A little cool, windy, but pleasant. We did a mid-day hike, just to move our bodies a little after being held captive by the weather yesterday. As we were eating our fruit at Alligator Lake, watching Pied-billed Grebes downing sunfish that seemed impossibly over-sized for them, a group of four walkers came by. They asked if there were any 'gators. They seemed quite excited to see the big ol' boy pulled up, sunning himself on the far shore. They had no cameras or binoculars. I try not to judge people TOO much, but it has stuck me that birders are interested in nature in general, but not particularly in alligators. Conversely, non-bird watchers, seem absolutely fascinated by alligators. Alligators? I haven't really figured that one out.
We didn't see much, but here's a few pictures of what we did see. I think Lorna may have some better pictures on her blog later, even a nice Red-shouldered Hawk, which was a little beyond my camera range.
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| Common Pauraque. If you aren't seeing many birds, the Pauraques sleep in the same places every day. They are almost invisible if you don't know where they are. If you do know, it's almost a guaranteed photo-op. |
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| Anhinga. Uncommon, but predictable if you know where they are. We knew. |
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| Mockingbird. Ubiquitous. They are all over, in various habitats - cities, parks, brush land, woods. So common, nobody would bother to photograph them. Today, I did. |
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| Orange-crowned Warbler. Along with the Yellow-rumped Warbler, the most common Warbler of the Lower Rio Grande. Distinguished by being drab and undistinguished - doesn't even really have an orange crown. |
Be well. Stay warm.
4 comments:
Well, because with the alligators it's a possibility that somebody will get eaten or something. Could be a dramatic event...
Not so plausible with the boring old birds.
True. Another generality: Alligator Watchers have really big bellies.
Thanks for the photo of the mocking bird, which -- as you said -- so few photograph, so those of us who don't know what we're looking for never can see them when people say, "Oh, that's just mockingbirds." Much appreciation, Gunnar!
Orange-crowned warblers do too have orange crowns. And if you're lucky you may even see one display it when they are looking for mates. Not a well-named bird, I agree, but what are the alternatives? Drab Warbler?
Carolee
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