Josey Ranch – February 2025

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The weather was cold and mostly cloudy…but I headed to Josey Ranch for a nature fix – and to gain more experience with my new camera (Nikon Coolpix P950). The last time I visited was back in September, but I expected to see a lot of birds that are in Texas during for the winter. The pond between the library and the senior living complex was almost empty. I photographed a feather and a dandelion almost ready to bloom before I headed over to the other pond.

There were a lot of birds: American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Canada Geese, Greater Scaup, American Coot, and Ring-billed Gull (many immature).

There were pigeons and crows on the tall lights over the ball fields.

Surprisingly there were cormorants on the poles as well!

I headed back toward the larger pond and my car…noticing some mistletoe in a tree along the way.

There were a pair of Great Egrets that interacted and then flew away from each other. The breeding plumage is beginning to be obvious.

A group of mallards and domestic duck hybrids were on a small pond. One hybrid was mostly black but had a green head!

Back at the larger pond I saw sleeping Ruddy Ducks.

I got a better view of a cormorant on the pond. It seems to have some characteristics of a Double-Crested (bare skin in front of the eye) and the white line of the Neotropic. I read that there are instances of hybrids in the areas where the two species interact….and north Texas might be one of those places!

The cold and wind had me regretting wearing leggings rather than jeans….it was time to head back to the car.

Other Birds at Bosque del Apache

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There are birds other than cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge too. They didn’t seem quite as numerous as when we were there pre-Covid…but we didn’t spend as much time looking for them either.

In a trip around the wildlife loop, we saw Northern Pintails, Buffleheads, Northern Shovellers, American Wigeon, White-crowned Sparrows, Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, and Ruddy Ducks.

Winter plants/landscapes are also abundant…water, mountains, cottonwoods, cattails….knobby ice on the surface of shallow ponds.

There are two bird feeder areas near the refuge visitor center. Sparrows (white crowned and house), Gambel’s quail, starlings, Red-Winged blackbirds, Curved Bill Thrasher, Spotted Towhee, and White-winged Dove were frequent visitors either on or under the feeders!

My favorite non-crane sighting was the Spotted Towhee.

Previous Festival of the Cranes posts

Zooming – March 2024

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Lots of birds in the Zooming slide show this month – from the Whooping Crane Festival in south Texas as well as Josey Ranch (Carrollton TX), the Springfield Botanical Gardens (Springfield MO) and Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (near Sherman TX). I find myself picking images that show bird behavior rather than portraits.

There are spring flowers in this collection as well…more of those coming in April!

Enjoy the March 2024 slide show!

Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center

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We signed up for a shorebird identification field trip for the third afternoon of the Whooping Crane Festival. We got on the bus after lunch and, it turned out, spent the whole session at Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center…which was fine with us since we had wanted to return there. We spent less time with the guide and just enjoyed all the birds at the place. There is a lot to see; the boardwalk makes it easy to see birds without disturbing them. The shallows are a popular place for them to feel secure enough to rest and bathe…and snack.

American white pelicans – in a big group or singles.

The common gallinule was near the alligator (again). I decided to take close up views of the feet (very long toes).

A black necked stilt wondered along through other species…looking aloof.

The green-winged teals were bathing…preening.

Grackles were bathing and preening too….or making raucous noise in the reeds and glaring at my camera.

A pied-billed grebe wandered near the reeds…hiding in plain sight as usual. Once I noticed the bird, I took a series of pictures as it found lunch.

A northern shoveler snoozed…another perched on a post in the water.

Ibis preened and stretched their wings.

I took a series of images of a bird in the shallows…thoroughly cleaning its feathers. It takes a series of contortions. The bird appeared to be enjoying the water!

A blue-winged teal showed the blue on its wing when it bathed.

Now for some group pictures. They are good for size comparison and ID practice. The first has 2 black-necked stilts and a male northern shoveler.

The second had a black-necked stilt and 4 American avocets.

The smaller birds were easily startled and would explode up into air…circle and return very close to where they were before the panic.

There were neotropic cormorants seemingly content to just sit in the sun.

There was a tricolored heron that seemed to be posing for pictures. I couldn’t resist!

The alligator did not move at all in the several hours we were there!

Overall – the place lived up to my expectations; we could have done it on our own rather than with the bus/guide. I am beginning to understand better that we have learned enough about birding to leave more free time to during festivals…or go early/stay late.

The last field trip of the festival would be the next morning at Fennessey Ranch.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – February 2024

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I left my hotel in Plano TX early enough to get to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge about 15 minutes after sunrise. It was a cloudy morning, so the light stayed muted during my drive along the wildlife road. There were a lot of pintails feeding in the shallow water. They sometimes blend in with the vegetation and only become noticeable because they are moving!

In my favorite pintail picture of the morning, the bird seemed to be posing!

There were a few Northern Shovelers. I saw a lot more of them in previous winters.

A yellowlegs was in the same pond where I had seen one many times before. I’m not sure whether it is a lesser or greater. The coloring looks more like a lesser but the bill is long like a greater! I don’t have anything to help me gauge the size.

The male red-winged blackbirds were raucously defining their territory.

I spotted meadowlarks several times but only got one (not very good) picture.

A group of gadwalls was feeding in the shallows. They look like they are interacting with each other more than the group of feeding pintails were.

I didn’t see any snow geese until later in my visit…and then I saw a small flock just before I left. I didn’t see the large flocks this year at Hagerman. I wondered if the avian flu reduced their numbers or if the odd winter weather has the geese wintering elsewhere.

As I left to continue my drive toward home, I savored the hour well-spent!

Josey Ranch – February 2024

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When I first arrived at Josey Ranch, I didn’t think I was going to see very many birds. Then I started to notice more. Ring-billed gulls on the boardwalk and shore.

Pigeons strutting – the iridescent color of their feathers changing as they moved.

I excepted the flotilla of scaups. They seem to be the bird I see most this winter.

A coot came out of the water, and I got pictures of its feet (so different…they look a little dangerous) and next to a Canada goose for a size comparison.

There were a few shovelers.

But the treat were cormorants on the water….I took several sequences because there seemed to be so many cormorants making the maneuver.

One bird swam around with wings arched for a long time. Was it to dry the feathers….or show off for a lady?

Josey Ranch Birds – January 2023

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There was not a lot of extra time during my work trip to Carrollton TX in late January…but I did manage a morning to check the birds at Josey Ranch. I was a little early; the sun was up but the large building to the east was still blocking much of the sunshine. There were quite a few birds to see.

The scaups

The Northern Shovelers (the first time I had seen them this season at Josey Ranch)

The coots

The Canada Geese

A Great Blue Heron…A Great Egret

The Double-crested Cormorants (although not in as large numbers as previous visits)

A male bufflehead (looking for breakfast so difficult to catch on the surface!)

The resident swans

It seemed that many of the birds were in motion….leaving wakes as they moved through the water. I enjoyed the few minutes I spent…getting my nature fix for the day before I started packing up items to be donated from my parents’ house.

Josey Ranch – December 2023

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I took a walk around the larger pond and small garden at Josey Ranch a week ago.

The first birds I noticed were cormorants – very active on the water (finding fish) and in the air.

Most of the ruddy ducks were snoozing…bobbing in the water.

A group of buffleheads were fishing….then spent a lot of time preening.

There were several coots

And I was thrilled when one of them came up onto the bank and I was close enough get good images of their feet! They are so unusual.

The scaups are around but not in as large numbers as last year.

The resident swans were asleep on the back as they have been every time I have visited recently. Are they elderly swans?

There were a few late flowers in the small garden; there has not been a hard frost in Carrollton yet.

Where are the northern shovelers? Maybe they are still further north? Usually they are present at Josey Ranch by November…but not this year.

2023 at Josey Ranch

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I am starting a series of posts that feature slideshows of pictures accumulated during 2023 of some favorite places that I visit almost every month. This post about the ponds and Pocket Prairie at Josey Ranch in Carrollton is the first in the series.

The changing of the birds over the course of the seasons: northern shovelers, scaups, widgeons, and coots in the cold months…baby birds (like geese) in the spring and juvenile birds (grackles and little blue heron) later in the warm months. The birds around all the time are swans, great egrets, mallards, and great blue herons. Bluebirds, grebes and cormorants are not seen frequently….are a pleasant surprise when they are around.

Josey Ranch is an easy place for me to get a nature fix….and enjoy some photography too. Some of my favorite photos are from an early morning jaunt in the summer…the light around a great blue heron and a swan sleeping on the water…a special moment that created a different sort of image.

The flowers bloom in the warmer months although last summer many flowers cooked in the long period of very hot weather without any rain. In the fall – the dried husks of seeds/stems is often photogenic too.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in April 2023

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I was on my way home from Carrollton when I stopped at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge shortly after 7 AM. I stopped in a pull off to get my camera handy…planning to use my car as a blind for some bird photography. Looking up as I finished my preparation, I saw some Northern Bobwhite…realized I would have never seen them in the grass if I hadn’t been stopped already.

A red-winged blackbird was displaying – flashing his colors and screeching.

There are always a few Great Blue Herons…year-round residents.

The egrets (great and snowy) were in breeding plumage. I wondered where they were roosting (and maybe raising young).

There was a white-faced ibis getting breakfast.

Later in the drive, I saw a group of the birds in the reeds along with some Northern Shovelers (I was surprised that the shovelers had not already left for their nesting grounds in the north).

A flock of long-billed dowitchers were feeding in the shallows – probably refueling before continuing their migration.

The morning light was good for some zoomed images of vegetation as well.

My favorite image of the morning was a snowy egret with a pensive stance. The morning light caught the patterns in the water.

Next trip to Hagerman when I go to Carrollton in May, I’ll visit the native plant garden near the visitor center (spend a bit more time on plants).

Josey Ranch - February 2023

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It was a breezy and cloudy day when I went to Josey Ranch in Carrollton last month. There were fewer Northern Shovelers and American Widgeon around and they seemed to be resting or grooming rather than feeding.

The American Coots were still around in about the same numbers as in January.

There was one Bufflehead…feeding. It was in the middle of the small lake and only spending seconds on the surface of the water.

There was one cormorant – looking around more than feeding. I am beginning to wonder if there are many fish in the lake.

The Lesser Scaups were around and coming to the shore thinking the people were going to feed them – although that didn’t happen while I was there. In the 14 second video, most birds are male Lesser Scaups. There is one female and a coot (or two).

By the time I go in March, many of the wintering birds will probably be gone…but maybe there will be Mallard ducklings…or maybe a cygnet.

Zooming – January 2023

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Birds (Great Egret, Northern Shoveler, Great Blue Heron, Northern Pintail, Red-tailed Hawk)….evergreens…dried (or frost damaged) plants…Texas sky - January was good month using the optical zoom on my camera! The locations were Texas (Carrollton, Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge) and Missouri (Nixa, Springfield). Enjoy the slideshow!

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – December 2022

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Back in November, I stopped at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge on my way down to Carrollton, TX. It is just outside Sherman, TX…a little over an hour away from my destination. The refuge was active in the early afternoon…with some migrants still around (link to November post).

In December, I opted to do a quick drive through on my way home so it was in the morning about an hour after sunrise; it was not a great time for seeing large numbers of birds. It was too late to see birds that had roosted in the ponds…and it was too cold and windy to linger very long with the windows open (I was using my car as a mobile blind).

I enjoyed seeing a flock of male red-winged blackbirds in stubble near the road….rise up as a group then coming back down like a wave crashing on beach to feed again…repeat. Their red and yellow markings were flashing every time they started up out of the dried vegetation and when they landed again.

A heron stood in the shallows with its feathers ruffled by the wind. The day was still new enough for the water to be morning blue.

I also saw a Harrier Hawk – hunting…circling over the stubble and water’s edge. I didn’t get a picture, unfortunately, but I spent a few minutes watching the awesome grace of the bird dealing with the wind and looking for breakfast.

The clouds began to cover the sun periodically and I took some refuge landscape shots – complete with oil pump jacks (it is Texas).

The pintails, mallards, and shovelers were around….enjoying the bounty of the refuge.

Gulls were mostly staying put in the shallows.

My plan is to stop at the refuge as I continue to make monthly treks to Carrollton…see the changes at the refuge as the winter progresses….and then the spring migration and flowers.

Josey Ranch – December 2022

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When I visited Josey Ranch Lake on a cold winter afternoon, there was a father with 2 children feeding the birds. I took a bird group picture that included most of the species on the water; it’s not a great picture with the shade/sun challenge but is probably good enough for some id. Can you find American Wigeons, American Coot, Mallards, Northern Shoveler, and Lesser Scaups?

Here are some better views of American Wigeons. It was challenging to see the green sheen on the male’s head.

There seem to be more male Mallards than females.

The Northern Shovelers were very active. They even climbed up on the bank to scarf up breadcrumbs after the children left.

Lesser Scaups have beautiful markings and rich color even in winter. They are smaller than the mallards.

A Great Egret was stoic in the regrowing reeds and cattails on the other side of the lake.

Gulls (immature ring-billed?) dive bombed for bread while it was being tossed…then gathered toward the middle of the lake…sometimes making a lot of noise.

The swans had participated in the bread eating frenzy, then regained their composure when it was over and calmly left the scene together. A male and female scaup looked on.

Overall – not a bad visit to the lake, but it was cold; I didn’t dawdle…took my pictures and headed back to the warmth of the car.

Favorite Photos – 2022

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I picked some favorite photos from the year for a slide show. They are all outdoors. Thematically there are birds and insects more often than lizards or turtles. Some are documentation type pictures and others are artsy. They were taken in four states: Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, and Texas. For some reason – the fluffed up Eastern Bluebird is my favorite. Enjoy the show!

Zooming – November 2022

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18 images in the slide show for November – less skewed toward botanical subjects than recent months. Outings to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, Springfield Conservation Nature Center and Josey Ranch Lake increased my opportunity to photograph wildlife. It was good to see winter and migrating birds…more of those in coming months (probably).

Enjoy the November slide show!

Josey Ranch – November 2022

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Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge was the birding highpoint of my last road trip to Texas, but the big ponds at Josey Ranch are too convenient to not visit every time I am in Carrollton. I was rewarded with even more wintering birds than I had seen in October.

American Coots. There were a few last month…more were on the water in November.

Northern Shovelers had arrived. There were actively feeding. They are easy to ID with their ‘shoveler’ bill.

Lesser Scaups were also new in November.  There markings and bill color are distinctive – nothing drab about the birds even in winter.

American Wigeon would be prettier on a sunny day (with the iridescent green swipe on their heads)…but I wanted to document their presence at Josey Ranch even if the day was cloudy.

Ruddy Ducks were around last month. There didn’t seem to be as many this time. I had thought they were just migrating through but maybe some of them stay around.

Mallards are year-round residents. I photographed three birds….feeding in the shallows (2 males and a female). I watched for several minutes; at no time were all three heads visible!

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

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Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is near Sherman, TX – just a little off the road trip route from my home in Missouri to my parents in Carrollton, TX. I stopped last time I drove down to Carrollton. I had been to Hagerman once before and was reasonably sure it would be worth it….and I wasn’t disappointed. My goal was see as much as possible in an hour or so. I drove the Auto Tour Route and stopped at the visitor center. I saw quite a few birds!

Great Blue Herons. They are probably a population that stays in the area most of the year.

Snow Geese. These are wintering birds. Only part of the expected number had shown up by last week. There are two morphs (white and blue) and potentially some hybrids…juveniles too. Ross’s Geese are mixed in with the flock. They are smaller and have smaller bill…no ‘grinning patch’ on the bill.

Canada Geese are mixed in with the snow geese as well

Northern Pintail were on the water…looking for food.

Northern Shovelers were skimming the surface of the water for food in the shallow water.

A lone Killdeer looked on from the edge of the water.

A Greater Yellowlegs was too intent on finding lunch in the shallows to notice the activity elsewhere.

There were two birds that were migrating through the area:

A White-faced Ibis --- almost hidden by the vegetation but the feathers were iridescent enough draw my attention.

Greater White-fronted Geese were there in large enough numbers to notice…and looked different than any of the other geese!

Overall – a worthwhile stop. I’ll do it again….and explore different parts of the refuge each time. I have a map I picked up at the visitor center than will allow me to plan my next visit!

Ocean City Inlet & Heron Park Field Trip

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The last of our Delmarva Birding field trips started at the Ocean City Inlet…where the high point was seeing an American Oystercatcher fly in and land on the rocks for a short walk.

The next stop was Heron Pond – an area in Berlin, MD that is in an industrial area and on the site of an old chicken processing plant. There are a series of ponds that clean water and provide habitat for water birds. The highway is nearby but there is a screen of vegetation…and there are birds on all the ponds. Some of the first birds we saw were cormorants.

Followed in close succession by ruddy ducks (the males have blue bills!) and northern shovelers.

Two northern shovelers were feeding together…swimming in a tight circle.

The last pond has structures on its surface to filter water and those structures provide a haven for turtles and birds. There were several Canada geese on nests and a little blue heron finding a snack!

And that was the finale for our 4 field trips with Delmarva Birding.

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge

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The Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge field trip was our second April visit to the place (I posted about our visit back in 2017: part 1, part 2). A new visitor center was under construction and the old one no longer had feeders (where we saw goldfinches last time) and the purple martin houses had been moved to another area, so we didn’t see them either. The field trip still started with a look around the visitor center grounds. It was a cool morning. There were several spring flowering trees (dogwood and redbud)…and birds flitting from the trees to the grass to the man-made structures.

We started around the auto tour route. There had been a lot of rain in the days before our field trip and the water level in the ponds was higher that I remembered. We also learned that because the area is tidal salt marsh, the water levels are not as easy to control as in some other refuges; the refuge management is challenged to maintain the marsh as sea-level is rising.

There were plenty of birds around: northern shovelers, red-winged black birds, green-winged teal, and mallards were a few I photographed.

There were relatively large numbers of great blue herons. They don’t nest at the refuge but come here for food.

There were also great and snowy egrets in mixed groups.

I took a sequence of a great egret landing.

There were bald eagles too. I photographed a scruffy looking juvenile settling on an almost submerged log.

The big surprise of the morning was a roost of black-crowned night herons. From the place we were standing…they were on the other side of large pond; they looked like fuzzy places in the trees…

I thought tent caterpillars at first! With binoculars and big camera lens, the birds were easy to identify. My husband provided a magnified/cropped image of one of the birds. There were over 70 birds roosting!

What a thrilling finale for a Bombay Hook field trip!