Center, December 2017

Hit the jump to read more about this red nosed bird (apparently heavy drinkers ha)

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Jun142018

Little Miss Green

Sometimes adversity results in finding yourself balled up on the floor trying to keep your eyes from floating out of their sockets (so people tell me).  Of course, then there are difficult situations that turn out to be opportunities in disguise.  Now the latter I have experienced multiple times and that includes this week!  I’ve mentioned recently that my days and nights are packed at the moment with work and training devouring the few chances I have to get my posts out.  The month was churning away and my quota counter wasn’t moving nearly fast enough.  Decided to forego some sleep last night and get back into the digital darkroom and work some images up.  At least with the most time consuming part out of the way, I could find smaller chunks of time to get something out there for you.  While combing through my image cache, a pleasant surprise greeted me.

Green Kingfisher encountered at South Padre Island Nature and Bird Viewing Center, Texas in December 2017

Turns out I had somehow overlooked a number of additional discoveries on our recent Texas trip over the Christmas holidays.  One of those discoveries was this beautiful specimen.  I think one of the brain fog contributing factors was my Audubon Chapter speech earlier in the year.  Most of my blog posts were in preparation for that talk.  Must have gotten confused thinking the work up of images for that presentation had already been posted here.  A quick search of the blog came up empty – long story short(er), this cool looking Green Kingfisher was inadvertently skipped.   So glad this was found, this Kingfisher is one of my favorite finds from the trip to South Padre Island Bird Viewing and Nature Center.

Green Kingfisher encountered at South Padre Island Nature and Bird Viewing Center, Texas in December 2017

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Jun072018

One Goose, Two Goose, 10,000 Geese

I’m finally back!  Been struggling to get time to feed the blog thanks to an incredibly busy schedule.  When I am not trying to keep the acreage from getting too far out of control I’m out pounding the asphalt and now dirt trails to prepare for fast approaching races – in between that is honey-do’s about a mile long.  Luckily was able to give my other blog a bit of love and posted some recollections of recent races and readings.  More disappointing is how far I’ve fallen behind in reading the outputs of my fellow blogging friends.  If there was only a way to write and read posts while out on training runs – ha.  In an effort to try and right this ship, thought tonight’s post will focus on 10’s of thousands of these…

Snow Geese massing at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas in January 2018

Well, admittedly, that shot doesn’t really give the full effect of the experience.  It does give a better view of what made up this huge flock of birds we saw on our trip down to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge along the Texas Gulf Coast over Christmas break 2017.  If you recall, our first unique encounter this year at Anahuac was the Zebra (link here).  Kind of hard to really top a creature more commonly seen at the Serengeti National Park than off the Gulf of Texas.  However, a close second had to be witnessing one of the largest massing of birds I’ve ever encountered.  Apparently those three Snow Geese above have a VERY large number of friends and relatives who flew in for the holidays.

Snow Geese massing at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas in January 2018

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May282018

Clap So I Can See You

A little late getting this published, so first off, wanted to extend my appreciation for the families that have served (those in theater and those that keep the home going so they can focus on their task at hand) and to those that will choose to protect this great country and her values abroad in spite of those that continue to tear it down from the inside.  To those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, there are no words sufficient to thank beyond you will never be forgotten

Now back to your regularly scheduled content.

Good news, I survived my “new endeavor” in running.  I still need to get my recollection post out (on my other blog), but as a quick summary I decided to add more challenge to my running passion and decided to move into trail racing.  Probably wouldn’t recommend to others to start out in this version of the sport with a half marathon… in a hilly reservoir… with technical sections … and creek crossings.  That run is only second to my marathon run in terms of toughness.  It also happens to be one of a very few races I had a smile on the entire time.  Amazing and needless to say, totally hooked – a round of claps for trails!

Clapper Rail at South Padre Island Bird Viewing and Nature Center, Texas in December 2017\

Well, actually more like a Clapper – and not the trail kind – rather the Rail kind.  This rather large bird is the latest to bear the check mark on my birding list.  We came upon this specimen on our birding trip to South Padre Island over the holiday break last December.  The South Padre Island Bird Viewing and Nature Center has easily become one of my favorite birding locations adding new birds to my list every time we make it down there.  If you have spent any time at all on my Wildlife Blog you already know how amazingly productive that location is thanks to an extensive boardwalk that allows access to the marshes without disturbing the birds.  This one was found in nearly the same location where we spotted the Virginia Rail on a previous visit (link here).

Clapper Rail at South Padre Island Bird Viewing and Nature Center, Texas in December 2017

Hit the jump to read more about this interesting bird!

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May182018

Bird Punk

Starting to get those thoughts of doubt, those self-defeating introspections that build over the week heading into race day.  Being only a night from toeing the starting line, those inner voices are starting to concern me – did I train enough, are those dull body aches something to be concerned about, is it really going to be that hot, Linda will not be there – what happens if I get hurt and on and on.  Something to be said about the numbing effects of repetition – since this happens so regularly, I eventually get past it and remind myself that a) I chose to do this and b) I train really hard for these very days.  Wait, that isn’t me reminding me of that, it’s Linda when she gets tired of hearing me whine about it hehehe,.  Truth is, there is a bit of extra jitters on this one.  If you remember, I previously mentioned I signed up for “a new endeavor” in the realm of self-inflicted pain – that reality is tomorrow. Will have to let you know how it goes in a future post … if by some miracle I survive.

To help get those nerves in check, thought I’d crank out a post.  What to post on, hmmmm, oh wait.. no…well, awwwwwwe yes, let’s go with another new bird from our recent trip to the Rio Grande Valley region.  Bet that caught you totally off guard – not!  Enough with the delay, let’s get to the bird..

Pyrrhuloxia found at Harlingen Thicket World Birding Center, Harlingen Texas in January 2018

Hit the jump to find out what this punked up bird is.

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Apr212018

Buffy the Nectar Slayer

If a +3 three weekend is worth celebrating, then surely adding another +1 for the week is worthy of a Snoopy happy dance.  I would do just that, but Linda is home and knowing her she’d sneak a picture of it and then post it on Facebook to all her friends. Then Facebook would probably mine it and start sending dance lesson opportunities.  It’s amazing when you pre-think through your actions how boring your life becomes.  Maybe this is the key difference between childhood and adulthood – The Embarrassment Factor. If had actually considered some of my actions when I was a kid, me thinks I would not have had nearly as much as fun as I did.  Granted, I would have had far less stitches and Tetanus shots ha!  This all brings me full circle to today’s post.  Linda is forever embarrassing me by retelling my reaction to learning that a Painted Bunting was hanging out at place we visited in Georgia (wait, hmmm, that post may not be out yet – ignore that if it isn’t).  It is this ribbing I take that has caused me to pre-think my actions when I learned this Hummer was hanging out at the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park near Mission, Texas.

Buff-Bellied Hummingbird found at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park January 2018

In a much more controlled manner, I calmly walked out of the visitor center and forced a restrained walk over to the specified spot – a feeder we actually passed on our way in.  Successfully prevented another embarrassing Facebook post, although my inner being was doing one hell of a Happy Feet rendition.  This was one of the new birds I was hoping to get in the tin on our birding trip last January 2017.  Here in the Midwest (link here), we are treated to only one kind of Hummer unless one gets mistakenly lost during migration.  I did pick a new one at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve – the Black-Chinned variety (link here).   Other than that, the list is pretty bare when it comes to these incredibly fast creatures.

Buff-Bellied Hummingbird found at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park January 2018

Hit the jump to find out more about this bird.

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Apr162018

Uhhh What?

Not to labor this point too much, but if you read my last post on the Hooded Merganser, you should be keenly aware of how cold it is here in St. Louis.  My hopes of it getting warmer today were quickly dashed when I opened the door of the RV only to be blown nearly all the way to the arena where Raven is running agility.  A quick check of the phone reveals it is 31 with a windchill of .. wait for it … feels like 20.  WTH, last year at this even I was wearing shorts and wandering around comfortably looking for whatever feathered creatures Purina Farms had to offer.  This year I am bundled up like the little kid from A Christmas Story.  To top it off, after fighting the winds to get to the arena, Raven decided that the agility course was improperly arranged and chose to remedy the situation mid run – when the course is setup the way he wants it, Linda and Raven rock.  When it isn’t  then to quote a famous movie “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. Some [poodles] you just can’t reach. So you get what we had here [this morning] which is the way he wants it”  No worries, Raven has more runs to work things out – more importantly, I am spending the huge gaps between runs on a quest for a birding check tri-fecta.  If the wireless stays up, Mr. White below will give me just that.

Gull-Billed Tern Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas December 2016

Hit the jump to see a few more shots.

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Mar092018

One Bad Toupee

As hard as I’ve tried, I have yet to find a way to keep Father Time from turning over his hourglass.  Each little pebble of sand that falls is another step closer to my Texas birding post deadline.  There is light at the end of the tunnel though.  I only have a handful of posts that really need to be published before next Wednesday. That day will put an end to several months of stressing over a commitment that comes due.  I blame that for my hair turning premature grey ha!  Like me, some people embrace the signs of getting wiser, others take more drastic actions to disguise the fact that Father Time paints in grey – case in point…

Black-Crested Titmouse found at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in January 2018

This find from our recent Texas birding trip is apparently a little vain about what others think of his greying appearance.  The shame sunk so deep in the conscious it has resorted to Le Style de Burt Reynolds.  One can imagine the scene before heading out of the nest for the day.  Mr. Titmouse slaps on his black rug, attempts to straighten it in the bathroom mirror before turning to Mrs. Titmouse and asking “do you think anyone will notice?”.  After stuttering and stammering love rules out and she responds “Of course not dear”, fighting back a revealing eye roll.

Black-Crested Titmouse found at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in January 2018

Hit the jump to read a bit more about this bird and where it was discovered.

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Feb052018

Mr. 200

Greetings from the white tundra.  If you are currently in the heartland you are likely looking out your window wondering if someone just shook the snow globe you’ve been living in.  The back breaking fluffy stuff is officially blanketing our driveways and travel-ways.  Fortunately, this is nothing new for those of us choosing to live in Illinois where are motto is “Our state might be completely broke, but at least we get all four seasons!”  Everyone knows that the best thing to do in a snow storm is to go birding … well, birding in my den that is.  In a glass half full perspective (probably with ice), a large backlog comes in handy on days like this.

On this snowy day, I bring you Mr.200 from the warm confines of Texas.

Great Kiskadee shot at South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center in January 2017

Now that is a beautiful bird.  I came across it in the nick of time while visiting the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center.  Should be no surprise for my regular readers, but just in case, Linda and I were visiting down there in January of 2017.  A shockingly short time ago based on my usual delay in getting my pictures processed and posted here.  I was heading back to the visitor center after a fruitful day birding at the center.  It was my second time there that day and it was getting late and wanted to get back to Linda who was keeping the dogs company in the RV.  We were reluctantly heading back home the following day.

Great Kiskadee shot at South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center in January 2017

Hit the jump to learn what this new colorful addition to my birding happens to be!

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Feb032018

Gator for Fast Food Delivery

The month counter has officially gone up by one which means the post count falls all the way back to zero.  Figured it was time to give my non-birding friends a break from the barrage of birds last month.  Don’t be fooled though, you are not out of the woods yet .. or more appropriately I guess, not out of the Gulf Coast yet.  If things go as planned, there will be a bevy of new birds to read about this month from our Texas trips.  First, let’s have a chuckle!

Birding Gator Speak for Food Delivery

That there is one scary beast.  For some reason I really wasn’t thinking about the dangers of birding on my first trip to Texas several years back.  It wasn’t until our second visit to Padre Island that we came face to face with a living dinosaur or rather BIG ASS LIZARDS.  Our first day at Padre Island Birding and Nature Center back in January 2017, we saw a number of signs on the railings supposedly indicating an Alligator sighting.  We didn’t see a single one that morning and both of us decided it was all a grand hoax to tease the visitors.

Alligators encountered while birding Texas in January 2017 - South Padre Island

Hit the jump to see the rest of the Gator shots we were able to get in the tin!

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