Edinburg Wetlands

A few more birds yesterday, still nothing like in the past. Probably because of the bizarre weather patterns the water birds have scattered up the coast, and the smaller birds likely drifted south or maybe never came to Texas at all. Whatever caused it it's what we are dealt. Gotta play it, so we've kicked up the social end a little. The Wesmor apartments are part of the Alamo Inn a block to the west. Today John, the maintenance man, said he likes coming over here because all the residents hang out together and are so friendly. Me too. It's a community that scatters during the summer then reassembles again in winter. We migrate south with the birds.

The first pictures are from Edinburg. After we returned from there in mid-afternoon we caught our breath, changed clothes and drove over to Estero Grande south of Weslaco, where I took the last pictures. After hiking around Estero Grande a little we went to the Blue Onion in Weslaco for dinner with Sue and Steve, Julie and Ian, Carolee and Paul, Lorna (and Gunnar). It was a great time, a little beer, a little wine, some good food and intelligent conversation. I think we actually solved the nation's health care issues. 

After we finished eating we all boogied back to Estero Grande and joined some other hearty souls for a 8:00 o'clock night-time nature walk which was led (officially) by Steve and Sue who are volunteer naturalists at the State Park. It was Texas cold, started out at 50 degrees and fell through the evening. We had on warm clothes, but the birds, scorpions, spiders, mammals were all laying low. Two hours in the cold dark and we saw nothing, nada. Supposedly it was all weather related, but personally I'm blaming it on Steve.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Nashville Warbler

Neotropical Cormorant

Vermilion Flycatcher