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.

Boondocking in an oak grove

The hurricane flamed out and our trip to Massachusetts was easy -- light traffic and Will Lange's CD of wonderful Vermont stories. We wedged the Airstream into our parking spot at Jennifer's and got out the solar panel - why I'm not sure. We get a random ray or two now and then through the leaves but it's moral support, electrically speaking.

It was great seeing Rich and Bronson from Ohio as well as Mac, Jen, and Ben . Yesterday we had a big reunion with Jack and Susan Russell and their kids and grandkids. Perfect weather and dear friends we don't see often enough.

I've been doing some birding here, seeing a lot of warblers which are still tough to ID, especially with a Viszla pulling on the leash. Saw six flickers today high in a tree eating some sort of fruit.

I also had an encounter with a grumpy old guy on a back road here in Merrimac -- a place I'd seen some birds while running yesterday. This morning, I drove the truck down there, parked it beside the narrow road, and was watching some chestnut-sided warblers when the door to the nearby house opened and an old guy stood there staring at me. I said, "Hi, I'm doing a little birding" and got no reply. I kept scanning the trees when I soon heard a pellet gun type noise, cocking and firing. I just kept birding and didn't hear any pellets my way but just figured he was being a jerk. I was very tempted to tell him so and still marvel at my restraint. I finished up and as I returned to the truck, I glanced up and saw the air rifle at his side. It took real will power not to flip him the bird as I drove off but I don't need more dents in the Ford.

Jennifer, who runs on that route, decided to call the police and report the incident. As she says, "It bothers me when someone's first instinct when angry is to go for a gun."

So in addition to catbirds, warblers, flickers, cardinals, I've found a red-neck flatlander. May add it to my life list.

On Turning 70

One of the reasons for this Southwest adventure was to celebrate the fact that we were both turning 70 this year -- and sure enough, like clockwork, I did so on March 9th. (MRM has months & months to go.) It was a wonderful day -- perhaps the best we’ve had climate-wise and relaxation-wise.

We’re at the Sam Houston National Forest, about 40 miles north of Houston, surrounded by tall pine trees. After the onslaught of kids last weekend at our last site, it’s nice to have peace and quiet and few campers. We leave tomorrow for a couple of state parks in Louisiana as we start the trek northeastward.

Frankly, I’m still a bit surprised to be seventy. I remember years ago in Syracuse, when I was doing a lot of road racing in my early forties, knowing some of the “ old farts” who plodded along toward the end of the pack. I admired them, wrote a couple of magazine articles about one of them -- and now find that I’m one of them. It is a new age group -- always one perk of turning a new decade for runners, skiers, paddlers, etc.

I got a nice early birthday present here: I added the red-cockaded woodpecker, an endangered bird, to my life list. This forest is one of a few in the south that supports this bird, which needs specially-managed pine habitats to survive. They nest in living pine trees and are rather rare. I knew they were around here, but scarce -- and was advised that early morning and dusk were the best times to try to see them.

There’s a place with some known nests about a mile from here so I went up on Monday night to take a look. It was showery and I had the Vizsla with me -- not exactly great birding conditions. After spending some time traipsing around and dodging showers, and seeing nothing, I decided to try a bird call from my iPhone. (I don’t like to do this because I’ve heard that it can confuse the birds but thought -- this is probably the only time I’ll be here...) Well, no sooner had I played the call from the iBird app when two woodpeckers repeated it. I was astounded -- and saw one fly by and then saw another one land on a pine tree not far away. I got a great look -- the bird is sort of like a downy woodpecker without the white on the back. It matched the drawings I’d studied and of course, the call was also the same. I was psyched. I’d stepped on the dog’s leash and she was patient as I watched the woodpecker for 10 minutes or more.

My birthday started, as most of our days do, early. We had coffee and yogurt in our separate beds reading email, blogs, and news feeds on our iPhones. (I wonder how many 70-year-olds start their day that way -- perhaps more than we think.)

I took Penny for a nice walk on the woods loop where she can run freely and then decided to take a birthday run. I wanted to do 7 miles for 70 but since I haven’t been running much this trip, opted for an hour. It wasn’t pretty but felt pretty good -- and a nice start to the day.

Our daughter Jen, unbeknownst to me, had arranged an email blitz and I got many emails and Facebook greetings. Several cellphone calls and messages and a text message or two. It was great hearing from folks and it made me realize once again why the Post Office is losing money. One package (which was wonderful) and one note but the rest all electronic.

We had an easy day, enjoying the wonderful weather, and opted to cook out rather than drive 20 miles to a restaurant. (Mary took me for a birthday lunch -- which was delightful -- the next day.)

It’s wonderful to celebrate this milestone with Mary, my friend and partner ... and Penny, who with her constant need for exercise and attention, keeps me moving.

Northern Wheatear

I've been reading on the Texas birdlist about the daily sightings of the Northern Wheatear in Beeville, Texas. This caught my eye because as I noted in a past posting, we have ties to Beeville.

This bird, a resident of the far north, should be wintering in Africa with the rest of its buddies. How it arrived at John's (an Amish farmer) field is Texas is anyone's guess but fortunately, he's an amateur birder and identified it -- and soon experts from all over were coming and verifying it. It's been seen about every day right out behind his house.

We were planning to go right by the site on our way to Goliad State Park so I decided to take the six mile detour and see if I could spot it -- figuring it's definitely the only chance I'll ever have.

We parked the truck and Airstream by the road and I walked in the ramshackle farm operation. A young birder from Central Texas was there and as I signed the book, I saw addresses from all over the country. He had a big telephoto but had not yet seen the bird.

We watched dozens of meadowlarks (eastern or western -- not sure) and other birds and I was getting discouraged -- the breeze was stiff and Mary and Penny were waiting.

Then I saw an Amish buggy coming down the road toward the truck and thought, "Oh no, Penny!" It was too far to run to the truck to warn Mary and I didn't have my iPhone and soon I heard Penny go ballistic, saw the horse shy away from the truck, and thought, "Oh great, what a nice introduction." The buggy turned in the lane and soon I was apologizing but John and the two women he was training to drive, were fine.

Just then, the guy with the camera said, "Did you see it?" And of course, I hadn't. The bird had popped up on a tank - he'd snapped one shot -- and off it went into the weeds. About five or ten minutes went by and I was getting bummed when up it came, perching about 10 feet from me on an old tank. I got a wonderful view with the binoculars as the guy shot dozens of shots. The bird sort of posed, moving around the tank, giving us side views, front views, until it got sick of it and moved off. We were psyched.

As you can see, the bird is not spectactular except in its rarity. It was a great experience for an amateur birder. So with the Roadside hawk, the Jacana, the groove-billed Ana, and the Wheatear, I've added some pretty rare birds to my list. The total list, modest at the start, has grown by over 100 birds this trip.

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photo by seabarium

Hunkered Down

A cold front with cold rain and wind is hitting us -- after a stretch of nice weather. This is a day to find some wifi at the local library and pay some bills. We drove yesterday from the border up to Choke Canyon State Park -- which is a big reservoir which provides water for Corpus Christi.
This place is teeming with wildlife -- as you can see from the 8-pointer who just stared at us as we drove by. It’s an iPhone photo so we were close.

I had a chance to see the rare Northern Jacana which has been hanging around for a few weeks -- and used the spotting scope of a fellow birder to get a good look. I had the glasses on him when he flew with a wonderful flashing of yellow flight feathers. (Mary & I saw him up close this morning)

The interior of the Airstream stays toasty but the condensation builds up on windows and doors on days like this. Penny is sacked out on the couch beside me, snoring away. She has a bunny out back which has caught her interest and I think she’s chasing it as her legs move in doggy dreams.

We’re back in the land of TV in English, having only had two Spanish stations down at Falcon. However, whether in Spanish or English, it’s all pretty mindless. We are fortunate to get a public broadcasting station for our Newshour fix. Between blogs and Huffpost, we keep up to speed on the iPhones. I read the Times-Argus and Brattleboro Reformer online to stay up with VT issues.

Off to the big town of Three Rivers which doesn’t have much but does have a library and laundromat -- the essentials of life for Airstream (and other RV) owners.

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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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Birder Heaven

Leaving Lake Charles, LA, we joined the trucks and RVs on I-10 heading toward Beaumont, Texas. We had decided not to tackle the Houston traffic, given our trailer’s propensity to blow turn signal fuses, and went north on a series of state roads, seeing some of the not-so-touristy side of the Gulf Coast.

Hardscrabble farms and tired towns, with some bright spots. We stopped to pick up some barbecue at a newly-opened restaurant in Conroe, ate it in the trailer at a vacant store parking lot (while the Vizsla napped in the truck), and motored on to Navasota where we camped at a small municipal site near the airport. A rainy, gusty night, a grubby washateria where Mary did laundry, and an impending flu bug made it a less-than-wonderful experience.

The drive to Goose Island State Park, in Rockport, Texas was easy with lots of straight Texas roads with 70 mph limits. We started to see lots of birds as we approached Aransas Wildlife Refuge and soon were searching for a site at the park - where we had made reservations. (Texas has an interesting process in their state parks -- you can reserve a slot for a date or period but not a site -- so you have to decide once you are there which available site you want.)

We found a nice isolated site surrounded by oaks and thickets and right next to a little bird sanctuary and the showers. We set up on the level site and I promptly got sick for two days -- pretty severe stomach bug. Lots of rest, fluids, and good care from Mary and I made a nice recovery yesterday.

I felt up to participating in Saturday's bird walk -- having missed the two earlier ones -- and was astounded at the variety as well as the knowledge of the volunteer guides. We saw about 45 species including willets, gulls, pelicans, ravens, vultures, ducks, and a white ibis. I don't know birds around the sea very well so it was very informative and just spectacular birding.

We really like this place -- it's a wonderful area. We decided to extend for another week rather than keep traveling. Seems nice to settle for a bit and enjoy the weather and the birding. Yesterday afternoon, we drove over to a field where two whooping cranes are living. There were a half-dozen other birders there -- some armed with monstrous lenses for their cameras. The birds were just regal, standing on one leg, preening themselves, ignoring their watchers. It's hard to believe that they fly down from upper Canada and that there are still only a little over 300 of them alive.

This is a nostalgic area for us. Last night out walking the dog, I was watching the sky full of stars and remembering night flying here, decades ago. I happened to remember a night cross-country where I was returning in a F-9 trainer with an instructor high over Houston and we just went inverted and watched the lights of the streets, parking lots, ball field for a while. I did my advanced flight training here, got my Navy wings here, and our daughter was born in this area. Our son got his USMC wings here as well.

So, we've got more whooping cranes to see at the wildlife center, a visit up to Beeville to find our old house and the hospital and the air station, and hope to meet up with my brother Barry and his wife Mica before they head further west. But the schedule is a vacation schedule -- and all plans are flexible. It's nice. Now I need to find those black-bottomed ducks.