The Hummers are starting to arrive and it seems everyone has feeders hanging around, waiting to catch glimpses. We were having a walk and capture this little guy sipping from a cactus flower.
And another species showed up at Estero Llano Grande.
Some photos of species we were able to find at the South Padre Birding Center on recent walks.
The Northern Pintail. (This bird always reminds me of our nephew Hank and his incredible painting of this duck.😍
The Long Billed Curlew
With help from some friends, we identified this as a Coopers Hawk. As you can imagine, we are seeing many of these birds in winter plumage and they can present a real challenge. As much as I love seeing birds and looking for new sightings every day, there are so many groups that remain a wonderful mystery to me...like sparrows and Hawks.
Black Skimmers and Laughing Gulls
This Coot presented me with such a surprise I am still in awe. Check out those feet.!
One bird watcher said if he had feet like those he would never take off his socks. Ha!
One of my favorites... The Green Heron
Clapper Rail
The Sora
Couldn't resist another shot of the Roseate Spoonbills. We have been blessed to see quite a few of these beautiful birds!
Always looking for another shot of a Kingfisher.
At Bentsen Rio SP, we caught a quick look at a Roadrunner.
Perhaps the next pictures will show you a few glimpses into a wonderful birding experiences we had.
We learned that a park near Brownsville (about 40 miles away from our campground) is a place where five species of parrots roost for the night. This park is filled with Eucalyptus trees that seem to be a favourite for them. We went to find the park and waited for them to show up.
We had an early dinner in the van, and when it approached 5:30 pm, I decided to go out and ask questions of the folks milling around the park. It took only a few minutes to find a group of birders standing by a fence with scopes and cameras ready! I quickly joined them and waited!
Soon, small groups of parrots started flying into the trees and making loud tropical sounds. I didn't know where to look first, but soon I did capture a few shots of the Red-fronted and the Yellow Headed Parrots. There were hundreds of birds that showed up, and for about a half an hour of dusky light, it was so thrilling. When night fell, we quietly set the GPS and headed back to our own roost for the night!
As you can imagine, we like to visit the many birding spots in the area and it seems like we have the privilege of lengthy walks and a treasure hunt each day! What will we see, and what will we learn,
What a beautifully diverse world reflected in these wonderful creatures!
(Look for another catch up soon as we look at special sights of the area around us! And how about those Patriots!!!!! yeahaw)
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