10,001 Coots

This morning's waterfowl count was my last for the year; not because the birds are leaving, but because I will be migrating a little north in a week. Even though I have been censusing the same route for the last month or so, the birds do change weekly. For instance, I counted over 700 sandhill cranes last week, but could only find 21 today. As usual, coots where at the top of the list with 10,001 individuals counted. There were also nice numbers of pintails, ruddy ducks, blue-winged teals, wigeons, and Northern shovelers. That's the trouble with birds, they have wings, and you never know what you'll see. The count took six hours today, and I will miss my time each week out with these wild wings.

After a late lunch, I headed for the office to hand in my count sheet and materials and checked the visitor's center to see how many people had signed up for Saturday's bird tour. We have another full van scheduled, but I think I will be calling the folks with reservations tomorrow to let them know that we probably won't be doing any of the back roads. The forecast for the next two days is for showers and by now you know what that does to the unpaved roads around here. Maybe the weather person will be wrong again and things will remain dry.


I haven't heard from the shop where the old Focus is yet, so apparently the base plate hasn't come in. I hope it gets here soon. I'm not sure what I'll be working on tomorrow, it all depends on the weather.


You know that I like to take bird pictures. After that, sunsets are high on my list of things I enjoy, so here is my latest and perhaps my last for this year from Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge...

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy