Another Viewing Day with Cousin Carol

Cousin Carol came over Friday, May 7, and we sat in our perfect viewing spot and watched the kaleidoscope of birds for about 5-1/2 hours or so.We saw: male and female Lark Buntings, White-Crowned Sparrows, Eurasian Collared Doves, Say's Phoebe, White-Winged Doves, female Brown-headed Cowbird, male and female House Finch, European Starlings, male and female Golden-Fronted Woodpeckers, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Western Kingbirds, Cactus Wren, and a hawk of some kind.

Carol identified two additional birds: A yellow male House Finch (diet causes the variant) and a female Black-headed Grosbeak (top). They are evidently migrating through here on the way to Mexico/South America.The male was here for about five days but didn't show up on Friday. The males show up here in the spring before the females.

Tom and I had a visit from a female and three young Yellow-Headed Blackbirds yesterday (right). They were in the Mesquite tree early this morning but did not come into the yard to feed with the other birds. They stay in Texas for the summer, but maybe they are migrating to a different locale in Texas because we only saw the males for one day and have not seen them again.

Birdwatching Day with Carol

Yesterday my cousin, Carol, came around 10 a.m. Since we both love birds, we planned a day of just sitting in front of the sliding glass double-door of my RV and birdwatching. I feed the birds just outside it and we have a very clear view of them when they come in the yard.

Here are some of the birds we saw: House Finch, House Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, White-Winged Junco, Scissor-Tailed Flycather, Curved-Bill Thrasher, Say's Phoebe, a sparrow I have not identified, European Starlings, Cactus Wren, Grackles, Hummingbird, and probably others I am forgetting.

This picture (bottom row) does not do justice to the Scissor-Tailed Flycathcer. The breast area of the two that visited us was a beautiful apricot color.

We also saw a couple of Horned Toads (second row). These prehistoric guys used to be so plentiful in Texas when we were kids and are drastically decreased in number now.

The most exciting thing we saw was two Curved-Bill Thrashers chasing a snake. The snake was moving at lightning speed. I think he knew the two Thrashers did not have friendly intentions. Anyway, he outran them.

We wished that our Aunt Patsy could have been here to watch with us. We sipped white tea during the morning and had a big salad full of all kinds of yummy veggies. It was a wonderful day.

I got a chance to go walking this morning and saw a lot of Barn Swallows (picture above is third row). Carol and I caught a glimpse of a few yesterday that flew near the yard here.

This morning, a Tufted Titmouse (top row) came to visit for about 15 to 20 seconds. I hoped it would hop down and join the other birds, but it decided not to. I thought I caught a glimpse of it yesterday while Carol was here, but I am not sure. Anyway, the picture doesn't do him justice. His colors are prettier than the picture.