Flying over the marsh

Hunters were out on the marsh plunking away at waterfowl this morning, so Stephanie and I had to wait until noon to head over to the East Unit to do the salinity tests.  We didn't want them plunking away at two good looking chicks flying over the marsh! ;)

We headed south almost to the Intracoastal Waterway that is a shipping channel that runs all along the coast.  After unhooking the rope and chain, Stephanie quickly backed up the truck and trailer towards the channel and then slammed on the brakes.  The result....the boat slid off the trailer into the channel.  What a neat way to offload a boat.

Once we were both loaded, with Steph in front and me behind, we headed out over the "sea of grass."  The marsh is brown now since it's winter, but by March it will be a lush green.  Coots, sparrows, and pelicans took flight upon our approach.

Once we left the channel, I don't know how Stephanie knew where she was going.  This rear view gives you an idea of the mix of water and marsh grasses that cover 40,000 protected acres in the refuge.

We had five test sites to visit in this vast area.  When she miraculously arrived at the first site, I hopped down off of my perch to the bottom of the boat to do the testing.

I thought this was an interesting pattern looking through, under the seats.  That's the bridge to High Island in the distance.  It has to be high enough to allow all sorts of barges under it as they make their way coming or going to Galveston along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Here's my trusty pilot, Stephanie.  I hope you notice the life jacket and ear muffs.  The engine that propels the huge fan in back is very loud.  Ear plugs and muffs are a must!  Stephanie steers this boat with just a stick and gas pedal.  In order to get to these locations, we had to "jump" over two dikes.  That is very eerie.  Being an air boat, as long as we have enough momentum, we can just blast our way up and over the dikes.  The eerie part for me is the fast approach to the land where we don't slam into it, but buzz right over it.  She's a good driver, thank goodness!

At each of the five stops, I'd throw the probe over the side to get a reading.  Stephanie would slowly drive the boat around in a tight circle so that we weren't dragging the probe through the water, but getting the needed reading from an exact location.

All too soon, for me, we were done with the testing.  I climbed back up into my perch, and away we went back toward the landing area.  It's been three years since I've been out on the marsh in an air boat, so I really enjoyed this trip.  The last time I went out with the biologist and he gave me quite a tour.  It was at the very end of April; the marsh was vibrant green and thousands of birds rose into the sky in front of us.  I marveled at all the rails, black-necked stilts, and even short-eared owls that we kicked up. It was alive with life. It was interesting to me to note the contrast with the more dormant marsh of winter.

At one point on the way back, Steph slowed down to methodically ride over a different looking patch of vegetation.  We went back and forth over it several times, knocking it all down.  It turns out that this was a patch of cane.  Stephanie documented the GPS location of the patch.  I learned that cane is not a good thing to have in the marsh....an invasive species.  That patch and its roots will have to be ripped out by hand soon so it doesn't grow.

When we got back to the launch site, Stephanie dropped me off on shore so I could back the truck and trailer up closer to the channel.  You can see that my seat on the boat is quite a perch offering fantastic views!

If I thought getting the boat launched was easy, getting it loaded was just as easy.  Stephanie just lined it up, gunned the engine, and blasted it up onto the trailer without us ever having to get the trailer tires wet.  Pretty slick, huh?

What a good time I had today, and what a good way to help wrap up my volunteer time at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge!  I still have two days left to work, but this experience I'll remember for sure.

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

A "wild" Sunday on the refuge.

Well, it was time once again to do the salinity tests and the bird survey of Shoveler Pond.  The predicted fog did not materialize, so I headed out around 9:30.  As I passed the VIS on the way to Frozen Point, I noticed that it wasn't open.  Mark, a local volunteer, was supposed to be on duty today, but didn't show up.  I almost felt a little guilty about ignoring the VIS to do my survey....almost. 

Because of three days of rain, the journey through the mud to the first salinity test was a pretty sucking experience.  :)  I haven't lost a rubber boot yet, but I came close this morning.  Just as I was about to step up on the cement water flow regulator, a black-crowned night heron took off from the inside of the spillway.  That made my heart skip a beat.  I'm sure I startled him as much as he did me.

After finishing up at that location, I headed about three miles back to the launch location.  That part of the drive is through a sea of marsh grasses.  There are only a couple of trees, and they are located next to the gravel road. 

Sitting in one of those trees was a juvenile (one year old) Peregrine Falcon!  I quickly came to a stop and grabbed my camera.  It's not often you get to see a Peregrine sitting still.  I was able to only get off two quick shots before this youngster was on his way.  Peregrine falcons are considered the fastest birds and their flight can reach speeds of 70 mph when they are in a stoop.  They normally fly high looking for birds to eat.  When they see prey, they fold their wings and drop (stoop) out of the sky to catch their prey on the wing.  Their common name used to be duck hawk.  I know this falcon is one year old because of two things.  First, he/she is brown in color.  By this time next year, he/she will be slate gray and black.  Also, the streaking on it's breast is vertical.  Adult Peregrines have horizontal streaking.  I think Peregrine Falcons may still be on the endangered species list, but they have made a remarkable recovery thanks to the outlawing of DDT and from the hacking of young birds hatched in captivity.  Naturally, these falcons nest on cliff faces, but have adapted to nesting on tall urban buildings.  Many larger cities have web-cams focused on breading pairs nesting on their skyscrapers.  In cities, they help keep the pigeon population under control.  I bet you didn't think you were going to get an ornithology lesson today, did you? 

I was feeling pretty good by the time I reached the next test site.  As I dropped the salinity probe into the water, I glanced down the bayou and was thrilled to see a river otter's head staring at me.  In a few seconds, it dropped below the surface and was gone.  I generally take three samples at each stop and average the scores.  As I finished the second sample, the otter surfaced further down the bayou and then proceeded to swim toward me.  It came to within twenty feet of where I was standing before it rolled sleekly over and disappeared.  I'm happy to see the return of the otters after the devastation of Ike.

Testing done, I headed to Shoveler Pond for the bird survey.  This two and a half mile survey usually takes me about two hours to do, and today was no exception. 

There were a nice variety of birds today, and because of the warmer temperatures and sunny skies...

this fellow came out to sunbathe.  All that tan color on him is due to his wallowing in the mud during cold temperatures.  I think this is probably the same gator I took a picture of a few weeks ago.  He seems to hang out just before you get to the marsh board walk.

I was also happy to see this much smaller alligator enjoying the pond.  This one was only about three feet long as compared to the larger eight foot mud encrusted alligator.

So, as usual, the testing and surveying made my day.  I hope to survey some other areas of the refuge tomorrow since the great weather is supposed to continue.

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

Annual Volunteer Banquet at Anahuac NWR

Tonight was the annual Volunteer Banquet here.  This is the first one I have been able to attend since I usually am not here at this time of the year.  It was held in Winnie, TX.  It was a potluck with the refuge providing some adult beverages and BBQ beef, chicken, and sausage.  Since we didn't eat until around 7:00, I only chose a small plate of food.  Eating that late at night generally has not been a good idea for me in recent years.  ;)  It tends to interfere with a good night's sleep.

Most of the attendees were local volunteers that were rightfully honored tonight.  Anahuac has a strong Friends group that really supports the refuge and is responsible for providing the Community Building for the RV volunteers.  There was a nice slide show running throughout the evening depicting all the volunteer activities on the refuge.  Because of hurricane Ike, there was no banquet last year, so tonight honored all the work contributed over the last two years.  I can't remember the exact statistics, but in the last two years, volunteers have put in many hours that have been valued at over $350,000!

I've had a couple of questions from readers that sent me personal emails that I'd like to answer here:

1. How can one spell check be better than another?  The spell check I'm using now allows words to be added to the dictionary.  So I don't have to keep checking words like Anahuac, Laguna Atascosa, or Balcones, etc.  Also things like fulltime, motorhome, and RVing.
2. What is a salinity test?  A salinity test checks for the level of salt in the bayou (river).  As the rivers near the Gulf of Mexico they change from fresh water to brackish water to salt water.  I do the testing so the refuge staff knows how much fresh water to release through the refuge to keep the marsh healthy.  Sorry I didn't explain that before. :(
3. Are you keeping warm?  Barely...temps overnight were in the mid twenties.  On the bright side, my water hose didn't freeze due to all the insulation installed and keeping water dripping out of the faucets all night.  The furnace ran almost all day even though I have two space heaters running constantly, and the temperature forecast for the next two days is not encouraging.  1989 was the last time that the Houston area saw temperatures this low for so many days.  I have my fingers crossed that my propane will hold out through the weekend.

I'll be working the VIS tomorrow, but won't be opening at 8:00.  Tonight it may get down into the teens, so I'll wait a bit before going in.  I've worn my winter coat more in the last week than I have in the last four years!  I'm sure glad I didn't get rid of it before I hit the road, even though I never planned to have to use it.

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

Random thoughts on random topics

1. I've been using the new post editor with Blogger, but was dismayed that there appeared to be no spell checker.  This evening, after tinkering around, I found a possible answer to that dilemma.  It appears to work better than the previous spell checker.
2. I'm trying out some of the new features which include this numbered list.
3. The temperatures are taking a major dive this evening after starting the morning at 55*!  Lows tonight will be around 20*.  I sure hope all the insulation that was placed around my water hook-up works.  More insulating materials were added yesterday and today.  The hook-ups are so wrapped up that I'm not sure how I'll exercise the generator next week. 
4. I find it very interesting to see and hear how this area in Texas is handling the arctic blast.  Having lived more than a decade in Minnesota, lows in the twenties isn't even mentionable on the news.  Around Houston, this is an earth shattering occurrence!  These will be the coldest temps in twenty years.  If  I were in a sticks and bricks, I'd just laugh it off, but I'm not.  Temperatures below freezing for three or four days and nights straight will be a challenge to endure.  Perhaps some of the mice will die of exposure.  ;)
5. I'm beginning to rethink my plans to do the salinity tests tomorrow.  The winds are running around 36 mph right now out of the north, and if they don't slow down, I'm thinking I may postpone that slosh through the muck tomorrow.  Wind chill temps will be in the single digits.  I also forgot to get a new set of batteries for the salinity meter.  What a coincidence!  :)
6. Looks like I'll be pretty busy at the Songbird Festival at Balcones in April.  Deborah has asked if I'll lead another bird tour or two.  Of course, I said yes.  That's my thing, you know.

Since most of the country is experiencing Mother Nature's deep freeze for the next few days, I hope you all find a warm place to sit it out...and may you not run out of propane!

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

A good start to the New Year.

The massive fog, that dominated the day yesterday, dissipated overnight, and by ten o'clock this morning the sun was shining. Even though it's a holiday, and I have the day off, I decided I had to take advantage of the sunny weather. I got the van packed and headed out to do the salinity tests and the bird survey around Shoveler Pond.

It was a little nippy out and the wind was out of the north, but only at about 15 mph. The cows had pretty well packed down the mud at the first stop, so slipping and sliding through it was a little easier this week. As I sloshed my way back to the van, I kicked up a rail running through the marsh. As I did the bay side testing, I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye.

A clapper rail was working the shallow bayou waters just before they entered Galveston Bay. Of course, I didn't have my camera with me; it was in the van about 100 yards away. I did watch the rail from a distance of about four feet for a while, and then headed back to get the camera. He didn't seem too skittish, so I thought I might have a chance for a picture.

As I was getting the camera together on the mono pod, wouldn't you know a big noisy diesel pickup truck went past me and stopped right at the culvert where the rail was. It sat there several minutes before moving on. I figured that I had missed my chance, but walked over anyway.

It turns out the Clapper rail was hiding in the culvert, and after a few minutes came back out to continue looking for tasty morsels in the mud and shallow water of the bayou. Rails are generally pretty secretive, so I felt very lucky to have this one pose for me. :) What marvelous feather coloring on its lower belly. Kind of looks like ripples in the water to me. Those long wide-spread toes give it stability in the mud and marsh. Rails can even walk across lily pads because of those toes.

Driving back to the RV pads in the afternoon, I did some reminiscing about the past year. I volunteered at four different National Wildlife Refuges, visited numerous state parks, national parks, and monuments, and spent time visiting all of my kids. What a wonderful time I had last year. After three and a half years of fulltiming, I still have no regrets and have no plans to quit any time soon! I hope all of you have had a good year too, and wish you the same for the New Year.

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

One heck of a cold front

Shortly before five this morning, I was rudely awakened by thunder, lightening, a deluge of rain, and winds so strong I felt like the rig was going to roll over. I literally jumped out of bed, and in less than three minutes, I rearranged things and brought the slide-outs in! Then Emma and I sat in the living area and watched the news. What else can you do at five in the morning? Actually, I was surprised that I still had electricity. It seems anywhere I've been that the electric goes out with a storm of this intensity.

Eventually, the front moved through, the rain abated, and the skies cleared. The wind, however, continued to blow at an average of 32mph with gusts much higher. I had to make a decision....do the salinity tests and bird survey today, or try to get it done tomorrow morning before starting to cook for our Christmas Dinner at the RV pads. I decided to get it done today, so off I went.

I have two places that I stop to do the salinity tests, and this is the first one. I hope you notice the muddy conditions. I donned my rubber boots, stuffed the salinity meter into my pockets, grabbed my walking stick for stability, and began the challenge of sloshing through the muck and mire.


This is the view looking back through the mud that is spiced with plenty of cow pies. :) A fragrant and boot sucking trek to say the least. This is where the cattle drive, that I posted pictures of last week, ended up. The cows had moved off to another section, so at least I didn't have to deal with them up close and personal.


Once I got to the culvert that has locks (as in water locks, not combination/key locks) on it for increasing/decreasing water flow, I took out the salinity tester. It measures salinity in parts per million.

My job is to submerge the sensor to several inches above the bottom to get a reading. Today, the reading was 4.4; last time it was 3.3, so things do change.

After I tested in four locations, I drove to the Shoveler Pond Loop to do the bird survey. Since the hurricane, there has generally not been much to see on the loop bird wise. I thought it might be a little different this afternoon because of the high winds. The slightly inland location of the loop would afford some protection from those winds. I was right! While the variety and number of birds was not astronomical, it was probably the best count for this year. It took me two hours to do that 2.5 mile loop.

I'm really glad that I did the tests and survey today so I can just enjoy the holiday tomorrow. The winds are still blasting away close to 40 mph, but they're supposed to subside to around 20 by 9:00. Maybe these conditions will keep the rodents flying past the rig tonight????

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

Ugh!! Another day of rain

I know I was feeling a little dried out last month when I was in New Mexico, but the amount of rain that I have experienced since arriving at Anahuac is ridiculous. It rained the entire day today. That cancelled my plans to do the salinity tests and bird counts. I'm starting to get a good case of cabin fever. ;)

The skies are supposed to clear overnight and no rain is forecast until next Tuesday. I sure hope the forecasters are correct. I have to work at the shop tomorrow, run the VIS (visitor's information station) on Saturday, and hope to finally do the salinty tests and bird counts on Sunday. That should allow for three days for the back roads to dry out some.

I'm afraid that there is nothing else to report from the soggy south....

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

Salinity tests and bird surverys

I was ready this morning by 8:45 to head out to do the salinity tests in the marsh and to conduct two short bird surveys. The wind was coming out of the north and the temps were trying to reach forty as we headed out. I'm sure glad I wore my winter coat, had knee high rubber boots on, and brought my gloves!

The first salinity test spot was about 15 miles away and located just before one of the bayous enters the bay. The ranchers, that lease this area for cattle grazing, had installed an electric fence in the last week, so we had to walk through a gate and troop through 100 yards of mud to reach the test site. I had also brought one of my diamond willow walking sticks along, and it sure did help my stability through that quagmire. I learned the ropes of doing the tests. I'll take some pictures and give further explanation next week when I do it on my own.

Because of the wetness in the marsh, there are only two sites that we can get to with the vehicle right now. If it dries out some, I'll have more sites to test.

When the tests were finished, we drove two predetermined routes to do the bird survey. One was around Shoveler Pond, and the other was on a gravel road to the west of the pond. The numbers of birds were not spectacular, but we counted everything we saw. Highlights of the morning were a rail and a merlin. I will certainly use my scope when I do these surveys in the coming weeks. The ducks were just too far away for me to be confident of identification with just my binoculars. I can tell that I'm really going to enjoy these count days. :)

By the time we got back to the rigs, it was 1:00, and my stomach was growling for food. After lunch, I worked a couple of hours on the education programs. That's enough for today. I think I'll watch one of my netflix movies tonight.

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

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

After a brief interlude with the sun on Saturday, the rain has returned and deepened the quagmire outside my door. So far, the empty trailer across from me has not been moved, but I remain hopeful that I'll be able to move to pavement sometime this week.

It turns out that the vehicle that I was assigned was the wrong one. I've kind of enjoyed using it since it was a law enforcement vehicle, and folks tend to slow down and behave on the roads when I drive behind them. :) But it looks like I'll have to trade it in tomorrow for a probably more beat up vehicle. That's OK with me since all kinds of warning lights have been flashing on the dashboard and the speedometer shows that, almost immediately upon moving, I'm traveling at 100 mph! Ha! Anybody that knows me knows that 100 mph is way faster than I'd ever drive.

After doing my laundry this morning in the community building, I headed for the refuge office in Anahuac to pick up my mail and two Netflix DVDs. While I was there, I met with Stephanie and she loaded me up with plenty of educational program info for me to work on. I'll be able to work on developing the programs from home. I can certainly live with that! Sure beats sitting in a stuffy office some where.

If the rain lets up tomorrow morning, I'll accompany Colin on his salinity rounds to learn the ropes. I picked out a pair of hip boots this morning, so I'm prepared for sloshing around in the marsh. He'll be leaving next week, and I'll take over that chore. We'll also do the bird survey routes so I can learn the locations. That's about it for today...

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