Birds and Nature

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

 I found this Common Pauraque at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge this morning. These are a specialty of the deep South Texas as this is the only location in the U.S. where this species can be found while it ranges through Mexico and down to South America.  Another species that blends in amazingly with the habitat in which it is found.  I think this may be a rufous type Common Pauraque and have done no post processing of these pics other than cropping to enlarge them in hopes that someone can confirm or disconfirm this.  The different shades of these pics I believe are due to the natural lighting which was going from clouded over to sun breaking through.  SeEtta

Common Pauraques, in the same family of birds as the more well known Whip-poor-wills, are one of the specialty birds found in the United States only in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Since they are nocturnal, they are found roosting during the day and staff at Estero Llano Grande usually know where several are located. This is the first time I have been able to photograph them with some sunlight on them, providing much better photos than in their usual shady haunts. Though very cryptic plumaged I think they have beautiful patterns on their feathers. (Note: as with most of my photos I am using my very long telephoto lens combo. I was standing about 25 feet away. It is important to not disturb these roosting birds) SeEtta

I was hoping to get some video of the Bentsen Tiger-Heron so walked out on the levee south of the Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park a little before 4 pm today and the top pic is what I saw. The south levee is on the left where the birders are standing--it is higher and affords better views. The trail on the north levee is directly ahead and some of the vegetation on the north side of the cnal in the park's re-veg area is visible on the far right. Over the next hour or so a lot more birders arrived increasing to about 50 at the most. This time I stood on the south levee just south of the small bridge on the side so I had a better chance of being to the west of the bird which would be the best light. Around 6:15 when we still had not seen the bird, I moved to the west side so I could have a good view of the dirt road that runs north from the bridge as one of last night's birders told me they had seen the bird on that road and flying to/from (?) the grass field east of it. I was...

I participated in the Christmas Bird Count at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Tx today and it was hot--both in terms of the birds and the temperature. In fact the high temperature of 90 degrees was a record for Weslaco for this date. With the strong winds that blew much of the day, and the high humidity, it was challenging though very different from the Christmas Bird Counts I usually go to in Colorado. The Common Pauraque in this pic was one of the great birds I saw at this state park that is one of the World Birding Center designated sites. Common Paurague's are found in the U.S. only in southern Texas. This bird, like others of it's species, sleeps during the day. As seen in the pic the bird's eye is open a bit. It was like that when we first saw it so I think it may sleep that way, possibly in order to be aware of predators. SeEtta