An Anahuac Avian Adios!

Alliteration, don’t you just love it?  I was off to the VIS this morning under cloudy, windy skies.  There were not many people visiting the refuge today, and my sales for the day amounted to exactly zero!  That’s the first time I’ve been skunked here.  At least I didn’t have any interruptions as I entered the data into a spreadsheet for all the bird surveys I’ve done.  :)  That took me about four hours to accomplish.

The territory of this mockingbird surrounds the VIS, so this afternoon I decided to try to get his picture.  His feathers are a little rumpled due to the wind, but he remains vigilant in defending his territory.  Soon, he’ll start singing 101 different songs to attract a mate.

After work, I decided to take one last drive on the roads at this end of the refuge.  I guess I startled this family of blue winged teals. (click to enlarge)

There was also a brown pelican fishing Oyster bayou.  That doesn’t happen that often this far up the bayou.

A crested caracara took flight as I approached.  He is one of nature’s garbage men.  If an animal dies, he and the vultures clean up the remains.  I think he’s a little more stylish looking than the vultures.

 

As I drove the road towards Frozen Point, I stopped to enjoy this snowy egret procuring his evening meal.

Good things come to those who wait!  Mmmm…fresh fish!

 

Adios amigos, and thanks for giving me such a wonderful display for the last three months! 

 

I probably won’t post tomorrow night, as I’ll be getting all those last things done after working at the VIS.  Guess you’ll hear from me again once I get to Louisiana.  That’s a new state for me.  I’m looking forward to trying a shrimp Po-boy.  :)

 

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

Another day in the life…

Egad!  It was 23* when I took Emma for her first outs this morning and the north wind was blowing.  Much to my chagrin, she thought the brisk wind and crunchy turf were invigorating, and took her sweet time going about her business.  :(   Wouldn’t you think a short haired dog would have more sense than that?  Nope!  She ran around in circles on her long lead and fairly made me dizzy.  Eventually, we went back inside and I got ready for the bird count.

 

Fellow volunteer, Marilyn, and I headed out at 8:30 for our appointed rounds.  We about froze our fingers off walking the transect at the first stop.  The marsh was wet, but frozen.  The little killdeer and yellow legs were walking around on the ice looking for something to eat.  No ducks to be seen.  They were probably off to more sheltered grounds.  That was one chilly bird count this morning!

 

This afternoon, I needed to make the ten mile drive into the main part of the refuge to gas up the refuge vehicle before the weekend.  Since I was there, I took a ride down all the refuge roads for probably the last time.  After four volunteer stints here, I’m really not planning on returning, but you just never know.

As I drove down the entrance road, I noticed smoke from another fire.  This time it wasn’t the burning of rice fields or pastures, but the burning of debris piles still left from hurricane Ike.  You just can’t imagine the massive amounts of debris left from a hurricane unless you’ve seen it.  That raised shed, on the right, is one of many that was constructed to oversee the removal of all the debris.  Last year, big dump trucks hauled huge mounds of stuff away every day.  Now, they’re burning what is left.  I think it’s been over two years since that hurricane, and that gives you an idea of how long it takes to clean up from such devastation.

As I made my way around Shoveler Pond, this great blue heron decided to pose for me.  That beak is sure a formidable weapon, and this bird is an expert at freezing in place until an unsuspecting fish or frog moves past.  Then that beak moves with lightening speed to grab some tasty morsel.  I’ve enjoyed many a moment watching these herons work at getting a large fish, head first, down to their gullet.  

A Virginia rail also made an appearance today.  See how it has puffed out it’s feathers to keep warm?  You know it’s a chilly day when they don’t live up to being ‘as thin as a rail’!

 

Lastly, I need to vent a little rant on what some people do on our public lands.  Yesterday, Marilyn was working the VIS, and needed to visit the restrooms that are located across from the VIS.  As she entered the restroom, she found that someone had taken a crap in the hand washing sink!  Can you believe it?  There are two stools located there, so why would someone do this?  And guess who had to clean it up?  The volunteer!  I just don’t understand.  What a disgusting thing to do!  I know what I’d like to do to the person who did this.  What is this world coming to?  Ugh!

 

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

Moist soil units

I kept the kitchen faucet dripping last night, but temps didn’t quite go below freezing.  I wish I could say the same for the next two nights.  :(  I think I’ll have both faucets dripping tonight.  The wind blasted us out of the north today, so Emma and I waited until the clouds cleared in the afternoon to visit some of the refuge’s moist soil units.  So, tonight’s pictures are brought to you thanks to one of the moist soil units in the Skillern Tract.

Some of these moist soil units are former rice fields.  Various units are flooded by the refuge at different times to provide habitat that is attractive to shorebirds that winter on the refuge.  You can see that the water isn’t very deep, but it provides an abundant food source for these birds.  One of the most abundant species on the refuge is the killdeer.  I like that little red ring around their eyes.

Some of you might think this is a sparrow, but it is an American pipit.

It walks and flits around looking for insects and seeds.

These birds nest up in the tundra, so they’ve come a long way to enjoy the Texas coastal regions.  I guess they’re really snow birds!

 

I’m going to have to really bundle up for tomorrow’s bird count, but at least it’s not supposed to rain, or snow.  I really got a kick out of some of your comments on last night’s post.  It’s always good to start the day off with a chuckle.  :)  I’ll surely be watching for those hummingbirds tomorrow!

                                                                    THE END!!

 

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

The Birds and the Bugs

Today was bird survey day, and fellow volunteer, Marilyn, was supposed to go along with me to learn the ropes.  She will be taking over the survey when I leave.  However, she forgot about it, so I headed out on my own.  It seems the birds had decided to use other areas to visit today, so it was a pretty dismal count.  You just never know what you’re going to find on these surveys.

 

After lunch, I headed out to try to find and photograph the remaining species on my list for Stephanie.  She had added a mourning dove to the list; a common species.  But try as I might, I couldn’t find one mourning dove to photograph today.

I did find a ruby-crowned kinglet, however.  Those of you that are birders know that this little mighty mite never sits still for more than a second!  It’s a challenge to photograph because as soon as you get it in your sites, it flits off somewhere else.  It was pretty warm today, so it was busy catching bugs on the wing. (you can probably guess the most abundant bug:))

No otters; no bobcats; and no mourning doves were to be seen, but plenty of white-fronted geese, great blue herons, killdeer, white-tailed kites, neo-tropical cormorants, greater yellowlegs, and snowy egrets were found. 

There were even herds of illiterate cows around.  :)  Guess they just ignored the sign…

Remember when I posted this picture of an unknown insect a couple of days ago that was sent to me by my friend, Jack?  Well, he took the advice of one of my commenters, CYNDI, and sent the pic to WHATS THAT BUG.  Turns out it is a type of walking stick that can accurately shoot a sort of venom out of it’s legs and right into your eye!  Mind you, Jack took this photo while laying prone on the ground!  Not sure he would have done it if he had known about that venom stuff, but he is a kind of wild and crazy guy.  :)  Anyway, after submitting the photo, it has been named the Bug of the Month!  Ha Ha!  Who would have guessed??  Jack will now be known as Bug Man Jack to me from this day forward!

 

I’m thinking I may submit a picture I took last May to WHATS THAT BUG to give Jack a little competition.  After all, who wouldn’t want Bug of the Month on their resume?

                                                                     THE END!

 

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

Hodge-podge Tuesday

I’ve had the last two days off, and have been taking care of mundane chores so tonight’s post will be a Hodge-podge of thoughts with a few bird pics thrown in for good measure.  :)  Also, I need some help with an insect identification.

                                                       NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD

After my last post, several readers asked where I’m headed next.  Well, my destination will be Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge in (surprise) Mississippi.  I’ll be volunteering there for three months.  It’s located just north of I-10 near Biloxi.  I’ve never been to Mississippi before in my life, so figured it was about time.  So I won’t really be leaving the Gulf Coast behind, just moving east a few hundred miles.  I’d like to be leaving the mosquitoes behind, but I’m guessing not.  :(

                                                              EASTERN PHEOBE 

I’ll have two weeks to get there, so I’ve scheduled a stop in Louisiana to have some recalls taken care of and some other work on the rig.  I don’t know how long that will take.  After Boise, last fall, you can guess how excited I am to be camped out in a repair facility!  :)  Oh well, maybe I’ll get a chance to try a shrimp Po-boy while I’m in the area.

                                 JUVENILLE WHITE IBIS (click to see the blue eyes)

If the work gets done in a timely manner, I’ll be meeting fellow blogger and solo fulltimer LOREE in New Orleans for a few days of shared sightseeing.  Neither of us have been to New Orleans, and it’s always nice to have a companion to enjoy the experience with.  :)  If you have suggestions for things to see and do, let me know.

I’m still trying to get an excellent picture of a white-tailed kite, and here are my latest attempts.

I’m not there yet, but I’ll keep trying…

Jack, a  friend of mine, sent me this pic of a pair of insects doing their mating thing.  Does anyone know what they are?

The results are in!  The above photo (#3) of the periwinkle snail was your most popular choice.   I took the top four picks that you all made into Stephanie this morning, and she liked photo #3 the best as well.  The runners up were #s 5, 8, and 9.  Thanks for your input!

As the sun began to set yesterday afternoon, this great blue heron and great egret began to settle in for the night.  I guess that means it is time to pack it in for today.  (Can you believe that those buildings at the top of the photo are miles and miles away across Galveston Bay on the Bolivar peninsula ?  It must be the reflection/mirage from the bay!)

                                                           THAT’S ALL FOLKS! 

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

Do your boobs hang low, do they wobble to and fro?

Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you throw them over your shoulder like a Continental soldier?
Do your boobs hang low?

Does anyone else remember that song from Girl Scouts?  Well, as time marches on, some things for women march south, and I was made abundantly aware of that today!  However, you’ll have to read on to near the end of the post to find out how.  :)

My mission for today was to take pictures of Periwinkle snails.  These snails were on my list of photos that Stephanie needs.  I didn’t think it would be too difficult since snails don’t have wings, and historically move at a snail’s pace.  :)  The biggest  challenge is just finding them.  After driving down to the East Bay boat ramp on Galveston Bay, I began my search amongst the reeds at the edge of the water.  The tide was coming in, so I had to be quick about it.
After about fifteen minutes, I was able to find several periwinkles.  These snails are smaller than 1/2”, so it’s a challenge to get a good shot.
I’m going to post nine of the photos and ask for your input.  Which ones are your favorites?
The picture(s) will be used in a display in the new Visitor’s Center when it is completed.
You can now click on individual photos for a larger view, if you like.
I’m not sure if Stephanie just wants a picture of one of these snails, or a shot that also includes it’s habitat.

So, what does photographing Periwinkle snails have to do with your boobs hanging low?  Well…
this gives you an idea of the position I had to be in to take these pics, and wouldn’t you know I leaned a little too far forward and down and ended up coming out of my bra!  Perhaps this is TMI for some folks, but I just had to chuckle because, of course, this was the exact moment that a car drove up and folks got out to ask what I was doing.  :(  Sure glad I had several layers of clothes on.  :)

After the snail caper, I drove some of the other roads of the refuge to see what I could see.  I think I’ll leave my encounter with the fisherman for tomorrow, but I will include…
this nice Neotropic cormorant.  If you click on the right hand picture, you’ll see that this fish eating bird has blue eyes.  Who would have guessed?
                              Emma, the super dog, leaves you with this smile tonight!

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