Birds and Nature

 This small member of the kingfisher family is found in the U.S. only in southwest and very Texas and a small piece of southeast Arizona.  However it's range extends through Mexico and Central America to South America.  The two pics at the top are of the male Green Kingfisher with bright rufous breast while the bottom two pics are of the female that has green chest bands instead.  Both have very lare bills relative to their small bodies (length is just under 9 inches0. I have usually found Green Kingfishers flush easily making it difficult to get good pics so I used my most sneaky skills to get these pics.  It helped that there was a lot of vegetation in the way which added a little more challenge to get sharp shots.  SeEtta

While the location of this Common Pauraque was marked on a map at Quinta Mazatlan it is still always fun to spot them since they blend in so well with their habitat. This bird doesn't have the predominant grey plumage usually found in birds of this species found in the Rio Grande Valley but I couldn't find much on the rufous morph of this species to venture a guess.  I like that it's nasal bristles are show up pretty well in this pic.  I think the complex and vermiculated patterns on the plumage of this species is beautiful so I enlarged a section of it below. SeEtta

These pics while nicely showing features of this owl had a few glitches so I did tweak them post processing in addition to cropping to enlarge them. However these pics are still sharp enough to look very good if you click on them to enlarge further, especially to see it's eyes in the pic below. Although many photographers are happy to have a bird looking right at them, it concerns me with some species like owls as it usually indicates some disturbance and the bird focusing on the photographer rather than their daily activities (usually sleeping for these owls). Fortunately this owl quickly turned it's head forward and resumed it's roosting. SeEtta

This owl was found late last week at the wonderful Edinburg Wetlands in Edinburg Tx. I was told it was found by maintenance staff who inadvertently flushed it while working. It has been seen flying a couple but has roosted mostly in this palm tree. It is back from the trail about 30 feet and their it a lot of vegetation making it challenging to get good pics but perseverance worked for me. I did not do any post processing editing except a little cropping. Fyi all of these are high quality so clicking on them to enlarge will provide delightful close up views. I have a couple of Long-eared Owls previously but it has some years since I have seen one so this was very nice. SeEtta

I also found this Blue-headed Vireo in the mixed flock at the National Butterfly Center today. Their white spectacles really stand out surrounded by the blue-gray hood. SeEtta

Not any butterflies at the National Butterfly Center today but I found a nice mixed flock including this White-eyed Vireo. The National Butterfly Center is one of the locations that has been targeted for some of the additional Border Wall for which funds have been requested by Congress. As one of the few remaining areas of native habitat in the Rio Grande Valley and 2/3 of the National Butterfly Centers property on the south (ie Mexican) side of where they want to build the wall, it would be disastrous if that worthless wall is funded. SeEtta