Birds and Nature

Though these members of the flycatcher family are almost 10 inches in length and bright yellow, they are masters of blending into their habitat, betrayed only by their loud calls that sound to many like they are saying "kiskadee". As we were returning to the Estero Llano Grande State Park Visitor Center towards the end of the Christmas Bird Count day before yesterday, this fearless Great Kiskadee perched on a post over the trail and it wasn't giving up it's trail to human interlopers. The photo was enhanced by the fact that I was using a borrowed 400 mm Canon telephoto lens with my 1.4 extender. though some of it becomes a little blurry, you can double click on the bottom pic for an extreme close-up view that provides some great detail) The results were great (you can see the individual feathers on this bird) so now of course I want one of these expensive lens. I found the staff and volunteers at Estero Llano Grande State Park to be exceptionally helpful and friend...

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