Rain equals....

We've had over 7 inches of rain this year.  That breaks last year's total already.
Last calender year's drought was the worst ever recorded in the state.
Ever.

This year we have had RAIN!

These are things that often, and quite amazingly, did not happen last year.
Said another way; the following is what is finally happening again:

1. Birds pairing up.


Summer Tanagers (Piranga rubra) left: female, right: male

Many birds last year just flat out did not nest.  Success of the respective species last year was for the breeding age birds to work to live another year.  A tough task, as not all did.  Many emaciated birds wound up at TAMU's collection from out here.  Adult birds just wandered and foraged for themselves.  Not worth the risk of trying to nest.  Not enough forage.

But this year, at least the first round, seems to be different.

2. Birds are nesting.


Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) on nest.  Female.

The above photograph was taken today (well, all photos are from today) with respect and distance.  I only first noticed the nest when she flushed from it, due to me.

I backed up far away.  Well far enough that she came back.  It was from that distance I watched.  The blurriness of the subject perhaps a result of the distance.  Native wildlife is always the most important aspect of any encounter.  Photography and all else falls back a .... distant .... second.

By the way, water and insect life are nearby this Vermilion Flycatcher nest.  Watching her time on, I'm fairly certain she is incubating eggs.

Water.

3. Birds are nesting... with success.  Surely not all birds, and there are other reasons for nest failure.  But birds are nesting.  Nesting with success.  At least the first clutch.



Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)  fledglings.

Rain.

Keep it coming.

Last year was rough on every-being.

**QUICK CAVEAT**  :  The Marathon-basin, and this property S. of Marathon, has received rainfall this year.  This certainly does not apply to the entire tri-county Big Bend Region or the trans-Pecos as a whole.  Marathon still needs more, and most locations need it drastically.   Friends in s. Brewster Co., in the Davis Mountains, and beyond; we are certainly in this drought condition together!

The epic battle between bird and snake...

... that never happened.

However, they occupied near-proximity the same enjoyable afternoon in the Chisos Basin yesterday.


Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)

And



Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus molossus)

Hepatic Tanager, Chisos Basin, Big Bend NP

13 May 2012



Hepatic Tanager (Piranga flava)

This singing male was observed behind the Chisos Basin Visitor Center.







It was first spotted by the drinking water station, then on to this large pine behind the building, and finally flew off toward the Window View Trail.

No Post Park Bird Walk 13 May 2012

Due to Mother's Day - with a mother and father (in-law) in town - and Sul Ross State University graduation, there will be no bird walk at Post Park on Sunday, May 13, 2012.

We regret the lack of birding for tomorrow morning, but we are thrilled about the family in town as well as the graduation!

Happy trails,
-Heidi & Matt

(PS - if y'all bird Post Park tomorrow, let us know what you saw!)

5 May 2012 sightings

I managed to make it out of the house with neither point-and-shoot nor 'real' camera with me, couldn't find a notebook so an envelope had to do... cell battery was half gone and the park was full of people and an off-leash dog. All things considered, six birders from Houston took it in stride and still managed to find some goodies. Butterflies for the day included most of the usual suspects (Monarch, Queen, Red Admiral, Checkered White, Variegated Fritillary) and First of Season American Lady as well as West Coast Lady. The latter two were puddling upstream of the fence in what was left of some vegetation after some feral hogs left their mark.

Post Park:

20 Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
2 American Coot Fulica americana - heard only
2 Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
6 White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
2 Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
2 Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochus alexandri
4 Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
6 Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus
1 Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens
8 Western Kingbird Tyrannus verticalis
4 Bell's Vireo Vireo bellii
4 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
2 Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus - heard only
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
2 Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
1 Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
1 Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum
2 Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia - heard only
1 Canyon Towhee Melozone fusca
5 Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
1 Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana
1 Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
6 Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
1 Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
2 Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus - male displaying
5 Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
10 Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius
4 House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus

First of season Desert Ironclad Beetle also made an appearance - they are wrinkly looking creatures that tend to startle into a faux death pose fairly easily.

To make up for lack of photos from today, here are some relevant bits from a our other blog, SeeTrail, about desert ironclad beetles. (2010)



Desert Ironclad Beetle, Genus:  Zopherus Omorgus.




After Post, I headed a few miles west to the Hwy 90 tank:

2 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
2 Mallard (Mexican) Anas platyrhynchos diazi
1 Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera
2 Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor
1 Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
1 Blue Grosbeak Passerina caerulea
1 Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
1 Painted Bunting Passerina ciris
2 meadowlark sp. Sturnella sp.
1 Bullock's Oriole Icterus bullockii

Brewster Co. Golden-winged Warbler

1 Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera

I found a dead male in my backyard today (May 15, 2011). I'm fairly certain that it hit a window and died. I did not see that, however. This seems to be a rather unusual siting. I have the bird in my freezer. I am going to donate it to Sul Ross State University (here in Alpine) to be incorporated into their vertebrate collection....unless, there is a more important suggestion.

***

The above notes are from an eBird entry by a resident of Alpine, TX. May 15, 2011 is not a typo.

On Monday, April 30 (2012), I was visiting with a professor from Sul Ross and the topic of dead birds came up. Not unusual, perhaps, but the excitement with which the topic was introduced certainly was. A few lovely specimens, mostly roadkill, were discussed - American Kestrel, Say's Phoebe, female Painted Bunting. And one Golden-winged Warbler. By nature, it is required that Eastern warbler ID be treated with skepticism. But, pass the zip-loc, please:

Adult male Golden-winged Warbler. Indeed.

Wow. That is a very Golden-winged Warbler.  And it's really not supposed to be here:



(via allaboutbirds.org)

So with great curiosity, and recalling last year's MASSIVE wave of emaciated creatures, I flipped the bird over for further inspection. Window-kill, as it was introduced to me, quickly proved otherwise. Emaciated, the bird was not. In fact, it had so much breast muscle and fat that it qualified as the healthiest dead bird of the last calendar year for this region (from our freezer's perspective). Unfortunately, a broken wing and a mangled leg indicated that if the bird struck a window, it was then finished off by a cat. One indoor/outdoor pet cat was confirmed.

For last year's drought related bird posts, see also:
The drying, the drought
In the meantime, pictures 

One healthy bird that should have made it. Did not. I'm hoping it will go to TAMU, but it will ultimately be up to Sul Ross State University faculty and friends...