It's the Same Story [A Good Story and a True One]

Nature does not hurry, 

yet everything is accomplished.

~ LaoTzu

Christmas has been weird. Illnesses, travel issues, and the pandemic added to the normal holiday chaos of too many people with too much stress. It's just been hard. And then it got harder. 

I was thrilled to get my invitation to the local Christmas Bird Count. Any time in the wild is therapeutic for me. I can feel my blood pressure ease. Even as it was a low count for me - I hope others did better.  But a few of the regulars birds can always be relied upon. One eagle or another is almost always at the ponds - there every time I visited for the last two weeks.

So it seemed safe enough to invite the neighbors on a little adventure. We hope to see the eagles (hopefully) herons, egrets, mockingbirds, and ducks. I can pretty much count on that...although there weren't many ducks today. 

Anyway, school starts back on Monday, no one will want to go on New Years (I'll be taking a FIRST DAY* hike of some kind). Tomorrow morning is our best shot at going for now (if we miss that window we will just try again). 

So, like any good guide, I went out today to see what was shaking.** 

Once again the ponds transmitted peace and calm (except for the brief pass of the garbage truck). 

Here's what we saw at the ponds and just a little further down the road.***

The ponds are a group of manmade tanks, intermittent ponds, gravel pits, and maybe even some oxbow lakes. The Leon river is nearby so it's possible. This is a wet-weather pond.

It's been pretty windy lately. Most photos included birds struggling to say perched and feathers ruffled by the breeze. Today was still. The water was like glass and mirrored the birds perfectly. This shot is dark, but perhaps my favorite of the day. Great Egret.

The Bald Eagle was posing for a couple of birders when we arrived. It stayed the entire time I was there and finally flew south to another pond. I never tire of seeing them. [I used to cry when I would see one. I do still get a little misty.]

Great Blue Heron and Great Egret - These birds were perched in the trees around a large pond beyond a game fence. My equipment cannot "see" what's at that pond most of the time (my eyes certainly cannot). Some days there is an alignment of the planets/good light/big birds and it happens.

Great Egret. This is different than the one just above. The were perched near each other. I really thought this was a plastic bag at first. You can just make-out loads of blurry birds in the background. That pond must be something to see.

Pied-billed Grebes. I love these goofy birds

Meadowlark. I don't know if it is Eastern or Western. I'm not sure if this is a clear enough photo and I heard no song. I kinda treat these guys like ducks. If they are holding a sign telling me East or West, I'm good. Otherwise they are just Meadowlarks and I am grateful to see them glide across the fields.

It's a different kind of tree. Early on I made the mistake of zipping by the electric poles and telephone poles. Then I started paying attention. There's a bird!

Asian Collared Dove - see the "ring around the collar?" They are not natives/shouldn't be here. But they are.

White-crowned Sparrow. I called this one up today. Really.

Not a bird. This rather stunning Longhorn almost begged me to take a photo.

More of the herd. This photo is to grab a terrible shot of a Cattle Egret. It's a rare bird for this time of year. I've counted up to 100 in some of the fields during the summer. I suspect our warm weather kept a handful of them here (5 during the CBC)

This is not a bird either. This Fox Squirrel was just too pretty not to photograph.

As was this Northern Mockingbird. This bird is a bit of a cheat. I saw it about 3 blocks from the house, "flipped around" as they say, and got a couple of photos. Mockingbirds are dear to my heart. They are one of a handful of birds DH could readily identify. I always think of him when I see one.

There were plenty of other birds, but the photos were really bad or the birds avoided any possibility of a photo: American Crows, European Starlings, Common Grackles, Northern Cardinals, 4 or 5 varieties of duck (Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, American Widgeons, Green-winged Teal - I fear I have little patience with ducks), Black-crested Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, Blue Jays, and finally, this hawk.

I'll let you know if we make it to the ponds tomorrow. Stand by.

This bird is often perched here. Sometimes I get a better shot. Still, I'm ending with the beginning of today's trip. I'm seeing very few hawks this year. It's more than a little concerning. I'm fairly sure it's a Red-tailed Hawk.

NOTES:

*Looking for a First Day Hike?

  https://tpwd.texas.gov/calendar/first-day-hikes* Mama taught us that you always go out a day or so

  before leading a hike so you are best prepared.

**Mama taught us this. She always went out and identified all the plants and wildflower before she took a group of busy scouts into the wild. She continued to identify birds and wildflowers the rest of her life.

***This "bird crawl" can be 30 minutes, an hour, or as long as you are willing to sit, listen, watch, and maybe call. I do a good wren and cardinal, but lousy screech owl (so I have it on tape).