Tag: egret

Daily Work

The Most Exciting Sighting of All

rockyfort

Today I did my video and birding at the Oso Bay Wetlands Refuge. I do a video every week for my devotional/Bible Study blog called “Daily Enduring Truth.” Because I came in relation to my video, I was a little later getting to the Refuge than I would normally be. The birds were scarce around noon in the heat of the day. I saw some kind of hawk, but the pics were too blurry to use because he was so far off. I’ll share some pictures of an egret I saw in just a bit. I saw a Turkey Vulture, and I’ll share that pic, and the same pair, presumably, of mottled ducks that I talked about the other day. So what was the most exciting sighting of my day? The people.

I normally show up early in the day during the week. Showing up at noon on a Saturday meant that I got to see a lot of people: visitors there for the first time, families with little kids learning to love the outdoors, couples, joggers, people walking quietly. It was so exciting to see all those people out there enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. They may not have realized that they were following William Wise’s suggestion, quoted below this paragraph, but they were and everyone seemed to enjoy it!

Stop reading this blog, close your browser, push back the chair and walk out the door. Talk to God; cast your concerns at His feet; enjoy this world that He created. You just might get addicted. I know because I go there every day. So, pray and go birding!

I enjoy the wilderness style parks that reveal the natural beauty of the world God has created. So, while I didn’t see many birds today, it was time well spent.

turkey vulture

 

One bird you can almost always see is this amazing bird known as the Turkey Vulture or the Turkey Buzzard. When you watch it soaring around overhead, it’s one of the most beautiful, graceful birds around. As scavengers, though, they don’t get good press. And the red head that looks so cool from a long way away is just plain ugly when you see it up close. I love watching these birds, though, and got a decent pic today.

 

 

 

turkey vulture

If you clicked on my video, then the egret, which I presume to be a Great Egret, you’ll see in the next pictures was right behind me. I kept hoping to get a picture of him catching and eating a fish, or something. He was stalking and darting his bill down to get something, but I never caught him in action. I’m gonna just post the pics without saying much about them. These egrets are beautiful birds and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

egret hunting
egret hunting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third picture is my favorite from all the pics I took of this egret. I like the open mouth….

I keep hearing reports that the bird population seems to be going down. Obvioualy,  a few days shouldn’t be the sole proof of that idea. Still, I haven’t come across any sites that prove that theory right so far this year, and, a few sites SEEM to indicate that it may be right. Keep looking, keep watching and see if you agree with that idea.

 

 

Bird Brain Chronicles, Bird pics and story

January 10 – About Bird Brain Chronicles…and Today’s Pics

rockyfort

So you may have noticed the #BirdBrainChronicles hashtag and the category for Bird Brain Chronicles. “What’s happening?” you ask. This is still the Bob James Author page and I’ll be sharing authory stuff with you when I have it to share. I just wanted a chance to share my hobby/passion for bird photography with people. And, to be honest, I’m looking at ways I can expand this in the future, but this will help me get my feet wet. If you have any questions about photography, the places I choose, or suggestions or ideas, etc. please feel free to note them in the comments. Also, feel free to share links with anyone who might be interested.

Today, I took the advice of a friend I used to teach with when looking for a spot. Only, I remembered part of where she said, not the whole thing, and ended up on the wrong side of the road. I didn’t see any birds I could snap, so after I checked her directions, I started heading back to the right end. Only, due to a military airfield, it wasn’t a straight shot. So, I tried to cut over on a different road. I did see this egret and the cormorant, although the egret was camera shy and flew away as I tried to take her picture.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I got to the suggested road, I could see how it would have lots of places for birds to hide, but today the places were too good and I couldn’t see any birds worth shooting. (With a camera of course!) So, quite disappointed, I turned towards home. While on the homeward path, I came across this flock of sandhill cranes. There were about a hundred of them in the field. At first I thought they were sheep, then I realized they were the cranes. I took lots of shots, but I’m going to give you a more panoramic view of them rather than pictures of the individual birds. This is what I first saw, but the pics don’t do justice to the birds.

 

 

Then, just as I got to the bridge, I spied this osprey. He was so far away I thought he was on top of his kill. When I looked at his pic, I realized that he was on an old tire. While I’m happy that made it possible to see him, I continue to be appalled at the blatant disregard for our world. I look at the beauty of God’s creation in the birds and in the land and the plants. Then, that joy is jarred when I see the litter people leave thoughtlessly: not caring about God’s creatures, the land, or other people who seek to enjoy the land. I’m typing this while out of town right now, but I’m planning to bring along a small sack to pick up trash along the way in the future. I can’t clean the whole area, but I can clean my part.

And that fits in with the Bird Brain concept. While it’s been an insult in the past, science has shown that birds are great problem solvers. While my actions aren’t a permanent solution, they’re a start. God created a beautiful world for us, and we’re called to be his stewards.

Bird Brain Chronicles, Bird pics and story

January 9 – Birding and Fishing About the Same

rockyfort

I grew up doing a lot of fishing. When you asked the guys in the bait shops about the fishing, they’d be sure to give one of two answers. “Well, good luck to ye. You shoulda been here yesterday, though.” or  “This ain’t exactly the best time to go fishing, next week is when the fish start running here.” I thought of that today when I decided to make Wednesday my “Wandering Wednesdays” where I travel a bit farther away from home than normal. I went to Indian Point Park which is on the bay between Portland and Corpus Christi. I’ve talked with guys who’ve gotten amazing pictures there. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven by there and looked at my wife, wondering why I didn’t have my camera. So, today I went expecting multitudes of birds and great picture taking opportunities.

 

The first bird I saw was this sparrow. This feisty little bird saw me trying to steal his soul with my camera and skedaddled across the path and out of the way, but not before I got a few good shots in. Then, I walked down a boardwalk that’s set up to allow you to view the wildlife without harming the ecosphere. There are lots of little “pond” type areas, perhaps large tide pools, that draw the birds in. On normal days. But today was not normal – I was there to take pictures. I saw a flock of gulls a little beyond decent picture taking range and snapped a few shots to see if I could find something worth editing later.

 

 

 

 

As I was walking along though, this beautiful bird flew in. I don’t normally do two pictures of any type of bird on this blog, although they can all be seen in my Facebook Photo album, but after doing a few minutes of fashion modeling after he landed, this tri-colored heron  began hunting. While this was just my observation from this one tri-color, they spread their wings before grabbing at the critters in the tide pools that they see. Perhaps this is meant to strike fear in the hearts of their intended prey. I just thought it was kind of cute. I had high hopes for the day when I saw this tri-colored heron.

 

 

As I walked farther along, I saw an egret off in the distance. I took a shot, but it was too far away for it to  be much of a shot. I walked back, took a few more shots of the heron, and then looked around this park that I’d never visited before. There was nothing interesting in the pier area so I tried to walk down the road past the pools of water, hoping to see something. I saw one bird that was so far away that for awhile I wasn’t sure it was a bird! I’ve decided it was a heron of some kind, great blue or (more likely) a tri-colored. It was so far away that even enlarging it with Photoshop didn’t help. Walking didn’t yield any good shots, so I walked back and decided to drive further up the road.

 

 

I did see another tri-colored heron as i was driving so I pulled over and took shots through the open window. They came out ok, but I liked the shots I showed earlier better. After taking those shots, I tried a different place in this area, but those areas that are normally full of birds were empty. I still wanted a few more pics, so I headed back to the T-heads and my go to spot when I absolutely have to get some bird pictures. I didn’t take any pictures of the grackles, but there were some cormorants, seagulls (surprise!), pigeons, and brown pelicans. Most of the pelicans were sleeping, as if they were enforcing the Corpus Christi siesta. The guy in the pic below, I call him Peligandolf. He’s telling us that we will not pass. I’ll just leave the other types below the last paragraph without any further comment.

Even on a low volume day, Corpus Christi has a wide variety of birds and I love the opportunity to see God’s creation here.