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Texan Tweets

So you think photographing birds sounds boring?

Then you probably don’t know it’s about more than just taking pictures of birds!  It’s being on the trail; enmeshed in color, sound, warmth, and wonder. It’s the feel of my feet rhythmically striking the ground beneath me, the buoyancy of the sandy trail propelling me farther to discover its elusive secrets and hidden treasures! It’s the distant sounds of shrieks and shrills of all creatures great and small, &  the noisy slurping and gulping as the trail’s edge drinks from the lake water. It’s the excitement my heart feels, as it teeters on the edge of the unknown & the unexpected. It’s the thrill of the hunt for a rare sighting and the thrill of its capture, all played out in a mysterious wonderland!

The warm temperatures of the Rio Grande Valley were a welcoming relief for this Kentucky girl. It felt great to wear shorts and a t shirt in 80+ degree weather on a February day! The first 4 days were spent exploring on foot, hiking through trails, fields, and parks, scanning the trees and thickets for birds. The last 4 days were spent in a blind. Though I much prefer hiking over sitting, I have to admit, a blind is the way to go! Set up my equipment, sit back, relax, and wait for the birds to come to me! On this trip I sighted 38 number of species. Of that number 18 were new to me. I hope you enjoy the images I captured of many of these birds!

Pyrrhuloxia

The Pyrrhuloxia is an eye-catching beauty related to the Northern Cardinal. He is often referred to as the ‘desert cardinal’ because he lives in the hot deserts in the Southwest US and northern Mexico. They look similar to the Northern Cardinal but the parrotlike yellow bill distinguishes them from their relatives.

Female
Male
Male
Female

Green Jay

The Green Jay is a showstopping beauty no doubt! This tropical species is known as the Rio Grande Jay. His range extends from southernmost Texas into Honduras. The Green Jay’s unusual beauty is one of the reasons my interest was piqued in photographing birds in Texas. He is a feisty bird, not skittish or shy.

Blue Bunting

In Mexico and northern Central America, the blue bunting is fairly common. But in the United States it is a rare visitor to far southern Texas. On a rare occasion it has traveled farther up the Texas coast into Louisiana.

My last few photography trips have been to photograph horses, bears, elk, moose and other large mammals. I had been enjoying photographing them  so much I was a little worried photographing birds, which was my first love, would have lost its thrill. But as I sat at the feeding station at Quinta Mazatlan and saw the elusive Blue Bunting, it was like falling in love all over again. I went to the feeding station at Quinta Mazatlan 3 times, sitting anywhere from 2 – 4 hours waiting to catch a glimpse of the blue bunting. People from all over the world have stopped by in hopes of seeing him! He is the only one of his species documented in North America. When he came out of the thickets, he spent a good 5 minutes in full view of all us. His magnificent beauty attracted quite the papparazzi as we all clicked away. Though my photo doesnt meet my standards of quality for this blog I present it here as a proof shot only. I just didnt have quite the reach I needed with my 80-400mm lens. I went back the next day and lugged my 500mm prime lens to the feeding station, but of course, he never showed himself.

Crested Caracara

The Crested Caracara can be found in southwestern United States and Florida, the Caribbean, and Central America south to northern South America. They can often be seen  perched on a fence post, tree or utility pole, scavenging for prey, dead or alive. They will intrude on a vulture eating a carcass and steal food from it. There are 3 stages in the Caracara’s growth including the juvenile stage, sub-adult and adult. The juveniles have chocolate brown colored feathers and the skin color on his face is pale pink or gray, depending on his mood. The juvenile becomes an adult at 3 years.

Observing and photographing the caracara was captivating! Lots of battling, defensive postures, flight shots, coming in for a dramatic landing, and hopping around. Sometimes there was so much activity I didnt know where to look first! Every photo shoot was an opportunity to get a better shot than the last. These are some of my favorite. I hope you enjoy them!

Caracara in an aggressive posture to claim a territory near food
Juvenile Crested Caracara
Caracara sparring
Juvenile or sub-adult caracara battling over food
Caracara battle

This crested caracara pair are mates. It was cute to watch how they stayed close together most of the time. They mate for life.

Golden Fronted Woodpecker

The Golden-fronted Woodpecker is found in North America. It is most commonly found in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The males sport a red cap and the females do not.

Male
Golden Fronted woodpecker, male
Female

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” Marc Riboud

Black Crested Titmouse

The Black-crested Titmouse is closely related to the Tufted Titmouse. It is a characteristic bird of southern and central Texas, extending somewhat into southwestern Oklahoma.

Orange Crowned Warbler

The Orange-crowned warbler seems to be misappropriately named. It is one of the plainest warblers and the orange feathers on its head are rarely exposed. In the winter most Orange-crowns escape to the deep tropics but are common in many of our southern states. I was really hoping to see the orange crowned warbler show his orange crown but he never did!

.

Lincoln Sparrow

The Lincoln Sparrow is one of those LBT, or little brown things! Identification is difficult for me because there are so many species that favor this little guy. It is a secretive bird, usually preferring to forage on the ground in dense brush or thick grasses making it difficult to see. Seems the Lincoln Sparrows in the areas I was shooting were quite prevalent and I didn’t have any trouble getting a few good shots of them.

Awkward position! Caught him as he was about to disappear out of the frame of my camera

Green-tailed Towhee

I had never seen a Green-tailed Towhee before so this was a pretty exciting find. Though the Green-tailed is fairly tame, he often stays hidden beneath brush and in thickets. I was surprised that this one was out in the open. However, the shooting conditions, along with my camera settings at the time, didn’t produce a great shot. I never saw him again after this time to get a better shot.

Bob White Quail

The Bob White Quail has a familiar song to me. It is the only bird call I can recognize and have been able to identify his since I was a young girl! He calls his name with a distinct “bob-white.” They can be spotted on farmland or brushy pastures and although not generally a shy bird, they can run rather quickly. They do fly though not very high and not very far. They are often heard more often than seen.

Lark Sparrow

The striking features of the Lark Sparrow sets it apart from many of the sparrows that fall into the LBT category. They are more commonly seen in the West and Midwest than in the East. This species was a first for me. I enjoyed photographing him because of his unusual but striking markings.

Kiskadee

Great Kiskadees are another eye-catching species. They remind me in behavior to that of the Green Jay: bold, loud, active, and intrusive.  They will pose nicely on an exposed branch and let you know they’re there with their ear piercing kis-ka-dee call.

Great Kiskadee with feathers on his head standing erect. The Kiskadee will do this when he is agitated or excited

Doves

I saw 3 species of doves while in Texas. A common ground dove, white winged dove, and the inca dove. The common ground dove, though not as common as white-winged doves, can be seen somewhat frequently in farmlands or open areas. Inca doves are relatively uncommon as well. Hunting isnt allowed for either of these species.

 

White-winged Doves
Common Ground Dove
White-winged Dove
Inca Dove

Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal’s name comes from the red robes of cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. These beautiful red birds  are year-round residents in the eastern two-thirds of Texas.Their presence is abundant in the Southeastern US and its range has been extending northward as far north as southeastern Canada. These birds are quite photogenic. It seemed to me the male cardinals in Texas were a much more brilliant red than the cardinals Im accustomed to seeing in Kentucky.

 

Female
Male
Female
Male

Great Horned Owl

The great horned owl is often referred to as the tiger owl and for good reason. He is an aggressive and powerful hunter and takes prey such as rabbits, hawks, and snakes! He is also called a ‘hoot’ owl because of the ‘hoo hoo hooing’ sounds he vocalizes to proclaim his presence and claim his territory.

It was so thrilling to see such a magnificent and powerful raptor. Id have to say he was the highlight of the trip!

White-tailed Hawk

The handsome White-tail Hawk has a range that extends from southern Texas into Argentina. He prefers to hunt in semi-arid open country and coastal prairies, by soaring overhead.

White-Tailed Hawk

Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbirds are common in backyards but they don’t usually visit feeders. They sing almost constantly, even sometimes at night. A male can learn around 200 songs throughout its life and while the female Northern Mockingbird sings too, she usually sings more quietly than the male does and not as often.

 

Yellow Rumped Warbler

The Yellow-Rumped Warbler is probably the most frequently encountered wood warbler. Among warblers, he is the most ecologically generalized, including all of the states in the United States during specific seasons.

 

Olive Sparrow

The olive sparrow is seen in the US in far southern Texas. Outside Texas, its range includes Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. The Olive Sparrow is probably less related to the sparrow family and more related to the Green-tailed Towhee because of its feeding habits.

 

Thrasher

I kept confusing the curved bill thrasher with the long billed thrasher. Im not sure I got any photos of the long billed but I did get plenty of the curved bill. The curved bill is the most familiar and most often seen of the the two in the southwestern deserts. He is native to the southwestern US and much of Mexico.

 

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© 2017 – All rights reserved.