Sunday, February 5, 2012

Learning some Texas Birds

I followed Birdie out of Hill Country,
And south about 100 miles to Choke Canyon State Park.
Where the weather was fair, and kayaking was easy.
That and many trails for birding and hiking made this park a perfect choice. There were critters to meet, like the bunnies, aka owl bait,

Armadillos,
White-tailed deer,
Big Al, and all the little Als.
Haven't seen the Javalina, and there were other critters too. But none so plentiful and diverse as the birdlife.
Birdie was by far the best guide as I learned several new to me Texas birds, but we also went on a Ranger-led tour.
This is a Ladder-backed woodpecker that was hanging around the campsite.
Birdie did a fantastic job hearing and then locating this Great Horned Owl.
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, male and female
Vermilion Flycatcher
Green Jay
A tree full of Green Jays
Crested Caracara, also called a Mexican Buzzard.
Great Kiskadee
Greater Roadrunner
Hawk Alley lived up to its name.
Harris's Hawk

White-tailed hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Birdie says this is a Krider's Red-tailed hawk...new one to me.
"His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me..." It's not all raptors here...His eye is on a lot of different kinds of sparrows. I don't know which kind this is, perhaps a Savannah Sparrow. Birdie says so, so it must be so.
And then there are the shore and water birds, like these Least Sandpipers.
And the Great Blue Heron
Tri-colored heron
My favorites are the White Pelicans
In flight
Greater Yellowlegs
I wasn't able to photograph everything, and we certainly haven't seen them all, but we are wearing ourselves out trying.
And there's always tomorrow...

4 comments:

  1. Oh how beautiful God's creatures are... I had never seen a green jay they are very pretty...
    Thank you so much for sharing Liz...
    Kathleen

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  2. Fantastic blog post Liz. I've never been to Choke Canyon so didn't know they had so much there. Birdie is amazing at picking out birds. She sees them right away while I am still looking around trying to figure out what she is looking at. Looks like the puppy is just plain worn out with the nature walks and rides.

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  3. This is amazing. I am so thrilled you adopted Simba so we the ones that cannot travel can live through yours...amazing pictures.

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  4. Again Lizzie..it's awesome.. I do so wish I could be there..I'm really getting into watching birds..of course I do mine from my window what comes to my feeders...and I'm like a little kid when I see what they are...keep them pictures coming they are wonderful..God Bless good to see Simba taking it easy too...Zeee and Critters 3

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