Another Christmas Bird Count - Granger Lake

 This is the second wave of the thunderstorm breaking apart and moving around us.

I hate to start with the weather, but I must. The day was proof of the changeable weather in Texas. We started the morning with thunderstorms. The storms blew through pretty quickly leaving it a little chilly, until it wasn't. The sky cleared and the winter sun was ridiculously bright, but it was never really hot as the wind blew up enough dust to leave a fine film of grime on your face. And by the time the sun went down, I needed a jacket.

We left the house at 5 a.m. so that we could meet with others at the Granger Lake CBC [1] who were staking out a spot where Short-eared Owls are seen. At least six of us stood around in the rain and waited...no owls. The sun came up and we divided the group into two teams. Our area leader EF had provided pages of guidance and 11 pages of maps of the area that was about 10 square miles (or thereabouts - our boundaries were rivers and streams and a lake and some crazy county roads). We were organized and ready.

The rain stopped just before dawn.

How often are you out in the wild and up to see this?

DH and I traveled with two young and experienced birders, JW and CM. They were, as we have found most birders to be, generous of spirit and patient with two inexperienced people of a certain age. [2] We learned SO MUCH and enjoyed what turned out to be a wonderful day (in spite of the weird weather). This trip was very different than our count in Georgetown because of the different habitat. The area was a mixture of farmland, low grass prairie, riparian, and woods, but mostly farmland - former blackland prairie. Like our earlier trip, someone on our team (JW) had experience in this area and knew where we could expect certain birds. Fortune smiled once again!

The rest of this will be some of what we saw. Don't expect bird photos. The birds were usually at too great a distance for my equipment. The list of birds observed (as a team) is at the end of the post. My list was much smaller although I was surprised at how many birds I did recognize (and many were pointed out to us - in song and sight). The list is also fairly dramatically different from that of the first count we attended - similar number of species, but some different ones and different numbers of individuals (An example: First trip saw loads of cowbirds and robins while we saw no cowbirds or robins on the second).

There are birds in this small tree. Really.

One bird....

Two birds...see, not making it up.

After the Short-eared Owls didn't show (but we did hear a Northern Bobwhite [3]), we went to a field where  Mountain Plovers had been seen in past years. [4] This well-plowed field was a little hilly and we saw birds in the distance moving down into a low spot.

Scofflaw that I am, I suggested I walk down the turning row/dirt road-ish track to get a better look (I had memorized this bird and I was cautiously optimistic in my ability to recognize it. And who is going to worry about a 60-year-old woman walking down the turning row?). I grew up in a farm community and never worried about walking in someone's field. I recognize a big crowd of people might be a problem, but I couldn't see the harm in tiptoeing out to look. Apparently I violated one of the cardinal rules of CBC. You don't go on any private property - including out in any fields - without permission . I get it, I get it. I understand trespass. And I understand not interfering with someone's property (I pick up after my dog - I'm a good neighbor - really).

<HEAVY SIGH>  I won't do it again.


In any event, I got a-ways down the road and checked the birds - walked a little further and checked again. Yes, it looked like them. I was convinced these were indeed the plovers.

Back at the car, the guys, who had been looking through a spotting scope,  were confident in the identification as well. We all agreed we should go to the other side of the field along a different county road in hopes of a better view. SUCCESS! We then notified our area leader and he got the word out to the other teams. Suddenly vehicles appeared from all directions bearing birdwatchers (armed with high-tech spotting scopes and tripods). The vehicles had barely stopped when eager birders jumped out, setting up their gear with much practiced speed. The excitement was palpable.

We were about to leave the plover viewers when I thought to snap these shots.

We are talking some serious gear. And some of these folks travel widely for the opportunity to see birds.

As I kicked the mud from my boots I got a little nervous. One birder said, "This is what I'm here for." All I could think was, "What if we're wrong?"

But we were right. Mountain Plovers were putting on a show a mere spotting scope-viewing distance away. Photos were taken. Birds were counted again and again - making sure of the number (we saw 17). Congratulations where shared.

We joked that we could have called it a day, but we were only a few hours into the count. More birds were waiting!

Checking a creek crossing.

Birds in the distant tree. NOTE: We saw a number of windmills. I love to see them still at work on the farm.

The rest of the day was equally wonderful, if not so dramatic (except for a little close encounter of the bovine kind). We experienced all kinds of birds. [5] DH and I became more comfortable with identifying some in flight (gotta love those American Pipits and Meadowlarks). We heard the call of the Pileated Woodpecker - not once, but at least 3 times. We heard the Barred Owl's haunting call along the San Gabriel River. We heard the Western Meadowlark's song!

The San Gabriel River.

A snag in the middle of the river at another spot.

Some of the woods we explored. No lions, tigers or bears...just sparrows, cardinals, woodpeckers and sapsuckers...and a wild beauty.

Improvised bridge? Evidence of birds?

I'm calling sapsucker - likely Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. We saw two in this section of woods.

We ended our day at dinner with others from the count and listened to the roll call. The bird list is read and teams call out if they observed that species. Observers shared locations of some of the "rare birds." I wondered how many would return to the fields the following day in hopes of a glimpse of color or the sound of a warning call or ancient avian melody.

As the sun set we ended the count.

NOTES:

[1] http://www.audubon.org/join-christmas-bird-count - As far as I can tell, this one was the last in our area. Maybe it will be like childbirth - we may forget how tired and sore we are today by the time the next count is scheduled in December 2017.

[2] I will admit the day was long and I "took a knee" a couple of times. Once was literal - slipped on the steps down to the river at Dickerson's River Bottom. The others were times I stayed near the car taking photos and getting a little rest before the next hike.

The steps at Dickerson's Bend - take care, especially in damp weather.

[3] Bobwhites have been missing. I'm not sure they really know what has caused the dramatic drop in population. I've heard it is partially due to the demon KR Bluestem that isn't a clumping grass - Bobwhite habitat involves clumping grass for cover. I've also heard the population dropped as part of the scourge of the Imported Fire Ant (quail nest on the ground). I can guarantee my hunting had NO impact whatsoever as I have never hit any flying thing - ever. Anyway, a quick search disclosed a couple of articles if you are interested:

http://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_w7000_1025.pdf
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/out-there/2013/11/what-happened-our-quail-observations-old-quail-hunter
http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/national-wildlife/birds/archives/1993/the-case-of-the-disappearing-quail.aspx
http://texashomeandgarden.com/idea-center/garden/what-happened-to-the-texas-quail/
http://wild-wonderings.blogspot.com/2014/12/red-imported-fire-ants-and-bobwhite.html

[4] https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Plover/id

[5] Just go to All About Birds (Cornell University) to start learning about different birds. I use a number of sites, but often start here:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/


OUR LIST:

1 Northern Bobwhite  4 Double-crested Cormorant 6 Great Blue Heron 24 Black Vulture 65 Turkey Vulture  2 Red-shouldered Hawk 4 Red-tailed Hawk 1 American Coot 37 Killdeer 17 Mountain Plover 1 Wilson's Snipe 10 Greater Yellowlegs 75 Ringbilled Gull 8 Eurasian Collared-Dove 3 Inca Dove 70 White-winged Dove 40 Mourning Dove 1 Great Horned Owl 1 Barred Owl 1 Belted Kingfisher 11 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 Downy Woodpecker  2 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Crested Caracara 7 American Kestrel 16 Eastern Phoebe 7 Loggerhead Shrike 4 Blue-headed Vireo 18 American Crow 2 Horned Lark 11 Carolina Chickadee 10 Tufted x Black-crested Titmouse (hybrid) 4 House Wren 13 Carolina Wren 2 Blue-grey Gnatchatcher 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 13 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Eastern Bluebird 6 Hermit Thrush 7 Northern Mockingbird 6 European Starling 130 American Pipit 3 Dedar Waxwing 17 McCown's Longspur 5 Orange-crowned Warbler 70 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2 Field Sparrow 5 White-crowned Sparrow 5 Harris's Sparrow 7 White-throated Sparrow 7 Vesper Sparrow 110 Savannah Sparrow 4 Song Sparrow 5 Lincoln's Sparrow 40 Northern Cardinal 50 Red-winged Blackbird 4 Western Meadowlark 190 Western/Eastern Meadowlark 70 Brewer's Blackbird 5 American Goldfinch 5 House Sparrow CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF A BOVINE KIND: Our group headed out into the pasture of the wildlife management area one last time. CM and JW headed off and we lost sight of them. I was pretty much "walked out" so DH and I flushed and counted a few sparrows and pipits. Then we noticed cattle in the pasture noisily moving in our direction. DH suggested they might be expecting to be fed when they saw us and I agreed we not try and wrestle with a ton of steak. After exiting the gate, DH decided to nap in the shade while I wandered down the road taking photos. Then I noticed a bawling calf walking the fence-line OUTSIDE of the fence. He and one of the cows were in a call and response type of communication. And the calf (all a few hundred pounds of him) was heading closer to my sleeping husband. I headed back down the road to wake DH, called the Ranger and made one futile attempt to get the calf back in the pasture as DH headed to the parking lot for our car. Please note, one of the beasts was clearly a bull (trust me - I may not have been raised on a farm, but I know a bull when I see one).  They made a lot of noise, but left us alone. Still, I was glad to be on the other side of the fence. The calf found mom and dad, but I couldn't interest it in the gate to the pasture. Other Stuff (but not the evidence of ballooning spiders - so disappointed I could not capture that):

I love cockleburs and you can almost always find them in fall and winter along the banks of rivers. Don't put them in your pocket.

Bracket on fallen tree.

I'm calling  Blanchard's Cricket Frog. What? Don't you see it? The sun was in my eyes...I was at the edge of the high river bank...and I was using a cell phone. The frog almost escaped the photo. Now do you see it?

Here you go! We saw another as well, but it jumped into the river before I could get a photo.

Mistletoe - it's stunning in the winter.

There has been a good deal of damage to the trees along the river. I'm guessing drought followed by flood has been too much for many trees. This one is hanging on.

The tree alley just inside one of the wildlife management areas. It's pretty, but caution is always wise. As DH stopped under the trees for a nap, I was taking stock of all the poison ivy clinging to the trunks.

As we walked the river bank we heard and then saw this motorboat heading downstream.

One of the giants of the woods.

None of my photos of the pastures turned out well, but I'll share this one of the cattle trail we followed while flushing out a few pipits and swallows.

The wild is there for us, but nothing is free. We discovered one of the areas where many types of sparrows have been found in the past was undergoing "improvement."

Paving paradise.

And, finally, - I wrote of our efforts on Saturday to scout out the area for the meeting spot and area boundaries. We noted birds, but weren't actively looking for any. We happened upon Robert and Eliza Bird's plot in the Granger City Cemetery and Bird Street just down the way. On "count day" we had been experiencing a dearth of blackbirds. Then on this trek through the cemetery we found the Starling's plot. Then we found the blackbirds - Brewer's blackbirds and, yes, European Starlings....

The headstone for Robert and Barbara (James) Starling. Some quick research indicates Barbara died in 1990 at the age of 48. She had 11 brothers and sisters (or so states the obituary of her sister, Faye James Palmer who died in 2012 at the age of 93). It appears Robert is still living.

Birds, birds, birds

I almost forgot this photo - until I realized I didn't want the cemetery shot to lead. This is a story about feathered creatures.

DH and I decided to start the new year with a bang and participate in one more Christmas Bird Count. Everyone talks about Granger Lake and what a great spot it is for birding so we signed up for the count at Granger Lake.

But where the last count started with a couple of emails and 4 questions, this one started with 4 pages of directions and coordination and 11 pages of detailed maps and notes. I spent 3 hours reprinting the maps so I could read them better as well as typing up the notes and deciphering the shorthand for bird names.* I have no idea how many hours I've spent looking up birds we expect to see and listening to their calls/barks/chirps/songs.

This afternoon we grabbed our gear and headed about 35 miles south where we will spend our waking hours on Monday. We consulted the maps and traversed the northern boundary of "Area 4." These roads are the craziest group of country roads I have ever seen. At home the roads are a sensible grid for the most part. But these twist and turn - sometimes turning back on themselves. After a 90 degree curve or two, the road number might change or not. Thank heavens for the maps! I'm usually good with directions, but even with the sun out and watching, I kept getting turned around as we traveled this  "confusion of roads."

Granger has what appears to be a cemetery at the edge of town. It is actually a group of cemeteries.** We drove into the City Cemetery and immediately found a bird, but not the kind we were seeking.

The Bird family plot***

Then we found three black vultures behind the cemetery. They gently circled the field just beyond what appears to be a drainage ditch, but could easily be the remnants of a creek. [We did hear a few birds hiding in the trees in the cemetery, but they never showed themselves even as we played an owl call or two.]

We left the cemetery and turned right down another county road that took us past a couple of grain elevators/bins. Fields on either side had been planted (winter wheat?) and the fields were full of blackbirds. What kind of bird were they? Well, I did see a couple of sparrows among the blackbirds. I am calling "Vesper Sparrow." The blackbirds? I think grackles, starlings, cowbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds and probably others. [I'll admit it, I was overwhelmed.]

The former music student in me wants to play this.

I've blown the photo up and tried to identify the individual birds.  I'll see who shows up on Monday.

I won't guess, but I can say there are over 100 birds in this photo so that means there were well over 200 birds just along this road.

 

We drove to where the road would take a turn to the left and saw it - another bird.

Yes, we were seeing birds on East Old County Road. I don't think we saw "New County Road."

We turned around once again and continued down a country road that provides one partial boundary of our count area. After winding around a bit we found the park where we will search the trails and check along the shoreline.  [24 Field Sparrows flushed out of the grass along the road as we exited the park.]

Our goal for the trip today was to time our drive and become familiar with the meet-up point. This spot is marked by a gate with cattle guard where yet another paved county road becomes a poorly paved and dirt track into the wildlife management area. We will begin our count here and search for Short-eared Owls in the hours before dawn (if the threatened rain doesn't ruin our plans).

As we arrived at the gate we noticed another vehicle (a pickup truck) was stopped on the cattle guard. His vehicle was in reverse (we could tell by the backup lights), but he was stationary. Before we could even question the behavior of the driver, our attention was diverted by movement down the dirt road where we observed  a large herd of White-tailed deer crossing from one pasture to the next. Amazed, I held my breath as I counted more than 15 deer.

After the deer cleared the fences we do-si-doed with the pickup, driving into the wildlife area to the turn-around and then back to the gate. The herd was gone, but there were birds along the roadway - perched in the trees lining the road.

We decided we were comfortable with our scouting and preparation for the bird count challenge. We will be searching numerous creeks, plowed fields, short grassy areas, wooded tracts, and a large shoreline. I cannot say we are ready, but we are about as ready as we are going to be.

I've already spent hours studying owls, blackbirds, sparrows, and woodpeckers. The blackbirds are calling me back. Then there are all the raptors, the wrens, the longspurs and more. We will be relying on the experts who lead our team, but we will test ourselves as well.

As we returned home and drove through our familiar neighborhoods we passed Birdwell Street. We are taking it as a good omen.


NOTES:

* Don't judge me - The key was simple - first two letters of the bird's first name and the first two letters of the bird's second name. [So, an Inca Dove was a INDO and a Mountain Plover was a MOPL.]

** I wonder why we cannot get along even in death. But some of these cemeteries were the result of the building of the dam. Cemeteries that would eventually be flooded were moved to this location (Beard, Machu and Allison "Old Friendship" Cemeteries). In addition to these and the Granger City Cemetery, the Brethren Cemetery and the Holy Cross Cemetery are located at the corner of County Roads 361 and 348.

***Robert Addison and Eliza Estelle Mitchell Bird. Robert was born in Tennessee in 1876 and died in Williamson County in 1959 (aged 83, heart attack). Eliza was born in Alabama in 1876 and died in Williamson County in 1947 (aged 71, cancer). They married in Williamson County in 1896 and were farmers in Granger, Texas. And they had children - Robert W, Irene, (Willie may be Robert W.), Milstid, and Edwin Lee. I wonder what happened to them all.

Save me...

...from the rabid dust bunnies.*

This retirement thing has not exactly gone according to plan. I was supposed to do this cleaning and sorting and divesting much earlier than this. Life and then attitude got in the way.**

So, I had some time this week when I wouldn't be disturbing DH. He hates the vacuum. I  would be at home much of the time as cannot leave Zelda long. She frets and eats the door frames. She hates the crate. So, I have been sorting and boxing up things that need to go away. I have been filling the "shred" boxes as well as the recycling bin. I am starting to see some progress.***

I'm also getting packages ready to mail. Some are only a week late. Others are embarrassingly late.

<Sigh>

When Zelda and I need a break, we have been heading outside for a crunch through the fallen oak leaves littering the side yard.**** On our last trip outside I hid behind a tree as she nosed around for good smells.  She found me and then went tearing off to the front of the house.

Because she was off-leash, I got a little nervous. She could get into all kinds of trouble on our busy corner. [As much as Z frets about loud cars, she is known to step into the street.]

Then, just as I reached the other side of the house, Zelda jumped out of the flowerbed.

"Surprise!"

She had been hiding in the Vinca. Could she be playing hide-and-seek? I guess I started it. I am beginning to think that Ms. Zelda is going to surprise us a great deal.

Now, if she would just take care of those dreaded dust bunnies!


NOTES:

* Dust and cat hair...an old cat with health issues can mean a ridiculous amount of shedding of fur. So perhaps we should call these dusty hairballs? Furry dust bunnies? It is not dog hair as Z is a mix of a couple of varieties of non-shedding breeds.

** There have been a couple of Netflix binging periods we probably shouldn't mention.

*** Why is it that things always look much worse before getting better? Why am I not more organized? Why is the sky blue?

****Yes, I need to mow them up, but the mower died. That's next - yard work.


FINAL NOTE:

The above was yesterday. Today Zelda and Hobbes are chasing around the house. I suppose it is "tag" today. I've called them down twice. Peace for a moment.

Z and Me

DH has been gone for a few days to help a friend.

This meant I had company for almost everything. Z is still pretty anxious when I am out of her sight. So, she came along for most things.

Here she is riding with me as I picked up a friend's newspaper (we didn't even have to get out of the car - just opened the door and scooped up the paper). She was not excited by the outing.

Yes, Z needs a bath and a trim.*

I've done laundry and sorted through STUFF for hours. Zelda napped and followed me through the house. She sat in the hall if I was in the kitchen or bathroom. [She doesn't seem to like the TV so she moves away from the set when it is on.]

If I went upstairs I heard her strange plop-plop, click-click behind me (she has an odd way of climbing and descending the stairs. It is as if  the hind end moves faster than the front end).  She kept heading upstairs and climbing into her bed.  I FINALLY realized that, since she usually naps with DH,** these were the times she was used to taking a nap!

<SIGH>   She is like a two year old following behind me all the time. At least she isn't talking or asking questions. As it is we have heard fewer than a half dozen barks from her. Whimpers, yes.*** Barks, no.

On our way home with the paper the sky was gorgeous. The sun was struggling to show through the gathering clouds. I kept looking for a place to stop. We tried two parks. At one we had the wrong angle on the sky.

Love those trees rooted in the sky.

I missed the "good" shot. **

At the second we were surprised by masses of vultures making their lazy circling glides. I'm not sure anything was dead. They seemed to be enjoying the change in temperature and wind direction. A mild front came in between 6 and 8 this morning.

There was a small sandbar in the river that was covered with birds as well. I didn't wander far from the car.  There was another vehicle in the park and I could not see the driver. Even in our little town, it is not good to hang out in the parks alone. I felt safe with the other dogs, but Zelda is so friendly and passive - she's not much of a deterrent to those with mischief on their mind.

A few of the vultures perched in the tree.

I'd like to say that Zelda was good when I got out of the car for photos...so I will. If I stayed within a few steps of the car, she was fine. If I wandered too far, I could hear her starting to fret.

It is all good. It is all in aid of teaching her to stay and helping her understand that we will come back. We WILL.

She is a work in progress. Aren't we all?

NOTES:

*We are planning a "puppy trim" soon.

**She goes upstairs and gets in HER bed and sleeps while he naps. She is NOT allowed on the furniture although I understand she sneaks into my chair when I am gone and DH is not paying attention.

***Whimpering in dogs = whining in kids

All is Calm

I love Sunday morning walks. No one is about. That it's Christmas means hours more of quiet on our street.

Zelda and I headed down the still-dark road.

Peaceful. Lovely.

Soft light of morning breaking around the clouds. Streetlights glowing.  Crickets' droning. Morning birds singing.

Two walking at dawn...

No only insects and bird songs and us...nothing else stirring.

The only deer we saw.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

The Bur Oak

When I was a girl, my uncle brought us some Bur Oak Acorns from Victoria, Texas. It is a lovely thing - giant with a hairy cap. I've been fascinated by them ever since.

The Bur Oak tree is a massive thing, but they are slow-growing. You must have patience.* The leaves are lobed. I don't think it is as pretty in the fall as the red oak, but there is something about the acorn...

A few weeks ago I took Zelda for a walk in San Gabriel Park. Bur Oaks were all around and the acorns were scattered on the ground. I gathered some. I suspect I was thinking about planting some, but they stayed in the black plastic bag.

This morning I was starting on clearing a little clutter and decided to transfer them into a clear bag and store them with the other seeds I've been saving for the motivation to garden. It seems the Burs won't wait. Of eleven acorns, 7 sprouted while resting in the moist darkness of the "doggy bag."

I'll finish breakfast, find 7 plastic pots, and get these in the ground.

Let's see what happens.

Bur Oak acorns - unwilling to wait for me to plant them.

NOTES:

* Our former neighbor across the street planted two when he was a child. He has been gone many years so I know the trees are older than me and they are still pretty small, for oaks. We planted one in the side yard about 20 years ago and I suppose I would consider it still a sapling. I've seen one acorn on it. We decided on a Bur Oak because of the acorns and because they are oak wilt resistant.

10-26-21 UPDATE

A few trees grew from these acorns. I refused to plant any in the ground. I wanted to move and saved plants in pots for the "new yard." We moved in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. We "built" a garden with the help of friends and siblings. One of the Bur Oak trees was planted first - part of the skeleton, the structure of the wild space in the small back yard. It grew from about 2 feet to 6 foot tall in a year. It's an anchor and will help me to stay here.

Last Amphibian Watch for the Year

The sky over Berry Springs Park

A cold front was coming, but we enjoyed "shorts weather" most of the day. We were also enjoying the practical joke planned for the evening.

A few years ago I cast some ceramic frogs for an environmental installation. They have lived in a cardboard box since. We found them a month or so ago as we were cleaning out and a scheme began to develop - because frogs can be scarce in the winter months, why couldn't we "plant" these frogs around the pond and stream at Berry Springs Park?

We knew TH and HY would "get it" and hoped our joke would not offend the citizen scientists we join each month.

Arriving about 30 minutes early we were not surprised to find TH and HY already bird-watching in the park. We let them in on the joke and walked the routes the team usually takes for the watch, carefully placing frogs where the creatures would be "hidden" but discovered.

DH joined the group in the parking lot and I "guarded" frogs at the pier (met a lovely young man - EJ, who caught a fish just as his parent's arrived to pick him and his brother up from their afternoon of fishing).

As the frogging group arrived at the pier I could tell they had enjoyed finding a new species - Frogus ceramicus, the Christmas Frog, (AKA tellus ranae - ceramic frog). [They found all 10 and, best of all, took them home! One less box at our house.]

Nice catch, EJ! Redear Sunfish.

The rest of the Amphibian Watch was also productive. We recorded a Rio Grande Leopard frog, caught a Blanchard's Cricket frog, photographed an American Bullfrog, and captured an American Bullfrog tadpole. Who knew we would see anything on this winter (soon to be frigid) evening?

Blanchard's Cricket Frog

American Bullfrog tadpole

Closeup of the tadpole.

American Bullfrog was trying to hide - probably from the bad weather coming. You can just see his eye here. Trust me.

Here a few photos of the evening before the cold front hit (dropping the temperature 20 degrees) and frog watchers headed home:

Recording the cricket frog. Note tellus ranae captured and resting on the bench.

Recording the tadpole.

One shot at capturing the bullfrog.

A valiant effort, but the bullfrog was having none of it this evening.

 Wild things and observations:

A Great Egret flew away from the pond area as we first approached. I did not get a photo, but have become fairly familiar with this bird. There were waterfowl in the pond - probably Pie-billed Grebes (HY had identified some before we got there). The grackles were present in quantity - a few hundred. And one titmouse led me on a merry chase. I was capturing audio and followed the raucous sound coming from that little guy. There are always a number of turtles. We see their heads pop up, but the did not get close to shore this day.

Grackles

Waterfowl

Brackets on native pecan.

I love watching the sun go down here.

Photo of the new frogs by KM:

"