Back to work

It was a pretty busy day today in the Visitor’s Center, for a weekday, but I did manage to sneak outside occasionally to see what was going on.
I’ve always felt one of the signs of fall is the congregating of the swallows on the electrical wires.  They’re done with the breeding season, and are just fueling up on all the insects to increase their fat supplies for the coming journey south for the winter. 
These birds are pretty smart.  They line up on the wires so evenly spaced, and don’t tread into others’ personal space.  A good lesson is to be learned there… :)  Here’s a bit of trivia you can use at your next boring gathering to liven things up a bit.  Put your finger in the little dip where your collar bones meet below your neck.  Do you feel that semi circle?  Well, birds have the same thing, and that’s where they store their fat for upcoming migration journeys.  Just before they’re ready to move on, that little area will just bulge with yellow fat.  That’s where they get the fuel to accomplish their amazing journeys.  I sure wish that was the only place I stored extra fat!  :)  I could just wear a scarf around my neck or something.  :)
As I went to take the picture of all of the swallows, this was the view of the marsh and surrounding mountains from the visitor’s parking lot.   The amber colors of fall with one swallow not following the crowd on the wires.  I guess he flaps to a different drummer.  :)
This fawn was skulking about the front yard underneath the crab apple tree looking for tasty morsels.  She/he is usually accompanied by its mother.  The mother has a huge hematoma growth on her leg, and I did not see her at all this morning.  A visiting veterinarian said it may just fall off, but it makes you wonder if maybe the coyotes got her.  That huge tumor like growth made it difficult for her to walk.  We all will be looking for her to show up again.

As I was busy inside with visitors, there were a couple of reports of a Calliope Hummingbird visiting the feeders today.  I’ve never seen a Calliope hummer, so out I went every chance I got with camera in hand.
The Calliope is the smallest of hummingbirds at only 3.5” in length.   I thought I had captured one in my pics, but upon editing discovered that this was a very young hummingbird just growing in it’s tail feathers.  That’s why it appeared to be so small.  By the curve of it’s wings, I’m thinking this is just a very young black-chinned hummer.  Notice in the middle pictures how it is extending it’s tongue to catch some small insects without expending much energy.  :)
I then moved to a different feeder, but see the rounded wing on the right that is shorter than the tail?  Another black-chinned youngster.  There was no Calliope for me today.  :(
           Oh, oh, what happened to Tim, the refuge manager, that was out netting carp???
                                                  I guess he missed the step up!!  :)

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

LOCAL MOTHER ABANDONS NEWBORN TRIPLETS!

Today was day two of the Liberty Hill school kids.  We had about 115 energetic fourth and fifth graders descend on Doeskin Ranch  a half hour earlier than scheduled (just like yesterday).  We were ready for them, though.  :)

I need to tell you about a side bar to yesterday's program. (notice the title of the post)  As Peggy and Paul  began unpacking the van, filled with the education supplies, Peggy pulled out the bag of shredded  ash juniper strips, and noticed a mouse run out of the bag, jump out of the van, and head into the surrounding grass.  These strips are from the bark of mature ash juniper trees, and used by the endangered golden-cheeked warblers to build their nests.

One of the stations in this Bridges to Birding Program is nest building, and students must construct a nest out of the bark strippings as if they were a golden-cheeked warbler.

That means they must weave a nest using only the forefinger and thumb of one hand, as their "beak", to build it.  Yesterday, as the teacher was removing more of these strips from the big, plastic, black bag, she pulled out a mouse's nest with three newborn mice in it!  What a surprise that was for everyone!  Just about every child in all the classes had to see that.  The mouse nest was placed under the trees, but I'm sure the mother never found it.  So, the mother mouse abandoned ship, but Peggy thinks she had one newborn in her mouth as she exited.  Such is the law of nature.

When the kids finish their constructions, they put them in a close by bush and the teacher places an egg in each one to see if the nest is viable.  There are four student built nests in this bush....see if you can find them.

We only have about eighteen minutes to present our information to the students before they move on to the next station.  Peggy is in charge of moving people along, and gives us a warning blast on the horn to let us know to quickly rap things up.  It is a lot of material to cover in eighteen minutes, and after two days, and 16 presentations, I've got it pretty well fine tuned.  :)  I must say, though, that my sixteenth presentation wasn't as enthusiastic as the first ten or so.  :(  Having to stand and present for six hour stretches really does a number on my ankles.  By the end of the day, I have trouble stumbling around.  Oh, to be young again!

After I got back to the rig and took Emma out, fellow volunteer, Lynn,  and I headed down to the headquarters building to try to get some pictures of the newly arrived barn swallows.

These pics leave something to be desired, but here's one swallow checking out last year's nest as a red wasp also checks out the territory.

"Hey, Mabel, I think we ought to just use last year's nest.  What do you think?"

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