Adios, Falcon State Park

We leave windy, arid Falcon State Park in the morning after two weeks of nearly-constant wind and temperatures in the mid-to-high eighties. All in all, it has been a nice stay here and a chance to see some friends and make a few new ones. This is a unique state park: there is an active community here many of whom have been coming here for years and in many cases, decades. There is a rather active social calendar around the recreation center and while that’s not our cup of tea, we do drop in periodically to say hello and pick up a book.

Sunset over Falcon Lake

We said goodbye this morning two our Oklahoma friends, Bud (87) and Charlotte (85) who we first met three years ago. Bud, a former trucker and mechanic, helped me with some big problems with the Airstream - and this time helped me (well, he did most of it) fix a faulty switch on a motor that raises the trailer tongue. Last night, we went over at dusk to talk and in the warm Texas evening, a number of couples came by to say goodbye. It was very poignant since with their age, you never know if they’ll be back. They are traveling home with some Vermont honey from our bees - and our hopes to see them again.

Being right on the Mexican border, there are some challenges. First of all, a Mexican phone company, TELCEL, grabs your signal much of the time and phones therefore are pretty unreliable. The radio stations are nearly all Spanish language and the few in English seem to be right-wing talk shows. It’s fifteen miles for decent wifi and 35 miles for decent groceries. Don’t even look for skim milk in a thirty mile radius; Chips and beer and fishing gear, yes.

And yet, this place grows on you. We are on the western edge of the Central Time Zone so it doesn’t get light until nearly 8 AM. Early morning walks with the dog are cool and filled with bird songs. Roadrunners and rabbits tease the Vizsla with their run, wait, run movements. Double-crested Cormorants fly over in large formations, heading for a day of fishing. Likewise, White Pelicans cruise out to Lake Falcon as we walk along. The breeze is almost always constant and picks up big time during the day.

Roadrunners drive our Vizsla nuts

Spring flowers have been popping everywhere and some of the ugliest plants have the prettiest flowers. Butterflies are everywhere but the wind makes it a challenge. Red Admirals come reliably to the orange halves we stick on trees.

Flower of a Thistle Plant

Prickly Pear Flowers

I had a chance to do some kayaking here although the wind kept the boat on the truck most days. The first morning I launched, a little Eared Grebe surface right in front of the kayak, dove and came back up alongside. I got pretty close to egrets, and Osprey, and other water birds. They seemed to not be afraid of the quiet boat -- particularly with many bass boats roaring by.

We can’t get away from the drug war. Border Patrol vehicles cruise the park and and are common along the highways. A tethered observation ballon often flies to the north of here -- sort of an ominous sight in a clear blue sky. But there have been no issues for several years here -- even though Mexican drug activity goes on in Roma and Rio Grande City.

But as the Winter Texans like us leave, it’s hard to imagine living here. We’ve had a taste of the temperatures and the constant wind and one can see why siestas are popular. It’s deadly in mid-day. The decrepit homes, mongrel dogs, and trash get to you after a while.

But what a place for birds. I picked up nine new life birds and both Mary and I saw a wonderful array of Texas birds. Just on our little camp road we have Scaled Quail, Northern Bobwhites, Inca Doves, Northern Mockingbirds, Orange-crowned Warblers, Long-billed and Curved-bill Thrashers, Olive Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, White-Crowned Sparrows, and the ubiquitous Turkey Vultures, Northern Cardinals, and Red-winged Blackbirds.

So, we are trading wind for mosquitoes and returning to another favorite place, Goose Island State Park where Penny has a vet appointment to check her progress and remove the last two stitches. It will be nice to kiss TELCEL goodbye. Never thought AT&T would look so good.

Birds of Falcon State Park

While the Texas drought has cut back the number of birds, there is still a wide variety here and down at Salineno. Here are some photos I've taken in the last week.

Altimira Oriole

Long-billed Thrasher across the street sounding like a Northern Mockingbird

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Great Kiskadee

Green Jays are hard to beat for color and personality

Hooded Oriole

Remembering Falcon

I’ve talked about the people of Falcon State Park and their cordiality. We will recall with fondness Bud and Charlotte from Enid, OK who befriended us last year and were our neighbors again this year. Married 64 years, they are a wonderful couple - who also love Penny.

We’ve met a number of Canadian couples, including Bert and Maryanne -- fellow beekeepers and many mid-Westerners. The people are a big part of the attraction of this facility.

The sunrises and sunsets are often spectacular -- especially the sunsets over Falcon Reservoir. We went down tonight to watch it and see how fast the sun moves as it approaches the horizon. Western skies are just amazing to Easterners like us. I recall years ago when I was flying in the Navy out west and returning to Vermont briefly for an event. How closed in I felt -- in spite of being a Vermonter I’d gotten used to the openness.

Falcon is one of the top fishing lakes in the country. With hundreds of miles of coastline, it attracts many bass tournaments -- from local clubs to national events. It’s not unusual to see fifty or more truck/trailer rigs in the parking lots and they fish from sunrise to twilight.

And of course, the birds here are wonderful. A western birder told me yesterday, “I’ve birded throughout the west but never down here. I’m amazed at all the different species.” We tend to get a little blase’ about one more Green Jay or Altimira Oriole. While we didn’t have the rarer birds that sometimes frequent this place, it’s easy to pick up 40 species or more in an hour walk.

So we leave what has become one of our favorite places. It was in the 80’s today but has cooled down with a nice breeze this evening. The coyotes tuned up a while back and the three-quarters moon and starlight will light up this place tonight. I’d hate to be here in July but it sure is nice in February.

Heading Westward

Last year, we stayed here at Falcon State Park for some time and then, because of issues with trailer lights, decided to forego going out to Big Bend National Park. This year, figuring we are this far and may not get here again, we are pressing onward in a few days. We'll go to Amisted National Wildlife Area (Del Rio), stay a couple of days at Seminole Canyon, and then hit Big Bend.

The stay at Falcon has been great. The weather has finally warmed into the 70's and we have enjoyed the birding and the campers. This is quite unique - many folks come here for a month or more - and have done so for years. There is a very active recreation center with many social and education activities. Neither Mary nor I am big on sitting around talking about whatever, but we have gotten to know some of the regulars. We went to a Valentine's ice cream social/ Yankee swap (they had some other name for it), and actually danced a little. The kids think we're losing it.

A highlight of this stay is the puma I saw the other morning while walking the dog - the big cat was just sauntering across the road. I had binoculars but no camera with me.

The night sky here is amazing. There is no air traffic at all - which is too remindfull of the post-9/11 days. We get nothing but Mexican TV and radio but keep current with our iPhones. The campground is very quiet - all I can hear as I write is a coyote. Sounds like a young one trying out his voice. Penny gives a little growl just to let us know she's on top of things.

So we've got some laundry and camper stuff (propane, parts, etc) to do before launching Wednesday morning. Got a couple of birds I'm looking for as well so Penny and I will be out looking for the Say's Phoebe that's supposedly here. Weather up ahead looks great so Wagon's Ho!

What’s That White Stuff?

They say that the last time this area had snow was five years ago on Christmas Eve. Somehow, we didn’t find the snow/ice mix covering the roads and ground this morning that exciting. It was 85 degrees a few days ago -- WTF?

We’re already dealing with frozen water pipes back home in Vermont when the furnace was off during the -25 degrees spell. Now we have to worry about the lines in the Airstream freezing -- and keep a little water dripping.

Of course, there’s no sand or salt trucks in the County so it’s a good thing that the winter sun was strong and melted the coating by about 10 AM. The wind was strong last night and our trailer temperature, in spite of the heater, was 50 degrees this morning. We do have an auxiliary propane heater we lit off to raise the temperature this morning and all in all, have been very comfortable. Just whining.

I know how much other parts of Texas and the country got whacked with this system. We know that in a day, temperatures will be back in the 60’s -- that we wait a couple of days instead of a couple of months, for shirtsleeve weather.

Of course, after we hit about Mississippi, we put the parkas and warm mittens in plastic bags and tossed them way up front in the the truck cap, along with the snow scraper. They would have come in handy.

We had Cabot Cheese for supper tonight -- would you like a little whine with that? Our neighbors here are from Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. We are all taking heat from family and friends for whining -- and look forward to the weekend and normal Texas temperatures.

Nature Encounters at Falcon

The first afternoon at Falcon State Park, I was reading in the shade (it was 85 degrees) with Penny lying next to me. Suddenly, she exploded into barking and lunging on her leash, startling me. I looked at across the road and a mama wild pig and six piglets were trotting through the underbrush, driving our Vizsla nuts.

We’ve seen feral pigs down here before and seen the amazing damage they cause with their rooting and trampling. They are a major nuisance in much of Texas and some, with their nasty tusks, are pretty mean-looking critters.

The first night here, the coyotes started yowling just after dark -- that eerie sound that make you glad you’re not sleeping out in the open.

This park is looped with nature trails that provide a wide variety of flora and fauna. You never quite know what you are going to meet around the corner. We’ve seen a number of rabbits that drive her crazy -- forcing me to put a harness on her instead of just a collar.

Yesterday, after spotting several deer, we came upon a roadrunner who, in “beep-beep” fashion, kept running up ahead to where the trail turned, waiting and running again. Penny was going nuts and I was trying to hold her, and the camera -- this going on for a bit. I dropped the leash and stepped on it while taking the photo, but must have missed it for Penny was off like a flash, as was the roadrunner. I’m sure it flew for she came back shortly, panting, and we continued our walk.

Last night, we took a walk late on the roads and it was black. I had a small flashlight but remembered, about half way around the loop, of the pictures of puma-like cat that has been spotted around here recently. I thought, if I see two glowing eyes up ahead, I’m out of here. The walk turned out to be uneventful although the night sky was spectacular.

Today, we rounded a bend on the trail and came upon an armadillo. Penny saw one in Louisiana last year but this one was right in front of her, waddling away. She lunged as I shot the picture but never got loose.
Tonight, she is “hunting” inside the Airstream -- fixated at an opening under the stove where I suspect a mouse is residing. It may have ridden from Vermont or joined up here in Texas. If it reads the forecast for the weather ahead (nothing like the north or northeast but still below freezing), it is looking for a warm abode.

The other “nature” factor here is the small thorns that are everywhere you walk. I usually ride the bike so that Penny can run on the greenery beside the road. I noticed that she stopped running and was limping and checked her pads, finding many of the little thorns. They hurt just brushing them off. I’ve been wearing sandals and they wedge into the space beneath my feet, and smart. It’s just part of the exercising in the Southwest.

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Farewell to Goose Island

We leave in the morning for Falcon State Park after eight days here at Goose Island. It’s finally shorts and T-shirt weather and we’ve enjoyed getting out to walk, bike, and run. Penny has become pretty well-known with her running alongside the bike. Lots of little yappy dogs here which tend to drive her (and me) a bit nuts.

The first morning we were here, the roar of airboats awoke us about 4:30 A.M. It was the last day of duck season and all the good old boys were out. It calmed down considerably after that although guides take out anglers about every morning -- with the resulting racket.

The birding has been wonderful -- and we’ve met several interesting folks. Last night we went on an owl prowl -- which turned out to be a walk along an oyster shell filled trail through the puckerbrush with Mary and fifteen others -- but no owls. The night sky through the trees was quite something -- these Texas nights can be quite spectacular.

This morning, after coffee, scones, and wifi downtown, we went to say goodbye to the whooping cranes. Three flew over as we approached and later, as we watched, a male from the group of three that reside there drove the newcomers off.

We met a guy today with a Bates sweatshirt so we had to query him -- and learned that he and his wife moved down here from New England about five years ago. He’s a photographer -- shooting birds and and scenery -- and loving living in Texas. I’ve seen the temperatures for this area in the summer. Mary and I, while enjoying the area a lot, have too much Yankee blood in our veins to move south. However, getting down here for part (or most) of the winter is enticing.

Falcon Lake got some bad press six months ago when the guy was killed by “pirates” on the Mexican side of the lake. That story always has had a phony ring to it -- no debris, no body -- so it will be interesting to hear the local version of the story. We hope to erect and launch the kayak but will be staying close to the U.S. shore for many reasons. I think it’s likely safer than it was when we were there last year.

Temperatures down there are forecast in the low 80’s just as the rest of the country is getting ready for another big storm. One side of me feels guilty -- but I suspect as soon as I see a Green Jay and three types of orioles, I’ll get over it.

Seriously, we will be thinking of our friends/family dealing with this tough winter.

Take a look at my latest post on the birds of Goose Island.

Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Vermont anymore

 Going to bed, listening to coyotes and the constant humming of oil/gas extraction nearby.  The lights of Mexican towns glitter across the reservoir.  What a contrast to Vermont -- although we’ve had a couple of rainy days, the prickly pear and yucca cactus and many other thorny plants let us know we are in deep Texas.

Thursday we went down to the Roma library to use their wifi connection.  The room was abuzz in Spanish, making it feel like we were across the border - just a mile away.  Later, at a Walmart in Rio Grande City, we were about the only two anglos out of the hundreds of patrons.  No big deal - and we marvel, as we do in Montreal, of the adroit switching from language to language.  Mary overheard a cellphone discussion by the person next in line who interrupted a steady chatter of Spanish to say, “and you got the shrimp, right?” then switching right back to Spanish.

Yesterday, while out on a walk with Penny, four javelinas sauntered across the road in a line, starting from momma to the youngest.  Then a sharp-shinned hawk wove through the thickets in search of a bird to eat.  And hundreds of grackles and red-winged blackbirds (pests here right now) are hopefully thinking about heading north.

We awoke to a screech owl, cardinals, and mockingbirds.  The forecast today is for mid-seventies.  We can only imagine what August must be like down here.  It’s a foreign land in many ways to us native Vermonters.

The Rare Roadside Hawk

As part of my preparation for our SW trip, I joined birder email groups in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas. One of the big deals for the last ten days has been the roadside hawk, a rare species from Mexico, that showed up at Falcon State Park.

I’m not that serious a birder, but getting more serious, and that sort of locked in our next destination from Goose Island. This place is right on the Mexico border, next to a big international reservoir, and full of birds and birders. People drive here just to try to see the hawk.

Yesterday was our first day here (it’s a nicely laid-out park filled with Canadians and folks from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and elsewhere north. Very few New Englanders.

I was out walking Penny just after dawn (which comes here late so far west in the Central time zone) when a car stopped and asked me if I knew where the roadside hawk was. I passed on some news I’d heard about possible locations and returned for breakfast. Later that morning, they drove slowly by again -- still no hawk.

A little later, I was talking with our Oklahoma neighbors (who have been coming here for 23 years) when the same car stopped, rolled down the window and reported, “He’s down by the recreation area in the top of a tree.”

I grabbed my binoculars and walked down in that direction. Passing the recreation hall, a young man asked me if I had heard of any hawk sightings and soon he and his parents were walking with me down the road, where up ahead, we saw a small group of birders set up. (It turns out that my companions had driven over from Louisiana just to get to see the bird -- every day a bunch more show up.) Sure enough, the young hawk was sitting in full view in a big bare tree, easily visible by binoculars. I could make out the striping and coloration but when I had a chance to look through a spotting scope, it was even more remarkable. He posed for ten minutes or so and then flew off, not to be seen the rest of the day.Later, while watching birds at a feeding location, Penny suddenly bristled and growled and lo and behold, a javelina sauntered out and started eating dropped bird seed. The iPhone picture doesn’t really capture how close he was.

We are seeing some amazing birds -- most of whom never get up our way. Green jays are spectacular as is the vermillion flycatcher. Today we saw all three orioles resident here: altimira oriole, Audobon oriole, and the hooded oriole. Visiting a sanctuary filled with golden-fronted woodpeckers, Great Kiskadoos, and orioles reminded me of the first time I snorkeled in tropical water. It was sensory overload.

So, Mary and I have given up snow for Lent. But we are reveling in the wonders of this part of our country.

Roadside hawk photo by Wagner Machado Carlos Lemes
Green jay photo by JunCTio

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