Dumas to Crow Valley

Woke up around 6:30 had my coffee and by 7:30 I was at the Coffey Tire Company to get a new tire for the trailer.  By 8:00 I was back on the road again with a destination the other end of Colorado at Crow Valley campground in the Pawnee Grasslands.  The weather had changed overnight.  This morning there was a stiff north wind, the temperature was 46 degrees and there was a light rain falling.  I forgot to mention that yesterday when I was broken down on the highway there was a tornado warning for the area and it continued into the early evening.  Fortunately, the bad weather moved northwest of Dumas and all I experienced was some rain overnight.  It finally stopped raining at Limon, Co.  Along this drive I saw many Swainson’s Hawks, Horned Larks, Lark Buntings (beautiful males), and the usual Mallards in small ponds.  The terrain was rolling and semi-arid grasses, with lots of alfalfa growing.  As I went farther north, above Limon, there was much more agriculture with evidence of lots of corn production.  I also encountered some very large wind farms along the way.  After yesterday’s 529 miles I only made 430 today.  I reached the campground only to find it flooded except for the group camping area but the attendant let me camp there in one of the group sites overnight.  I did a little birding but not much as it was getting late and I needed to fix dinner.  I got to sleep easily once again as I was tired from the 9 hour drive.

Georgetown to Dumas, TX

The trip began at 6:30 as Dulce and I headed out in a steady rain which continued until well past Lampasas.  When it finally did stop a light mist continued until I reached Brownwood where it finally totally stopped.  Along the way Texas wildflowers lined the road—gaillardias, primrose, blooming prickly pear, some form of tobacco plant added blue and of course there were ample DYF’s (damn yellow flowers).  At one point a flagger had me stopped for a period of time and I watched as a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers went through their mating display and I had a small group of Lark Sparrows.  After passing Winter, Texas the terrain changed from what had been rolling hills with nice oak trees that was largely ranching county to a flat part of the short grass Great Plains and the noticeable presence of oil production appeared.  Then about 30 miles out of Sweetwater I encountered a massive wind farm that continued nearly to Lubbock.  Just out of town a large rattle snake crossed the highway in front of me.  I also added a Mississippi Kite to my year’s list—number 354 –and the sun finally broke through the clouds.   Around noon I stopped at a roadside south of Lubbock.  The area between the railroad tracks and the highway held a small pond in which I observed Pie-billed Grebes with chicks, Cliff Swallows that have utilized a picnic cover for their nest, and several White-faced Ibis who appeared to be nesting there as well.  From here the flat plains of west Texas and the Panhandle stretched before me.  I made it to Amarillo without incident by 5 o’clock but on the way to Dumas my luck changed.  About 20 miles south of Dumas a passing pickup got my attention to let me know one of my trailer tires going flat.  I was able to stop and get part way off the pavement but an adjacent ditch kept me from getting off very far.  After checking with Good Sam with whom I thought I had roadside assistance (and I didn’t) they suggested I call 911.  I did and they dispatched a deputy sheriff to come to my assistance and contacted a local towing company to come change my tire.  Once the deputy arrived and put on his flashing lights I felt more at ease. Highway 87 is a major truck route and they were coming by full bore.  The deputy was extremely helpful and a young man arrive and swapped the tire for my spare and I was once again on my way.  By now it was 7:30, I was hungry and tired and I made it to Dumas in time to grab some supper (a very poor chicken fried steak).  Very tired I went to the Walmart parking lot and camped for the night.  By this time it was after 9:30 and the end of a very long day.  Dulce and I were ready for bed.

 Colorado Chicken Run

I have recently returned from a birding trip to Colorado where our goal was to observe prairie chickens and grouse on their leks.  What exactly is a lek you might legitimately inquire?  A lek is defined as “an aggregation of males that gather to engage in competitive displays that may entice visiting females who are surveying prospective partners for copulation.”  This is an annual mating ritual for these birds and they return to the same lek grounds each spring and have done so for many generations.   To see these activities one must rise early and head out to the lek at 4:30 AM.  Once there you must remain in a blind of some sort and be very quiet so as not to frighten them off or disturb their activities.  These birds do a dance of foot stopping, inflate various air sacs on their necks or breast and offer various vocalizations to entice the nearby females.  They frequently indulge in confronting another male in the lek and attempt to drive him off by intimidation, such as, getting down low and meeting the other face to face which is generally followed by some form of leaping into the air much as you would see in a more familiar domestic rooster fight.  Fortunate for us we were able to visit five active leks and see all preform their ritual--the five include Lesser and Greater Prairie Chicken, Greater and Gunnison Sage Grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse and a very cooperative Dusky Grouse all of which I have provided pictures of for this article (except the Gunnison Sage-Grouse much too far away).

In addition to the above game birds, we were also fortunate to observe four others—Ring-necked Pheasant, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Rio Grande Turkey and Chucker.  Of these four the White-tailed Ptarmigan is a very difficult species to add to one’s life list, primarily because it resides at high elevations.  We were fortunate to observe four of them at Loveland Pass near Dillon.  The four were foraging on a grass outcropping from the deep snow found there even at this late date.  The bird is all white at this stage of the year but will soon molt into its summer plumage which features a mottled dark brown coloration.  I was not able to get pictures of sufficient quality of the White-tailed Ptarmigan to i in include in this article.  However, the Chucker was very cooperative and posed for his photo.  This bird is generally found at lower altitudes.  We located our bird at Coal Canon near Cameo, CO.  This species is an introduced resident of the Great Basin.  It prefers arid rocky slopes and cliffs near water.  It is found in desert shrub, pinyon-juniper and montane brush habitats.  Its call begins with a slow Chuka, Chucka and ends with a strong ChuKARA , thus sounding as if it is calling it name.

I will conclude by saying that this was a very successful trip even though we experienced snow ever day but our first and last day on this eleven day outing.  In all we drove over 2000 miles to accomplish our mission.  In addition, our bird list totaled over 160 species which included many other target birds.  In fact, we only missed one of our target species for this trip—Williamson’s Sapsucker.

Finally, on May 16^th I off to drive and spend the summer in Alaska.  I will have the opportunity to re-visit many places I have been on fourteen previous trips to this amazing state and will spend some time exploring regions in Canada I have not previously visited.  I plan to write a blog of my travels and experiences along the way and will be contributing articles to the Sun about those adventures. If you would like to follow me on my blog simply go to www.irasciblej-alongthetrail.blogspot.com and join and you will automatically receive each blog as it is posted.  There may be times when the internet is not available and I will not be able to post them, so please be patient.  I hope you all have a very cool and wet summer back here in Texas, I know I will enjoy cool and beautiful Alaska.

Jim—irasciblej@gmail.com

Chucker

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Dusky Grouse

Lesser Prairie Grouse

Greater Prairie Chicken

Greater Sage-Grouse

March Madness

Evidently my March Madness was making plans to travel to the Trans-Pecos region where rain is a rare event.  Well I guess that myth is ended, at least this year, because since I arrived at Seminole Canyon SP on Wednesday it has rained nearly non-stop.  In fact, it began around 10 this morning (Thursday) and it is still raining hard now, 6 PM.  The forecast tomorrow is for more rain.  The saying "The best laid plans of mice and men" is certainly applicable to this trip.  I never expected to have rain from the first day of the trip to the present in an arid area of the western part of our state.  There is a silver lining to this story however.  This is early March and is and was one of my favorite times of the year to live in south and southwest Texas,  blooming black brush (Acacia rigidula).  This yellow flowering shrub permeates the air with a wonderful fragrance that fills your nostrils as you travel the highway.  I have missed this experience these past few years living in central Texas.  

With limited time to do some photography this morning before the relentless rain began, I took a short stroll in the park.  In the distance I could hear the familiar, beautiful song of Cassin's Sparrow and the harsh cackling of Cactus Wrens singing from their perch.  It is evident that Spring Migration for many species is well underway.  I observed large flocks of Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) heading for their breeding grounds on the western Great Plains.

In addition, there are other large flocks of White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) moving northwest as well.  It never ceases to amaze me that these sparrows who wintered on my ranch in deep south Texas breed in the boreal forest and on the tundra of Alaska,  That's quite a move for a small sparrow. This is a first year bird that is not yet molted to breeding plumage.

Finally I was able to get a shot of a Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis sinuatus).  This is a cousin of our ever present Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) in central Texas. This if a female and I was not able to find a male who is especially striking this time of year.  Hopefully when I get to Laredo and the RGV the weather will improve and I will have a better opportunity to do some photography.

Thailand Photography Trip

This article is a second in a series I will be doing on my recent photography trip to Thailand in December.  I want to start with some observations made on something other than birds.  On any trip in the outdoors you are bound to encounter critters other than birds and this trip was no exception.  In the Kaeng Krachan National Park we encounter three types of monkeys besides those traveling with me.  Attached is a photo of a Stub-tailed Macaque which we observed as a part of a large group that were crossing the road.  This macaque is sometimes called bear or red-faced monkey and is endemic to South East Asia. 

It can live as long as 30 years and is found in gregarious groups of 20 to 50.  Within the group there is a strict hierarchy which is inherited from the mother, but males must fight to retain their position.  Their diet is primarily fruits, seeds and young vegetation but they also consume insects, birds and
eggs.
 

A second none avian species that got my attention was the Yellow Leopard Moth pictured here.  I have tried to find more information on this species but all I could come up with was information on the Giant Leopard Moth. 

However, I decided to include it in this article because it is such a pretty moth.

So now let’s move on to some of the birds of Thailand.   I must say we encountered about 360 species and for the most part they were extremely colorful as you will see from the included pictures.  We first consider the Sultan Tit, an extremely beautiful bird and one sought out by birders. 

This species is one of the larger of the tit family and is found primarily in the evergreen forest of central Thailand.  It’s diet includes berries, seed, catepillers and insects.  This was the bird which my friend Kim Risen most wanted to see during our visit.

In this same national park, Kaeng Krachan, we also found two species of hornbills, Great and Oriental Pied.  The picture included with this article is of the Oriental Pied.  Both are very large birds with found in the canopy of tropical forest.   The Oriental Pied is the smallest of the hornbills and can be found on the Indian Subcontinent and throughout Southeast Asia. 

They feed primarily on fruits but will also eat insects, small birds and reptiles.  They are monogamous and cavity nesters, but usually rely on cavities created by other species.  One of the many birds I hoped to see on this trip.

One afternoon we had the opportunity to visit a photo blind where pictures of these last three species were taken.  It was located in a creek bottom surrounded by dense forest and with a small water source provided by the owner of the property.  The water feature was the focus of bird activity and taking a bath was their prime objective.  One of the larger and more exotic species that visited the area was the stunning Siamese Fireback Pheasant pictured here. 

This species is endemic to Indo China, Vietnam, and eastern Thailand.  It is found in very dense forest and is usually very difficult to see.  We were lucky to get a look at what is becoming a threatened species due to hunting pressure.  Note the beautiful red facial skin, bright crimson legs and the long flowing tail.  I was excited to find this bird on the trip.

Another favorite was the Greater Ratchet-tailed Drongo.  This is only one of the seven species of drongos found in Thailand.  Greater Ratchet-tails are the largest of the Asian drongo family. 

They are found in forest settings and feed on insects primarily but will also eat fruit, berries, and seeds.  They are known to mimic calls of other species.

And our final bird is the Black-headed Bulbul.  I must say that bulbuls are the largest single category of birds we encountered on our trip, second only to leaf warblers.

This bright yellow bird can be distinguished from the similar colored species, Black-crested Bulbul, by their blue eye as well as the lack of a crest.  Like most bulbuls they feed on small fruits, berries, and insects.  They usually travel in small flocks and are passerines, meaning they are migrants.

I want to note that we are not far from the passerine migration we experience here in Texas every spring.  Many of our warbler passerines are as brightly colored as those in Thailand, so be on the lookout for them starting at the end of March.  

A Sad Sight

I am currently camping at Bastrop State Park under some of the few remaining pine trees that survived the devastating fires that occurred a few years back. This was not the only disaster to befall this beautiful park.  Over Labor Day Weekend in 2015 the area experienced a major flood washing out roads and sweeping away understory which was holding the soil in place and exposing the root structure of many trees causing them to fall.  I can recall camping in years past under the beautiful canopy of the Lost Pines.  I am surprised today to be able to see and hear the traffic on State Highway 71 from my campsite.  I never realized how close the parks southern boundary was to this busy thoroughfare.  I have made some panoramic views of what the current landscape looks like and one that shows to some degree what it use to look like.

However, there is good news to report as well.  In the devastated areas you can see new pines emerging, either planted by volunteers or provided by nature.  This forest will recover, but it will just take years to do so.  And this is in keeping with the nature of destruction and regeneration that naturally occurred before we, humans, began to interfere with this process. 

Now for the good news!  I had a nice morning of birding here under clear, blue skies with no wind.  I had not even left the parking lot before I was treated to a large group of one of my all time favorites, Cedar Waxwings.  These magnificent birds are winter visitors and are known to eat the cedar, and other, berries that offer themselves at this time of year.  I look forward to seeing their cousins in Duluth, Minnesota next month--an equally beautiful bird you will have to wait to see.

A short time later I found our largest woodpecker--Pileated Woodpecker-- doing his thing in search of insects in hidden in the bark of a dead pine tree. This large black woodpecker is about 18 inches long and features a white line running up each side of its neck to just below the eye and loops around the bill.  The unmistakeable call and drumming are easy to detect even with my hearing loss.  The chin is white and the breast black and in flight the big, white wing patches are clearly apparent.  I for once had the opportunity to get some good shots of this bird, my only regret is that he stayed on the shaded side of the tree and avoided the beautiful early morning sunlight.  In tge second one he is hanging upside down.

The other birds of the day included a smaller, Downy Woodpecker working the trees for insects.

And a beautiful Eastern Bluebird that was very close and washed with the soft light of the early morning.  

The final shot I want to share in this blog is a cooperative Red-tailed Hawk setting on the branches of a large pine tree.  He was very cooperative until I opened my door to get out and take his picture but my movement forced him to launch and me to hurry and snap a shot before he could escape.

So tomorrow is another day and I hope to find some other interesting birds to share with the next blog.

I had the good fortune to travel to Thailand for an 18 day photography outing in December.  I would rate Thailand 5 stars for birding and 1 star for eating.  I admit I am a very picky eater, but the food there was not to my liking. Fortunately, I took my peanut butter and jelly along as I usually do on foreign trips.  Enough of that!  This is a birding column so let’s get started on that subject.

The trip began in Bangkok, a very modern city of 15,000,000 people.  I was amazed at how clean and modern it was. There are many skyscrapers and ornate temples devoted to the worship of Buda, the religion of 99% of the population.  There are ever present pictures of their King, whom they call Dad.  I arrived on Dad’s birthday so it was a national holiday. The area in the south of Thailand surrounding Bangkok is a flat plain with adjacent coastal area. The Chao Pharya River flows through its center and empties into the Gulf of Thailand (Siam).  The first couple of days were devoted to some light outings, allowing time to recover from the 25 hour trip and day change travelers experience.  

 Our guide, Pan, took us to the coast near the city of Bangkok.  There I was able to secure a nice, close up picture of the most common gull in Thailand-- Brown-headed Gull.  This is a very handsome gull even in basic (non-breeding) plumage as you can see from the photograph.  The outstanding feature of this species is the bright yellow eye with black smudges in front and behind and a bright orange bill with a black tip.  In breeding plumage these gulls will have a brown hood.

Most of our day was spent driving around the many fish farms in the area .  There we encountered most of the species included in this article.  Thailand has some very colorful kingfishers as you can see from the photo included in this article.  The White-throated Kingfisher gets its name for the striking white throat that is set off by the brown head, blue wings and tail and its blood red bill.  Just as our American kingfishers they are usually perched above water waiting to plunge in and grab an unsuspecting fish.  They are such good fishermen many of the ponds have netting stretched across them to preclude their hunting over them.

The Asian Brown Weaver pictured here is one of the old world weavers, closely related to finches.  They are seedeaters and are best known for the highly complex nest they weave (see attached picture).  Our House (English) Sparrow is in this group of birds.  This is a female and the male would have a black cheek patch and throat offset by a yellow head.  They are found in the proximity of wetlands.

One of my favorite species, Bee-eaters, are also found in Australia.  These beautifully colored birds are gregarious and form colonies. Bee-eaters build their nest by burrowing into sides of river banks. The feed primarily on bees and wasp, but eat other insects as well.  They sally forth from their perch, grab a bee or wasp, and remove the stinger and venom by repeatedly striking and rubbing them on a hard object.  This Blue-tailed Bee-eater was the most common one we encountered.

This large stork is an Asian Openbill.  They are birds found primarily in Southeast Asia and India.  They get there name from the gap formed in there bill by the recurved lower and arched upper mandible.  They are not born this way but this occurs in their growth to maturity.  The reason for this structure is believed an adaption to eat their principal food, snails.  They are not found along rivers, instead they prefer inland wetlands.  They are often seen circling in large groups much like our American White Pelicans.

The Grey-headed Lapwing is a wintering species in Thailand.  They breed in China and Japan.  This species is found in rice fields and other wetlands.  They feed on worms and mollusk.

  And our final species in the Little Grebe.   This is a pretty grebe with a dark head and reddish neck and bright yellow eye.  They are found in small ponds and lakes and breed on the edges of these areas.  As with other grebes their legs are set far back and they do not ambulate well on land.