Bird Sightings – Page 2 – The Hermits' Rest

Roller Coaster Day!

Today had its ups and downs, but in the interest of time I’ll just share ups. You’re welcome.

The turkeys are happy to share that their hit is finished. According to my son, they were VERY helpful while he was moving it into place and getting it painted. They really wanted to help him paint and kept trying to grab the brushes.

We’re not shy. We also appreciate our water dish being put on a level surface!

I love how well the hut matches the henhouse, tack room, and horse pens. It’s so classic barn red. And it has a nice metal roof with few sharp edges to give me tetanus.

I hope the dang turkeys use it. This evening I went out to check on them and the only occupants I saw were the chickens in their area and this guy in the backup coop. He is not a turkey.

You interrupted my rummaging through chicken feed!

Oh well. It isn’t going to hurt anyone. The turkeys would peck it to death first.

Other good stuff? Lee and I did a non-hermit thing and went to a friend’s house for dinner. We had a wonderful time in an old farmhouse laughing and telling stories with our friend and the other guest. He was also a hermit. We had a lot in common. This is the kind of thing we should do more often. It’s great to meet smart, funny, like-minded folks out here.

This painting was on the wall. It’s by a friend I miss very much.

When I got home I had a long phone call with my former professor, Doc Shenkman, who just happens to have spent many years training law enforcement officers in ethics and acting within the law. As you can imagine, he had interesting things to say. He’d called so I could cheer him up, but I don’t think the stories I shared from my friends in Minneapolis did that. But, it’s good to hear the perspective of someone trained in law enforcement on recent events.

And as always, we both noted that there are many agents acting as they should, doing a hard and unpopular job. I just want us all safe, treated with respect, and able to express ourselves without fear.

I hope I didn’t veer too far off the cheerful, but all the conversations today (family, work, friends, and new friends) made me feel less alone and a wee bit more hopeful.

Hey, Reader-folk

How did my weekend off go? Well, it featured some lovely conversations with dear friends and family. It always feels good to keep in touch, and I look forward to more of that. I guess that’s my current mission, to reach out and connect with people I care about, while I still can.

The governor of the state where I live has given our voting records to the national government. This will allow them to see which primary people voted in, since you have to declare which party’s ballot you want. Oddly, many people I know vote in the Republican primary because no one dares run as a Democrat, so many races are decided then. So maybe some of us wouldn’t be targeted if it comes to that.

Oh look. My outdoor plants joined the Christmas cactus to create a cheerful display while it’s cold.

Yeah, I’m not feeling any better. This whole deal where half the US lived in one version of reality and the other half lived in a completely different world only worked when there were checks and balances. The government now parrots the words of an evil regime and has their own scary police force with no incentive to follow legal process.

But gee, we still have birds and flowers. Yay!

As I mentioned last week, there has been a Black Phoebe here. It’s stayed for days now, and I’ve managed to see it three times.

I was very doubtful that Merlin was accurate on this one, because it’s not usually found here. But, I know what the Eastern Phoebe looks like (ours are medium gray with pale yellow breasts), and the bird I’ve seen is very dark with a very white belly, like above.

Range, which does not come close to my house.

The app also registered a Say’s Phoebe, which at least has a closer range, and I kind of believe since my friend Michelle had one show up in Merlin at her house.

I now feel more confident, since remembered that part of the Merlin app is a feature where it will show you all the birds you’re likely to see on any day. Here are the ones I’m most likely to have seen today in Cameron, Texas. Note the Eastern Phoebe among my good bird buddies.

But hey, look what comes up when I type in Phoebe! If I’m going to see the two western phoebes, this would be the week!

The blackbird is there because I only searched for “phoe”

So, this has been fun to observe! It’s been really cold (for here), but the birds have been out, especially the sparrows and wrens. Other than the incredibly windy Saturday, I’ve been out enjoying them every day, along with the horses.

Funny horse story. When it got so windy and cold, I figured I should put Dusty’s new blanket on him, since he’s so thin, though fuzzy. I didn’t think it through, though, and when I brought the blanket out to show him, Dusty was scared to death! He shook and ran as far away as he could in his pen. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. I felt like I betrayed him.

On the other hand, Apache thought the blanket was cute.

I’ve left the blanket hanging on Dusty’s gate, and I put his food dish near it. He’s still not happy. I guess the old cow horse never needed a blanket before and doesn’t want one now.

Anybody need a gummy bear-themed blanket for a small horse?

Thank you for reading, for being kind to others, and for cherishing your life.

What’s the Use?

Dammit. When I read 1984 I never thought it would be coming true in 40 years. I give up. The truth, kindness, laws, and peace no longer are important to so many that I just need to give up for a while. I’ve been trying to see all the beauty and good around me. But I’m very sad. People are living up to their awful reputations. I must take a break and regroup.

It would help if I kept my own beliefs in mind. It might work for you, too.

Good news: I did see the Black Phoebe today and 60 other species. That gave me some positive moments!

I paid attention and also saw a female Pyrrhuloxia

Anyway. My Reminder Rocks have a message for everyone.

I’m not giving up, though. This is a BIG rock. it bears repeating.

I’ll be back in a while.

Let’s Talk about Temperatures

Of the blanket kind, though it’s rather warm to use one today (and yes, it’s January). And there’s good news in the temperature blanket department: 2025 is done. Yay!

I’m pleased with how it came out and I like the border. It looks too big I think because I need to wash and block the blanket to stretch the squares out. Or I could have been mistaken and the border yarn is not sport weight. Well, I thought I checked.

It will get used, since it’s the perfect lap blanket size for sitting and reading or watching television. Or birding.

I climbed on the brown box in the back of the birding station to get higher for the fill-size photo. Art.

I have all the rainfall data to add that in later once I figure out how I want to do it. I want to use beads but am not sure which ones. I may do something softer. Hmm. While I ponder, enjoy a couple of closer views of the squares.

Oh, I should explain for anyone new that the inner part of flower is the low temperature for the day and the outer part is the high temperature. The border was just a color I thought would be fun. I made the pattern up using these flower squares I found online only I used half-double crochet (US) in the first round. It could be just as easily done in any granny square variant.

That’s not much of an explanation. I’m obviously not one of those craft bloggers with the real long introductions and stretched out instructions so more ads can be placed. But more power to them! It all takes time and skill! And I’m too tired to write up instructions. I’d rather be working on my 2026 one.

I was getting snarky for a bit. It’s just because I’m so unhappy with current events that I can’t stay chipper for long. But hey! I did register a Black Phoebe here multiple times on Merlin today. I’d never had one here. I’d love to also see it!

I just have to keep finding these happy things! I started crying today when talking about the news with my son. Not a good sign. Bring on the uplifting thoughts!

Things That Didn’t Upset Me Today

Ok! Let’s see what didn’t upset me today.

I looked up from my phone this morning in the birding station and realized I was surrounded by meadowlarks. Here are just a few.

I cut my nails way short (for me) but they still look festive with snowflakes on them.

I had a good, calm lesson on Apache. Neither Tarrin nor I were feeling well, but we made progress, and, as always, it was a joy to spend time with my horse buddy. When we got home, he shook himself as I was unlocking the gate, and a big cloud of dust flew out from him. He only looked sparkly clean.

Apache and I both wish we looked this good. At least I look kind of like me and he looks kind of like him.

I made some progress on my crocheting. The blanket is getting a cluster border. It’s probably going to be at least three town. It will be good thing to have it slightly larger. Certainly it will be cheerful.

I made a delicious frittata for dinner using Connie’s eggs, leftover broccoli, cheese, garlic and a little milk. Both Lee and I loved it.

And that’s what got me through the day.

I’m Truly Glad I Read That Beaver Book

What an adventure I had today with my fellow Master Naturalist! We escaped to the wilderness known as her property outside of Cameron and searched for a rumored beaver dam on the spring-fed creek that runs through the land. It was a beautiful warm day for exploring.

At first we looked in the wrong place and got attacked by much greenbrier and dewberry vines that tried very hard to trip us. I did determine that the water was not out of its banks and was very clean.

My friend called the folks who’d been on the property monitoring their deer lease or something, and they redirected us upstream. There we found what appeared to be weird flat areas with brown vegetation.

That was actually duckweed on a big ole beaver pond! To say I was excited would be an understatement. The dog was also excited and immediately went swimming.

I enjoyed investigating the dam construction and listening to the water trickling through the spillways. It’s hard to believe animals can do this, even though I read that book all about beavers recently.

Also they dig big tunnels. Here’s an entrance.

We found trees that had been gnawed by beavers (some from the previous dam a few years back). There were also trees whose bark had been gnawed.

We moved upstream some more and found a second dam, which has created a magical pond full of fish, butterflies, and plants. It was hard to pull myself away from the tranquility.

But, I wanted to see if there was a third dam below the first one we found. Sure enough, following the cool beaver trails led to another one that my friend thinks is a reconstruction of the original dam.

Here I located the tunnels they dig for entrances and exits, which is fascinating. I even found some beaver tracks in ant beds, but my pictures weren’t great. That’s okay, just seeing evidence that the amazing mammalian construction workers was a bucket list item for me.

Since we had time and a truck, we went off exploring other parts of the property, which are mostly hay fields. We stopped and got to see a spectacular Northern Harrier fly right in front of us when we both had our binoculars. They’re beautiful hawks with a white patch just above their tail.

We then explored a ravine that lead to the big creek and observed how it is slowly moving northward. I did not fall down when I clambered down the embankment. I held onto trees.

We ended our exciting afternoon doing some more birding back by my friend’s house and enjoying each other’s photos. I’m so pleased to cross another mammal off my list of Milam County sightings, even if I didn’t see an actual beaver. All my beaver knowledge really helped me see the signs of them. I’m sure they’re glad the prowling humans and dogs are gone!

New Year’s Fun for People and Birds

The natural world greeted me as soon as I woke up on New Year’s morning. I looked out the side window and saw a large bird walking along the pond shore, of which there is a lot, thanks to inadequate rain. What was it?

The white blob to the right of the tree is the bird.

Luckily one of my many pairs of binoculars is stored on the windowsill for just this kind of occasion (along with the tools Lee used on his most recent home improvement attempt). Now I could see it, and I was happy.

Why was I so happy to see a bird that’s around here all the time? Because I so rarely see them on the ground, doing their shorebird thing. Usually I hear their very distinctive call, and occasionally see them flying with their legs tucked under like landing gear.

I tend to see the underside. Photos are from Merlin Bird ID. My only photos are blobs.

I like these birds lots, mainly because they were the first bird to visit our front pond after it filled with water. I had to ID it, gasp, from a book! They were also one of the first shorebirds whose call I learned. Here’s more from Merlin on Greater Yellowlegs:

Fairly large shorebird with bright yellow legs. Plumage is essentially identical to Lesser Yellowlegs: gray upperparts with white speckling, streaky neck, and white belly. Proportions are most important for identification. Greater is larger overall with longer, thicker, more upturned bill, longer neck, blockier head, and bigger chest. Forages actively on mudflats and in shallow pools and marshes, often in loose mixed flocks with Lesser Yellowlegs. Somewhat more likely to be found in larger, more open habitats than Lesser, but much overlap. Listen for strong, ringing “tew tew tew!” calls, louder than Lesser, and usually three or four notes instead of one or two (though Greater can also give single notes). (from Merlin Bird ID)

The highlight of yesterday’s sighting was that it stayed, along with some Killdeer, long enough for me to watch it with the good binoculars as it ran through shallow water sticking its slightly curved bill just under the surface, sorta like how a skimmer does when flying. I now know they don’t poke into the dirt, but rather skim the water. Yay for citizen science!

Once I settled into the birding station, I also got to watch a cute Eastern Phoebe get all plumped up for an extended grooming session. I like how the ones here are more yellow than others I’ve seen.

Blob to the right of the pole is the Phoebe. I still hate this phone camera.

This morning I had a Loggerhead Shrike land on the birding station roof. I know that because it then sat on the fence right in front of me. Such striking birds. Wish I’d had the good camera.

I’m off to an adventure this afternoon, so maybe I’ll get more blurry photos (too much walking to carry the big lens camera).

Invasion of the Longspurs

There have been two new avian visitors to the Hermits’ Rest in the last few days. I exaggerated when I called it an invasion, but these two aren’t usually seen this far east. I don’t recall ever seeing one, and my bird book confirms I had no previous longspur sightings, here or elsewhere. Perhaps that extra-windy cold front blew this week some this way.

Most recent new lifers. I rarely get them at home anymore.

The first one is the Thick-billed. I was very confused because it wasn’t in my guidebook, which is only a few years old.

It turns out the McCown’s Longspur has been renamed in the process of removing human names from species names. If I’d looked at the Latin name I’d have figured it out sooner. As it is, I needed Merlin to find it, because non-breeding males and females look like all the sparrows from a distance.

The second one showed up today, which makes me feel more confident that some are a little out of their usual range. The Chestnut-sided Longspur would be just as hard to spot in winter, though it is striking in breeding plumage.

Both birds winter in prairies and fields with short grass, which we have plenty of here. I’ll be very interested to see if any more are detected in the next few weeks. I’m not sure where the spurs are. None of the pictures show the feet well enough, if that’s where they are.

Their ranges are similar. Images borrowed from Merlin Bird ID.

In addition to interesting birds, today was also very pleasant, with clear skies and pleasantly cool temperatures.

I was able to go for a walk, play with the fowl and horses, and enjoy the patio rather than cowering to avoid wind. Of course it warmed up—I finally have blankets for three of the horses. Dusty’s is covered in jelly beans. I wonder if they will need them again?

I even managed to complete December in my temperature blanket on the last day of the month! I’d managed to make the last row of black ahead of time. Ahh, I’ll never have to make solid black squares again!

Last week was way warmer than usual for December.

Now all I have left is to join all the blocks and to the border, which is going to be rainbow colors! Why not? That should give me something to do while my peas and collards are cooking tomorrow.

Congratulations to all of you who made it to another year. I have more thoughts on that for tomorrow!

Book Report: The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America

I got this little book from 2019 yesterday and found it necessary to plow through it last night before I went to sleep. Matt Kracht, the author, tries to present himself as a curmudgeonly bird hater who hates all that screeching and pooping birds do. But you can tell from his charming and accurate drawings that he’s secretly quite fond of birds.

Sample page featuring a bird name that’s not too full of curse words.

Though it’s really funny, the book isn’t for kids, due to f-bombs and such. But it’s hilarious for those of us comfortable with adult language. And Kracht includes lots of birding/birdwatching advice, bird feeding information, and “helpful” information that’s both funny and sorta useful underneath.

This is not a book I’d recommend for a person who’s new to birds but it’s a great amusement for your experienced bird-loving friend, white-elephant gift for your nature group gift exchange. Or you could leave it in the bathroom for visitors to enjoy.

I certainly felt it was worth $7! See if they have it at your local bookstore.

Yo-yo Weather

If you live in the part of the world where I do, your head is probably still spinning from the rapid weather change from yesterday to today (hoping you didn’t spin out on any ice). You know it got cold fast when the day’s high temperature was yesterday’s low, all occurring just before and after midnight.

This picture depicts sleet on our windshield, which looks like rain.

And of course, the blustery wind also returned, merrily tossing things around. We just missed snow, which visited Waco. All animals seem unperturbed—the horses went into their nice shelter until the wind settled a bit, and the fowl went into their nice and out of their coop, which has a heat lamp. I rushed out to toss food at them all. Brr.

This is from yesterday. I was trying to capture the green sheen on the Cochins.

Since I can’t work again this week, I luxuriated in activities I usually don’t have time for. I put together my bullet journal so it will be ready for Thursday (I saved the fun of adding washi stickers for tomorrow. I came up with color themes for each month’s journal entries and color/pattern themes for my nails, which I may or may not adhere to, since I won’t berate myself for changing my mind. (Dang, I come across as Susie Housewife here, but I’m just artsy, that’s all.)

I even went to the Big City with Lee and did some in-person book shopping at Barnes & Noble. I bought myself my own dang Christmas gifts, a fiction book, a feminism book, and three fun bird items. Also on-sale coloring books. I felt like a kid with new toys when I got home and could play with my new things.

A very funny bird guide that makes a good gift for a birder with a sense of humor

I got all the New Year’s meal ingredients at the grocery store (fresh collards) and stuff to cook for dinner. I don’t mind cooking so much when I am not tired from working. Susie Housewife is not Super-woman.

But I do glow (photo from Saturday, when it was warm yet breezy)

By the way, I cooked our belated Christmas dinner last night for Anita and “the kids,” and was very happy with a turkey breast cooked in my Pampered Chef clay pot thing. I gave everyone their painted rocks, which seemed to go over ok. My son made me lovely candle stands for the wall. I’ll share a photo tomorrow. I do love handmade gifts.

Tomorrow should be fun. Closet clean-out day with my son’s partner for help.