Travel Report – Page 7 – The Hermits' Rest

Visiting Aransas National Wildlife Reserve

Yesterday we reluctantly checked out of our cute and convenient hotel, and after I bought a new hat (my Master Naturalist hat is now part of the oyster beds), we embarked on the journey to the nearby wildlife reserve. We’d seen the water side of it when we went on the boat ride. Now was time to see the land parts (and more water).

The Inn at Fulton Harbor is a pleasant place.

We were somewhat hampered by the fact that the headquarters had no power. But we wanted to be outside anyway. There were many plants and birds to identify. I went over to some oak trees and saw a Couch’s Kingbird and Great Kiskadee. That was a nice switch from all the water and shore birds earlier.

The bonus was an alligator, conveniently located in the alligator viewing area.

We next drove to Jones Lake, a freshwater lake on the reserve. It was really low, so all the life was concentrated around it. There was a group of Blue-winged Teals and one Greater Yellowlegs off on one side, and a family of feral hogs on the other. In the middle, in what little water was left, was an alligator.

Only after a while did we realize there was another gator on the shore. It was huge. It looked like it had eaten a piglet. I bet it’s famous in these parts!

Next we ventured past the bay on our way to the observation decks and boardwalks. No one wanted to go up but me, even though there was a ramp to go up, not stairs. The view was beautiful across the islands and water. I saw herons and egrets, but that’s about it for birds.

After that we walked the boardwalk and trail with our cameras going like crazy. Watching Linda Jo and Ann discussing the plants they encounter is quite educational. They know so much about nature. I’m privileged to get to spend time with them.

Once we were done, we took the long way back along the nine-mile interior road. It’s not spectacular scenery but it’s certainly an interesting ecosystem for all the animals, plants, and fishies. one thing is for sure: this place is huge. I’m glad we made this trip.

There definitely was a lot to see in this unique habitat.

Whew. We were done! We chatted on the way home and it seemed like no time until we were back.

I was wiped out when I got home but of course took care of the horses. Then I collapsed.

Today I did chores and more chores, but it was such a pleasant day that I enjoyed it all. As a bonus I went out in our former woods to see if any of the interesting wildflowers were blooming yet. Yes! The spring beauties were where they were last year! I do love those stripey darlings.

I also verified that although it’s dryer than usual, both our springs are still flowing. That’s a relief.

I also found a few bluebonnets starting to bloom, just a couple weeks late. I feel more settled.

Apache didn’t feel settled this afternoon. I was proud of how well he handled many trucks driving around and a lawn mower attacking his area. He didn’t get upset until we were done and Lee pulled the lawn mower up. I wish I’d gotten a picture of the stink eye he was giving Lee.

Instead, enjoy Penney in a rare display of dignity.

I guess in summary we had a great trip to the coast and it was equally fine to come home. On to week 2 of unemployment. I mean, retirement.

Losing Myself in Birds

What activities do you lose yourself in?

There are many activities I enjoy. Right now, though, birding is what I lose myself in. Time stands still and I let myself feel at peace when I’m watching their antics. They are so different and fascinating to me.

Today was all about birds, starting with a birding boat trip where I saw eight new birds for my life list. We went into the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and were delighted by the variety of species good old Captain Tommy spotted (I spotted some, too).

The highlight, of course, was spotting many Whooping Cranes enjoying their crab fests. We lucked out and got to observe parents and a hefty juvenile fairly close. The crabbing was excellent.

We saw a couple of pairs fly off, too. Those massive aviators are so graceful.

We also got to see Oystercatchers nesting, many different gulls, Roseate Spoonbills, cormorants (both kinds), White Ibis, and young Great Blue Herons. The adults are all nesting.

You can’t see it, but an Oystercatcher nest is in that brush. We also saw many huge barges.

After the boat, we journeyed to Port Aransas, which was a longer ride than usual thanks to ferry delays (spring break). But the place we went was pretty darned impressive, even if it was right next to the sewer plant and garbage truck headquarters. It was the Leonabelle Turner Birding Center, with beautiful boardwalks overlooking hundreds of water birds.

The water was so clear you could see what the teals and shovelers were shoveling. Oh there were so many ducks!

There were also herons and egrets galore, who hung out with Ibises.

A flock of White Pelicans had camped out in the distance.

Also there were Long-billed Dowitchers, Black-necked Stilts, Coots, and Gallinules. So many birds. The stilts were hilarious and by far my favorite.

I’m too tired for more details, but we had a good day, especially when helping others or learning from more knowledgeable folks. We met many very cool people.

Whooping Cranes Don’t Make You Cough

My silly dear friend Mike said they do. Maybe that’s why they want you to stay a respectful Dusty from them.

Yes, I saw my first Whooping Cranes today, as two Master Naturalist friends and I headed to Rockport to see them. On the way down we “only” stopped three times to look at plants for iNaturalist. That was easier because there were still few wildflowers.

We did see a few pink evening primroses.

We only nearly lost our lives once when we were trying to turn left and a car didn’t notice I was stopped and signaling. I’m glad the other ladies couldn’t see in the rear-view mirror what I saw. But hey, flowers were seen.

We visited Goose Island to find the Whooping Cranes, which were hanging out with Roseate Spoonbills and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. There was even a juvenile. We hope to see more tomorrow, but this was cool.

Even cooler to me was the incredible heron rookery we visited next. Oh my gosh, there were so many beautiful breeding Great Blue Herons! They were in beautiful windswept oaks.

I saw males bringing sticks to females, who would add them to their nests. They were very affectionate, rubbing necks and clicking one bill over another. I got to see mating and squabbling, too. This was truly awe-inspiring for me.

Later we visited another couple of places looking for birds, but mostly saw scenery.

Everyone else was in bed before 9 pm. I’m still here. More fun tomorrow.

Rocks and Water Both Heal

It was a good day at Inks Lake State Park today. Jennifer stayed until she had to check out at noon, which was good. We enjoyed having a fellow camper to talk to.

I took a little walk this morning to check out the campsites farther down the road, many of which were beautifully wooded or right on the lake where all the ducks and geese are.

I enjoyed a half hour or so on the fishing dock, which was nice and quiet, other than quacking and honking. There was a pair of white pelicans as well as entertaining coots, a cormorant, and many ducks, including a Lesser Scaup in the mix. I greatly enjoyed the diving and popping back up that they were all engaging in. Just being around water and the life it supports made me feel better.

After lunch I embarked on one of my really long solo hikes I impose on myself. I went on a trail that went next to the lake for a while then way up into the karst formations and around a hill. It was very windy, but I did manage to find some Black-throated Sparrows, which excited me. They were ones I enjoyed at Southern Llano River.

Mostly I just had fond memories of hiking this same trail soon after I met Lee and other hikes when all the interesting plants were blooming. The red rocks with lichen growing on them, the tiny plants that grow in puddles when it rains, and the hardy little trees are just so much fun to look at.

And then there were so many views of the lake and surrounding hills. Ahh. It was just me and the vultures (many) for most of the hike.

After four miles, I was tired, so Lee and I made dinner and ate outside while listening to hundreds of Great-tailed Grackles shrieking. Such ambience!

We topped it off with sunset viewing on the dock, and finished the fifth and final season of the West Wing. I’ll miss the characters as well as the ideas of democracy the show portrayed.

I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes, but all but 15 minutes of it should be fine. If I’m not grounded and healed from all these rocks, I don’t know what will do it!

We don’t have to leave until mid afternoon. That’s great!

Duck, Duck, Goose…Coot, Loon

Camping days always help me when I’m trying to figure out what’s next. I’m patiently waiting to do any big moves on the job elimination front until I talk to my boss on Monday. Thus, spending time with Jennifer and Lee was ideal. I was too busy to ponder. I just looked at waterfowl and went into the bowels of the earth to stay centered.

I got to sleep above the cab in the RV last night (and tonight) so Jen can use the bedroom. It’s really fun! I don’t know why our friends who don’t have bad knees refuse to sleep there.

This morning, Jen and I went to the bird blind, which wasn’t here at Inks Lake State Park last time I was here (over a decade ago). It was built by Master Naturalists, which made me proud. It was a big one, but there were no exotic birds. The Lesser Goldfinches and Black Crested Titmice were pretty, though, and fun to watch.

Too tired to label the images, but note that the squirrel is it a bird.

We next ambled over to the shore of the lake, where we were ridiculously delighted to watch groups of ducks, geese, coots, and such. There was also one Great Egret. Most of the ducks were Blue-winged Teals and Gadwalls, but it was exciting to see our first Buffleheads up (sorta) close. They were diving and popping up again and again. Gorgeous birds. Big ole buffly heads, too. Canada Geese were flying and honking as well, plus I heard a loon. Ah, loons. It was very hard to leave that spot.

We went and sat on the bird-watching benches for a while and got to watch Cedar Waxwings and listen to extra pumped-up Bewick’s and Carolina Wrens. They had a lot to say.

After lunch, Lee and I went to Longhorn Caverns, which is right down the road. It’s a beautiful road, Park Road 4, which is on the National Register of Historic Places AND goes by my favorite rocks. They are beautiful red granite karst formations.

The cavern is way up a hill, and has a fascinating history, having hosted dancing and other music, up until not that long ago (I went with my friend Jeff when he played there i. The early 2000s). The buildings are marvels of Civilian Conservation Corps work in the 1930s. The old visitor center has walls of calcium carbonate crystals and intricate stonework.

And, as with most caves, the caverns were beautiful. We also got to see tiny Tri-colored bats. Extra cute. The only negative experience was that Lee hit his head on a low “ceiling” and fell as he lost his balance. A family stepped in to help him, explaining that they’d just finished helping his elderly mother navigate on a visit. Lee took it all with great humor, but it was embarrassing, especially the second time he hit his head. The couple watched him like hawks after that.

We survived and made it back to the RV. Jen and I convinced Lee to go to dinner in Burnet with us, which was a good decision. The Mama’s Kitchen restaurant was excellent and we had fun! All in all, it was a good day. More to come!

The Hits Keep Coming

I don’t know what to do but laugh. This month has just been chock full of unpleasant stuff, but like one of those clown toys from when I was a kid, when I’m hit I just fall down and pop back up.

It the right image but the toy looks best up. Image from Pexels.

That’s new for me. I used to fall apart. Now I react, but deal with it better. The bad news isn’t everything in life, I realized at last. There’s always good, too. Here’s an example.

Yesterday I’d been thinking how proud of myself I was. I’d paid my credit cards down and could see them being all gone in a few weeks. Ha ha. Wishful thinking! I’d only get that feeling for a few hours.

I’d been looking forward to yesterday for a long time. My friend Lynn Hagan was receiving an award from Texas A&M, and she’d invited some friends to attend the reception and banquet. We had to wear nice clothes!

I went to pick up my friend Pamela, who defied all the odds and was not late. We were enjoying a trip down the back roads of Milam County, on our way to get Phyllis, when I got a phone call from the contracting company I work for. as I tried to navigate unfamiliar roads I was informed that Dell has decided to end my contract next week. I’m out of work!

I’m impressed by how well I handled the call. I’d had inklings something was up, though I won’t know for sure until I talk to my supervisor Monday. I’m more annoyed that they couldn’t wait until the contract ended so I’d have time to get Social Security set up (if I do get it…times are uncertain). But I’m just fine. I’ll wait to see what the story is there, and in the meantime I’ll see what’s out there. It will be okay.

I admit I was not feeling great as I drove to College Station, but I ended up meeting many fascinating people and making friends at the reception and meal. It felt so good to be in a room full of humanities and science majors! I miss being around people of my background sometimes, though I feel like an intellectual elite person when I say that. It was fun violently agreeing on many topics and making everyone feel welcome.

I’m glad we were able to go support Lynn as she got her huge framed award.

I couldn’t sleep last night but I did not lay there and blame myself for the job thing or panic about loss of income. I just couldn’t sleep.

But today I did just fine, got all animals at least partly groomed. Mabel kept asking to be brushed more. By the time she decided to leave, her mane was gleaming. And Fiona let me work on her, too. Yay.

Today we are at Inks Lake State Park, which is too crowded for me. But our friend Jen is here, too, which will make it fun to do bird stuff. I’m going to work on my resume and try not to kick myself for dyeing my hair ends purple. Makes me look eccentric.

Onward! It will be fine.

Time for Quiet

It’s one of those days when there is a lot to process. I’m not sure that I’m ready to say anything yet, other than I’m feeling really irrelevant due to my age, ethnicity, gender, and views. It’s probably good that I figured that out before I did or said something I shouldn’t. I need to keep processing for a bit.

I’m the big egret in a world of coots and ducks.

We did make it home. The animals are quite pleased. The people seemed to be, too. I’ll talk to y’all, one-sidedly, tomorrow. I’ll be quiet now.

Our two sickly dogs mostly bark from the couch now. Neither is doing very well.

More Excruciatingly Dull Birds

Sorry. All I have is more bird pictures. I spent most of the day relaxing, but hit all my exercise goals walking around looking at stuff.

I didn’t enjoy the Super Bowl much since we had to try to stream it on bad connectivity. I missed most of the good commercials and the game was too embarrassing to enjoy. Ugh.

This coot butt is more interesting than that game.

I did encounter 53 species of birds today, which is impressive. I especially enjoyed sitting at a shady picnic table next to a big oak tree and some scrub, and just watching bird behavior.

This tiny Downy Woodpecker must have pecked this entire sapling.

The most fun part of the interlude was when I heard a new sound and there was the bird I’d been looking for here at Choke Canyon the most, the Audubon’s Oriole. It’s so striking. And it proceeded to put on a little show of cuteness for me. What a joy.

Not wanting me to forget that it’s also cute and colorful, a Green Jay popped in for a puffing and preening session. Yep, it was indeed cute.

I wandered around the lake a while, too, seeing ducks, a pair of Anhingas, Least Sandpipers, Coots, a Cooper’s Hawk, and Ospreys.

Of course, while chatting with neighbors, I did other observations. Enjoy. I enjoyed the neighbors. Many seem as starved for friendly conversation as I am.

Red Admiral. I saw other butterflies, but they were busy.

Heading home tomorrow.

Pay Attention and You’ll Learn Stuff

Here’s what I learned today. This morning, a fellow birder and I watched the Red-winged Blackbirds in a feeding frenzy at the bird blind.

We also watched two beautiful Long-billed Thrashers as they stayed above the hubbub and got their food and drink. These are interesting, because they have a limited range and are sort of in between Brown Thrashers and Curved-bill Thrashers.

They have cool golden eyes and those long bills.

They weren’t as flashy as the Green Jays or Great Kiskadees, but it was fun to watch them pop in and out of view.

As you can imagine, all these birds were loud. Very loud.

The thrashers never made a sound.

Later in the day, I walked the bird trails that led to the unimaginably named 75-Acre Lake. There weren’t many birds to be found most of the way, one exception were Ling-billed Thrashers. They were always rustling in the leaves and hopping up and down in the trees.

I enjoyed the lake which had recently been cleared of cattails, and did hear a White-eyed Vireo pair singing, and lucked out to hear a Roadrunner making its eerie song. All was not lost.

There are large Spanish Dagger yucca here

My learning about the thrashers concluded around sunset. I began hearing what I thought was a Mockingbird going through its repertoire, but it didn’t seem right. I fired up Merlin Bird ID and was quite surprised to see an ID of Ling-billed Thrasher. All the thrashers got together at sunset and sang their hearts out for about a half hour. It was beautiful! Who knew? They only sing at dusk.

I’m glad I paid attention to the behavior of these birds. I learned something!

Hooray! Suna also can differentiate vultures by their wings. I’m a Black Vulture.

Observation and re-evaluation led me to a new life bird today, too. In the bird blind we noticed the size difference between the little Inca Doves and the others at the feeders.

I assumed the large dove at left was a Mourning Dove. However, Merlin listed a different option first, the White-tipped Dove. I’d never heard of it, but looked at the description. Sure enough, this dove had white wing and tail tips and no other patterning. Not a Mourning Dove at all. I just had to look carefully.

Whew. My head is full from all that observing and learning. Still I found time to see more fun plants, animals and birds today. And I can’t forget learning from fellow campers, most of whom seem to be from Canada or Minnesota. They’re so friendly! The birder guy was local, from San Antonio, and he had great advice on Canon cameras and lenses. I’m glad I found him and that Lee was able to talk to him, too.

Knowledge is power. Well, for the moment. Being smart is not popular among the powerful these days.

Birds and Beasts on a Friday

I’m in a funny place in some ways. The scenery isn’t much to write home about, lots of late winter brown, dead downed trees from past storms, and a lake that’s way down from drought so you see a lot of dead tree tops. It’s classic Texas bramble or whatever they call it.

However, the Choke Canyon area is teeming with wildlife. This part of the state is really wild. All the scary creatures in the state roam here. I haven’t seen a mountain lion or coyote, but it seems like I’ve seen the rest, along with a big portion of the birds of south Texas, which are both beautiful and loud.

Example: the collared peccary or javelina.

The peccaries were all over the place. You just don’t get too close to them and all is well. For example, I came up to a group as I rounded a corner on my hike today, and just crossed to the other side of the road. They glared at me as if to underscore that I was on their turf.

Our gang rules this side of the road, see?

I saw evidence (poop) of raccoons and coyotes, who also got to howling earlier this evening. And if I’m good at judging holes, there are armadillos digging up the dirt as well as the javelinas. I haven’t seen any armadillos, but squirrels are around. I have photos of one, but we’re having issues downloading pictures from the fancy camera so I will share later. I will spare you my picture of a very large alligator way across the lake. I will tell you this lake has huge gators!

The most fun I had today was looking at birds. I also had wonderful conversations with campers at the bird blind. It’s conveniently located near our campsite, but not too, near, because the morning blackbirds are almost deafening.

There are many Red-winged Blackbirds enjoying the water feature here.

Also loud were Green Jays. Somehow I managed not to get any good views of them when I was in McAllen in 2023, but I’ve made up for it this time. These are pretty spectacular birds and I got good images on the camera, but they won’t download.

The bird blind had other visitors, too, like Cardinals, Lesser Goldfinches, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and of course a lot of doves. I really enjoyed the small flock of Inca Doves that were at the blind.

We found more birds at the recreation area, which has a fish-cleaning area herons and egrets love. I also heard a new bird, the Olive Sparrow, but only briefly glimpsed it. These guys posed, though.

Later in the day I walked down most of the trails, which didn’t have many birds, other than one Great Kiskadee that shouted at me but mostly hid behind branches. Here’s what they look like.

I did see many deer, who stay out of the javelinas’ ways. A few deer were very thin. Most looked fine, though.

You know what a deer looks like, so just one photo.

It was a good day for birds (50 species in total) and beasts, though rather warm for February. The evening was pleasant, however, and I enjoyed the sunset.