South Padre Clapper Rail

South Padre is always a treat for us.  Birding is up close and personal at the World Birding Center.  The challenge there is spotting the rails who are always very secretive.  This trip it was the Clapper Rail that came out for a few birders.  The photos show is beautiful camouflage feather covering and his huge feet.  The Clapper is a bottom feeder usually only his beak is under the water but one photo shows his head fully emerged.  The Clapper gets its name by its sound so a gathering of Clappers is called an Applause. 

Butterflies at Edinburgh and Santa Ana

    What a grand day of butterflying!          Monarchs,  Queens, Admirals, Crescents,  

      Crimson Patch .  .  .   Old friends and new.

                  

                                                   Monarchs                

 Crimson Patch  

                                     















                                                Checkered White

               Pearl Crescent                                                          Pale-banded Crescent

                                                                                                                   Southern Dogface

Birds were scarce or hunkered down again.  But it was a very butterfly or flutterby afternoon in Edinburgh on Thursday.  Both today and yesterday was partly cloudy, humid and winds to 20 mph.  The highlight was the numbers of butterflies and two Zebra Heliconia. They fluttered by me many times but did not light. At Santa Ana the lowlights were a Gulf Flitillary and a beat up Common Mestra.  

Queens

                            Large Yellow

                                 Melana

 White Peacock

                                                                   Gulf Flitillary

                                                             Common Mestra

                                             
                                     Variegated Meadowhawk Dragon Fly

Edinburgh Wetlands - Birds

Birds were second to butterflies at Edinburgh. An osprey flew over and many Great Blue Herons, Egrets and Pelicans were across the pond.  A yellow rump warbler landed near. 

 The Great Kiskadees Romancing

          But the Great Kiskadee  put on quite a show for the females around him and 

      the humans  who chanced by.  Check out the male's flash of yellow on his crown.  

.  

The male is in the back, note the begin of a bump on his noise.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
                       Osprey flying over.

Lesser Yellow-legs

                                                                 
                                                                 Mocking Bird

Frontera on a Windy Day - Butterflies

Tailed Orange

The crowds of birders last year are at Estero Llando Grande looking for the Rose-breasted Becard instead of at Frontera looking for the Blue Bunting. It was a pleasant day to walk casually through the woods and sit by the feeders seeing a Thrasher, Orange Crown, Titmice, Cardinals, and Turkey Vultures. Our big find of the day was some good butterflies. Truth be told it really was at the Mercedes Outlet Mall. That is some huge mall. Or it might have been the free Al Pastor Pizza at the Blue Onion because that mixed up our order.

                           Giant White                                                                     White Peacock

 Cardinal 

Turkey Vulture        Plenty of  TVs in the air.

Back at It: Birding in the Wind

After a cold and rainy few days we could again be out in the parks.  This morning was spent in Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge.  The wind was very strong so the birds hunkered down out of sight for the most part. It was a lovely day to see birding friends and go for a hike. 

Eastern Phoebe

                         Vermillion Flycather  Immature Male

Least Grebe

Blue-wing Teal

Common Pauraque

     Great birders today including Laura and Steve but the most interesting were Dave Seal and his old buddy Lee and his wife.  They have been birding and banding birds together since 1949.  Lee said he has been birding since 1943 and first came to Texas from Illinois to bird in 1951.  Amazing!

Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge

Butterflies were more numerous than birds on our first day back.  Some butterflies do not sit but seconds.  The Queen, White Peacock and Laviana Skipper sit nicely for a photo shoot.

   





                        





                          Green Kingfisher  
   (saw a Belted earlier in the AM)

                          

                          Black-neck Stilts

                            with Shovelers

                            Tri-colored Heron