Bird Sightings – The Hermits' Rest

Birds of Interest at the Ranch

Even after over a decade here at the Hermits’ Rest, the wildlife can surprise me. Did I mention I saw one of our big cats last week? Yep, a big ole cougar sauntered across the road as I was leaving. It was headed into our woods.

Totally inaccurate rendition of the event

Let’s get back to birds. First, we seem to have a new long-term visitor that has me very excited. It’s a Short-eared Owl. I’d registered one last year, but thought it was a fluke. This year I’ve heard it consistently for a couple of weeks.

Now that’s a great face, isn’t it? They eat lots of small mammals around sunrise and sunset. Now that I know what they sound like, from Merlin, maybe I’ll have a better chance of seeing one.

I need them to eat more, so cute little mice will stop climbing into my buckets and drowning or otherwise croaking. I have had to turn all containers in the birding station sideways.

Another fun bird that could eat some sparrows for me is the Sharp-shinned Hawk. It explains why the “Kestrel” I saw today looked so big and had such a small head. It was this guy.

Sharp-shinned Hawk. More gray on the back than Cooper’s or the much larger Red-shouldered. Photo by David McQuade.

I can’t recognize its call yet, so I’m glad Merlin can. This is also another one like the Red-tailed with many morphs. I need to learn the sound. Still, I’m glad to have new and different hawks to watch.

Otherwise, it’s just sparrows and more sparrows.

The final fun bird is a familiar resident, the Pileated Woodpecker, our largest. I hear and see them often, both calling and pecking. What’s cool is that Lee and I saw one while driving to horse lessons. It came out of a hole in a telephone pole right on the side of the road! I know to look for it later!

I shared this picture so you can see its ability to make large, oval holes. Photo by Marc St. Onge.

More later! Thanks for reading.

Hey, Animals! Distract Me with Cuteness!

I needed some distraction today, and while I got plenty thanks to 5 hours straight working with engineers on project management tasks, I prefer the distraction provided by my animal friends today.

Do you mean me? Yes, my beauty is distracting!

As a matter of fact, Connie Gobbler did provide cute distraction today. In the morning, I opened the gate to the new chicken/turkey run. About an hour later, while I was checking my bird count, I heard domestic turkey sounds. Sure enough, brave Connie had gone to check the grass out. Once she got over how it felt, she seemed happy.

The heron understood her reluctance to it was too cold to leave shelter.

A bit later, both Lee and I saw Clint the rooster standing in the entrance, stretching to peck but not willing to get on the grass. Eventually, he remembered he was a brave manly rooster and joined Connie in exploring.

I didn’t see Cindy or Cathy outside their pen until mid afternoon when I was feeding horses. They didn’t go very far out, but they seemed happy to have fresh plants and bugs to peck at.

They are barely outside, but that’s pretty brave for them.

I had to turn my attention to horses, since I had a rare weekday lesson this evening. I’m sure glad it was sunny and calm outside. That made the cold weather bearable.

We were just glad the water trough ice got broken up. Thanks, Suna.

I rushed to get Apache ready to go and ended up early, so I took some pictures for my boss. She likes horses.

Apache and I enjoyed our lesson, and got to be in Tarrin’s sunset photos. He is working on being straight and not veering off. I’m proud of him.

After the lesson I practiced putting a blanket on him for the ride home. Tarrin showed me how to use the fancy blanket I got with the trailer. I think I can do it myself now. He does look very spiffy in it.

We will see what it looks like in the morning. I’m sure he will roll in poop with it on.

Writing about the animals has helped! My wrath at the cruel things the US President said today about a murdered celebrity couple is now just a simmer. These are hard times.

Cold and Chilled

It was quite cold and very windy today, the opposite of yesterday. My mood matched. News of mass shootings here and in Australia left a chill in my bones. This hateful behavior will never stop affecting me, and it’s baffling how many people act like it’s just a part of everyday life. I just keep thinking of the flickering but persistent light of hope, appropriate on the first night of Hanukkah.

It’s also the anniversary of my mother’s death, so long ago. Still in my darkest moments I want to call out for my mom. I’m certain I’m not alone in that.

In the unpleasant weather, the guys quickly finished the new chicken run, at least enough to use. I’ll see if they dare go out in it tomorrow. It’s supposed to be cold again, but sunny.

It’s just some chicken wire, easily moved.

Not just my fowl like the hen house when it’s cold. They are joined by many annoying house sparrows who like the heat lamp. I sure hope they don’t have any bird diseases. I can’t keep them out.

But there’s a little good news. The Cochins have started laying again. They sure choose strange times to go into production.

My Weird Way to Cut Down on Social Media

It’s only kind of weird, but it works for me the problem is that my phone thinks I look hours and hours at it, when, in fact, I’m not even near the phone. It’s hard to doomscroll if your phone is nowhere nearby and the computer you’re using is only connected to LinkedIn (and honestly, ten minutes is plenty to determine who’s been laid off lately).

I still enjoy social media, but do a quick Facebook check in the morning, play with my Finch self-care app for 20 minutes, see if I got any personal email, then walk away.

Also doing my nails creates at least an hour of phone-free time.

That’s because I leave the phone outside listening to birds once I have to stop birding with my own eyes and ears. The phone may think I’m staring at Merlin Bird ID, but no, I just check in periodically. Any texts or other messages just have to wait.

Today’s bird was this Ruby-crowned Kinglet, as photographed on the phone. blurry.

I can work undisturbed by my online social life except in breaks. That’s helped me from going down rabbit holes and letting myself get upset.

In the evenings, I read other people’s blogs and news sources that don’t try to get me all upset. This all works for me. I can still stay informed and keep up with friends without it consuming my day. This gives me time for horses, birds, domestic fowl, and wildflowers, not to mention friends and family!

She’s talking about us. We are domestic fowl.

So, my social media trick is to get your phone all busy doing something for you and ignore it for a good chunk of your day. It makes checking for messages and updates a fun interlude, not the whole day.

Morning fog on the window screen. It got very foggy this evening, too.

Today I enjoyed many things while the phone was ignored. I took some autumn photos, for one thing.

Pretty day! The yellow is a willow trees.

I watched a new run for the chickens and Connie get worked on. Connie was not impressed and tried to scare away the noisy dudes by gobbling and displaying her magnificent feathers. I didn’t even know hen turkeys could do that!

I also ended up with time to work with horses a bit longer than usual, so I picked out all the burs in Drew’s mane and tail. He was a true gentleman during the process. I think he’s feeling better.

In the evening Lee and I got a new coffeemaker, which is exactly like our previous one, only not worn out. We look forward to coffee tomorrow. I also got a slightly better toaster that should be less likely to burn my thick bread. These are our holiday gifts to each other.

We treated ourselves to dinner in a “real” restaurant and made our server very happy by forgiving him for not realizing we were his table. I had a magnificent beer and some salmon, which means I had a great Saturday with little phone time…until now, when I’m writing this.

Let’s Enjoy Late Autumn

My thoughts on deep subjects will have to wait until tomorrow. Work was quite interesting today but tired my brain out. I was also still a bit tired from being around people at the Master Naturalist holiday meeting. It was very pleasant, but I got peopled out.

Today was beautiful if you like fog. I certainly do. I run around taking pictures of spiderwebs and trees.

The weather forecast said it would be sunny and warmer, and it did get quite pleasant in the afternoon, but I could look directly at the sun.

It was very nice for doing animal chores and watching the birds. The light made autumn leaves especially bright to my eyes.

I even ate my evening meal out in the birding area. I was rewarded by visits from all the sparrows and two pairs of owls, Great Horned and Barred, trying to out-hoot each other. That shut the hawks and crows up! Sunset, a chill in the air, and an owl chorus make for an unforgettable late autumn respite!

No respite for Carlton, who really wanted to lick my bowl. That look didn’t work.

What? More Bird pictures?

I had a little time on this beautiful day practicing my bird photography skills. I wanted to see if I could get some action shots in addition to sparrows just sitting there looking cute.

While it’s true that I mostly captured various sparrows, I got blurry images of others.

I did get to enjoy the Great Egret and Great Blue Heron. I like that they stand still a lot.

And you can always count on Mockingbirds to pose. They are the best practice birds.

Okay, you’ve waited long enough! Here are House Sparrows, Harris’s Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, and bonus Goldfinch, in non-breeding sparrow-like colors.

I tried to get a Downy Woodpecker, but it was a blob. Still, not too bad from my back yard! And Merlin heard a Short-eared Owl, too.

I have actual thoughts to share tomorrow. Today was just birds.

Despite Unusual Weather, I Learned

This morning was just gorgeous. I went out to do my morning birding and discovered I was overdressed. It was sunny and comfortable the whole time I was out, and I was greatly entertained by Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting around.

I went inside to eat and do some office stuff. When I went back to pick up my phone, the wind had completely shifted and it was cloudy and at least ten degrees cooler. I added my puffy vest and an overshirt, which enabled me to feed horses and groom Apache comfortably. He is so hairy this time of year. He was nice and warm.

We made it to Tarrin’s and while it was very brisk and breezy, we still had a good lesson. Both Apache and I are learning a lot, slowly but surely. I appreciate that he’s willing to put in the effort to learn with me. It’s been such a long road of figuring out how to make him comfortable and as healthy as possible while working with my confidence issues. If we are never going to be fancy and sophisticated, I’m okay, because we have developed such a comfortable horse/human relationship. That was my goal. The relationship. The rest is just fun and refinement. My horse is such a comfort end encouraging presence for me.

Clint and Connie would like to interject that they also provide joy and comfort.

I was talking to Lee and my horse friend Jo after I got Apache back to the trailer (he was unnerved by their giant, shiny trailer, but we coped). We said how chilly it has gotten, and I said it’s lots better on horseback. Lee chimed in that it was like having a living radiator. That’s fluffy ole Apache, for sure.

The Jeep has an ancient wreath on it. The scary trailer is in the background.

For sure, I’m glad I was able to stay indoors the rest of the day and out of the wind. At least I got enough exercise today and had the energy to cook some warm food.

This is baked sweet potatoes and onions. My weird idea of dinner.

And the dogs are calmer. Harvey hurts, though. Carlton has been overly friendly.

I’m another white and hairy animal providing warmth.

It’s Cold So It Must Be December

I realize we had an earlier cold snap, but the front that came through last night (all the way to Rockport/Fulton) looks like it wants to stick around. I can’t complain, because we got at least a little rain at the ranch (I will know more tomorrow). It looks like maybe more rain is coming to replenish the water table.

It rained last night, but wasn’t as windy at Goose Island. I was able to take one fairly pleasant walk that was only moderately cold. Since the wind was less, I could use Merlin, and identified two more life list birds! One I saw pretty well, a White-tailed Kite. The other was a Short-Billed Dowitcher, which I can’t tell from a Dunlin or Long-billed Curlew. I need to go back to the sanctuary in Port Aransas where they are all together so I can compare.

All sorts of fun birds were out, even a Palm Warbler and a very persistent Yellowthroat, so while I waited on IT to fix something at work, I went back to the pier. It was getting colder, but I enjoyed seeing some cannonball jellies, oystercatchers, very loud Caspian Terns, and so many loons. The highlight, though, was when I realized the slapping noises I heard were dozens of fish jumping out of the water! I’ve always enjoyed it since I was a kid watching mullets jump in the canals in South Florida.

After I got some work done, we drove home with no major issues (hurray) in light rain. Ooh, on our way out of the park, a gorgeous fox crossed the road in front of us, turned to look for a few seconds, then quietly disappeared into the brush. What a great farewell!

I had time once we got home to do my beginning-of-the-month tasks, like tallying the birds at the ranch for November. We had 110 species, which I find pretty darned impressive. I’ve slowed down with new species, which was only one. Of course, my mind is a blank…but you can see the list right here.

I still have to tally up the bird sanctuary list, which I hope to do tomorrow or at least later this week. I did bring the porch plants inside, just in case it freezes. Ah. It’s December!

That Windblown Look Isn’t Fun to Get

Last night the wind blew so hard that I felt like I was on a boat again, but this time the boat was in a major squall—not a typhoon but pretty bad.

Nonetheless, I got up early so I could go on a birding walk with a man named Kelly, who’s recently moved here in Rockport, who really knows his stuff. I was glad that Bernice, who works at the park office, mentioned it to me. But whoa, the temperature in the 50s, combined with cloudy skies and biting winds, made for mighty unpleasant circumstances.

I’m as cold as I look, and glad for the borrowed hat.

We started out on the big pier near our site, where nothing blocked the wind. I was glad for the railings and that I didn’t bring the big camera! We did see some interesting birds, though it was hard to see them well due to shaking hands holding the binoculars.

Mercifully, Kelly took us away and we went to the jetty I visited yesterday, when it was balmy at just slightly cloudy. There were some gorgeous Roseate Spoonbills flying around, and I have to tell you all that pinkness flying around with the dark gray background was striking, even in the wind. I was too cold to take pictures, so use your imagination.

We then caravanned back over to the Whooping Cranes, where Bernice and I got to see some flying overhead and whooping! We were like two little kids in our excitement! We no longer cared about the cold and were very happy to share our joy with others who were there. The birders here are very collegial.

While that was all fun, I had gotten a chill and didn’t get myself warm, despite tea and a warm meal, until I’d had a little nap in bed. Yow. Still, I dragged myself back outside in the afternoon, and went on a walk around the trail in the other part of Goose Island State Park.

Ooh, they have nice, large campsites with large trees in that part of the park. I enjoyed a relatively wind-free stroll through a coastal oak woodland full of beautiful understory plants like sweet bay, wax myrtle, and beautyberry. I felt a lot better when I got back to the motorhome.

I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to on this trip, so we will be back. I really like it here. At least there are birders in enough numbers to balance out the air boaters and duck hunters. And seafood!

We waited to leave until tomorrow to avoid traffic today. I’ll figure out how get some work in tomorrow. There will be lots of time before we leave.

Birds, Butterflies and Bliss

Yesterday was a lot of fun,but it tired me out so I fell asleep and didn’t have a chance to blog. Sorry about that. I also took hundreds and hundreds of pictures. It seems I will only share a few.

Lee took this with the Canon EOS Rebel T7 and the macro lens.

In the morning I walked over to the jetty near where we are staying at Goose Island State Park. There I was delighted to see many different kinds of birds, especially herons and egrets. I enjoyed watching a tricolored heron and a snowy egret having a little battle over some kind of morsel. Those are some beautiful birds.

One of the cutest sights I saw was a little group of Dunlins, which are shorebirds and a new lifer for me! They were all huddled together with their little heads tucked under their wings like they were trying to get a nap in before something was supposed to happen. I did finally get one picture of one of them with its head up and it’s such a beautiful little round brown birds. Of course, there were others, too. Check it out!

Over in the marshy area there were many egrets. I saw a beautiful little blue heron, many great egrets and a ruffly looking great blue heron.

There were also ibises. There were a number of white ibises, but the most amazing part were the juvenile White Ibises, which are gorgeous brown and white little speckled birds. Well they’re actually big birds. I really like some of the pictures I got of themwith the brownish foliage all around them, I think that’s very artistic.

Later in the day, Lee and I got in the Jeep and drove around to find more birds. The first place we went was the famous big tree that is part of this park.

We weren’t there very long however because Park staff told us that there were a whole lot of whipping cranes and sandhill cranes together right around the corner so we sort of flew off to go see those running right past my friend, Cindy and her husband. Oops.

I was watching you like a hawk, says the Osprey.

The cranes were beautiful as always, and it was very nice to see the sandhill cranes right next to the whooping cranes to compare their size and coloring. It makes it a lot easier to remember, which is which.

They were joined by some lovely Roseate Spoonbills, and you can’t complain about pink birds ever. We met and talked to a few people and enjoyed that as well and took some pictures of extremely friendly seagulls.

After that, we made a fruitless trip over to where the great blue heron rookery is forgetting the fact that it is not great blue Heron breeding season so there weren’t any great blue Heron there I did see a Caracara, Osprey, and some other birds. Of course, the trees are still beautiful, so it wasn’t a waste of time.

We drove down the road a little bit and found a very nice place called the Linda S.Castro Nature Sanctuary, where there were so many butterflies. It was rivaling the national butterflies center. I’m not kidding. We found a lot of butterflies mostly Gulf Fritillaries and southern whites. (Golf rivalries, golf ferries, golf fiddle Aries—I would like to point out that the dictation software does not understand “Gulf Fritillaries).

This is cool. The fruit of the scarletfruit passionflower

There were lots of paths through some beautiful native plants and we got some good pictures of the scenery around that sanctuary. The people who made it did a very good job and it’s quite a nice place to go. I recommend it to anyone even though it’s sort of hiding we met a nice couple (the guy is a Master Naturalist) there and talked to them about different places to go and look at birds and plants and I think they’re gonna have a good time, the rest of their visit. Everyone is so dang friendly here.

We then headed over to one final place which is the thule sanctuary. I went there before with Linda Jo and Ann and it was a nice place to walk around though. There weren’t very many birds. I got a lot of plant photos and Lee got some very good ones using the macro lens.

By that time, we were tired of walking around and looking at birds and plants so we went to find some food. after all it was our anniversary and we needed a nice anniversary dinner. We found a nice place on a bay next to a harbor we sat outside to eat and got to watch many, many birds while we were waiting for our food, including belted kingfishers, ospreys, and many terns and gulls. I got to eat oysters and fish, and Lee enjoyed his bacon-wrapped shrimp.

That’s a cucumber margarita. I liked it!

It was a successful day of fairly good weather and lots of fun. Happy 17th anniversary to us!