The Madre & The Padre

The wind is up today, blowing strong from the north, making temps cooler and keeping the birds hunkered down; a good day for a new blog post!

Since last week we’ve done a bit of back road mountain bike exploring in the refuge.  Bow hunting season ended a week ago for white-tailed deer, feral pigs and exotic Nilgai (more on that creature later), so we are free to roam without fear of being a moving target. 

Leon’s quest for pictures of Redhead ducks took us to Horse Island at the north end of the Refuge. Any blondes or brunettes that show up would be a welcome sight, too.... ;-))  After eight miles of dirt road riding we arrive on a naturally elevated ridge of yucca and thicket; one of the very few places with a viewpoint over the Laguna Madre: the only hyper-saline coastal lagoon on the N. American continent. 

View from Horse Island looking south across part of the Laguna

 The Refuge is bound on the east by the Laguna Madre (Mother Lagoon). Across this immense and shallow lagoon, roughly 7 miles away is Padre (Father) Island, the barrier island that shelters it from the currents and storms of the Gulf of Mexico.  Known for its vast sea grass meadows that sustain the thousands of wintering ducks, waders and shorebirds, it's an immense yet sensitive ecosystem, and another dimension of this varied landscape of south coastal Texas.

Its...a.......wild.........decoy.........!!

As we arrive on Horse Island, Redheads and Pintails quickly flee the scene.  Unlike familiar and ubiquitous Mallards of local parks and ponds, wild ducks don’t stick around; keeping a safe distance from humans.  Here at the refuge, they feed in flocks of hundreds.  When they fly, Leon calls Pintails “sky darts”.  See if you agree.

On another morning I sleep in a bit, joining Leon after sunrise out on the Bayside Drive.  The Plover Point overlook, about 3 miles out is a fantastic place to be on the Laguna on a calm morning. Ducks and waders are feeding fairly close, and since the fog is thick, an ethereal calm settles in before the sun breaks through.  Riding the bike here is akin to a desert safari: a foreign place in which one should be ready for the unexpected.

Eastern Meadowlark

White-tailed Hawk

Birth of another yucca bloom

Two Wheel Views

Three days of clear skies, coastal breezes and bright light illuminates some of the treasures of this corner of the universe and brings it into clear focus.  We are exploring the Refuge's  15 mile driving loop on bicycles… and what follows is a visual symphony; a few lyrical movements along the Laguna Madre set between sunrise and late afternoon 

over the past few days. Photos by both of us...

Morning rain and early blooms on a yucca

Pelican Lake before sunrise....

Osprey with breakfast!

Can you say "mouthful"??

Purple Sage...Laguna Madre's version

A great way to see the Refuge...

Sunrise over the Laguna Madre

On the mudflats: Roseate Spoonbills, Great Blue Herons and White Ibis

A classic Mockingbird pose...

Greater Yellowlegs

Introducing a Few of the Locals

  When we saw them for the first time last year they took our breath away. This is the Green Jay...one of the Texas "specialties"..aka known as the Rio Grande Jay.  I could sit and watch these agile birds for hours as they search every part of a tree for food. How can you NOT be enthralled with this tropical looking bird?

Is it a turkey?  Is it a roadrunner? Can you say "cha cha la ca"?  That's what the call of this bird sounds like..and gives it its name: Chachalaca.  The Plain Chachalaca is the only member of the Cracidae (chicken-like) family of birds that made it out of the Tropics and into the U.S. Even though they appear secretive, once they begin calling you can often find them using their long tails and short wings to help them balance as they climb about in trees.  Their first name may be Plain...but we think they are plainly endearing and interesting,
too.

OK...if you're from the South, it's a "Redbird"..the rest of us  know it as a Cardinal.  This would probably be the first bird most of us could name by sight.....even as kids. With a huge seed cracking bill and brilliant plumage (this is a male, ya know..), they are attracted to feeders and will hang about in the shrubby edges of woodlands.  Being strongly territorial, the males have even been know to challenge their reflection in a shiny hubcap!!  I await
the first view of their distantly related desert cousin: the Pyrrhuloxia....

 Folks who come to Texas this time of year for a few months are know as "Winter Texans".  That could apply to this bird who migrates and sometimes overwinters along the Gulf Coast.  With a call like the meow of a cat and also an accomplished mimic...you would be in "the catbird's seat" if you can guess its name...

This stunning bird is named for its plumage color...the Latin aureolus means "golden".  Can you name it?  Yes...it's an Oriole.  But this once is another Texas specialty seen infrequently in the Rio Grande Valley.  The largest of all orioles found in the US, it is the Altamira Oriole.  You've probably seen an elongated pendulum nest built by an oriole, but the ones constructed by the Altamira are immense!!

All of these birds were found in the dense thicket of trees and shrubs along the walkways next to the Laguna Atascose visitor center.  Since I didn't have any takers on my bird walk this afternoon, I took myself for a walk...and these were my discoveries.....this is a great place for bird nerds like us....Perhaps we can turn you  into one too....

A Taste of this Place...

** Just a side note:  If you want to subscribe to the blog...at the bottom of this entry, there's a SUBSCRIBE link....

I know….I know…We haven’t posted a single picture of this landscape yet…this place that’s filled with birds, especially raptors; . 

First… your mini bio-geography lesson for the day…  Four ecological regions overlap here in the Rio Grande Delta, aka the southern Gulf Coast region of Texas. Tropical influences from the south, coastal influences from the Gulf of Mexico, semi-arid desert from the west and plains influences from the north coalesce to form a unique and biologically diverse environment.  Along with two bird migration pathways, this diversity of plants and animals is rich and astounding…and 95% of the native thornscrub and savannah along with the coastal wetlands estuary habitat is GONE… done in by the last 200 years of human occupation and the impacts of farming, wetlands drainage, cattle (over)grazing, urban development and the introduction of non-native plant and animal species. 

We wonder what this landscape must have looked like so long ago:rich with diversity  However….being here gives us a glimpse into the past..and hope for the future as the final stages of a decade long restoration of the Bahia Grande unit (Big Bay); a major coastal wetland system gets underway. This area was acquired by the Refuge..and we are lucky enough to conduct birding tours in this restricted area.  More pictures to come!!

Soon to bloom Spanish Dagger Yucca Laguna Atascosa

Great Blue Heron - morning Laguna Atascosa

White-tailed Hawk (threatened)

Coming Into the Country

Leaving the snow laden peaks and passes of Colorado, we descend into New Mexico. Rolling hills, arroyos and juniper forest give way to endless miles of dry, non-descript shrublands.  From Roswell, land of green alien symbols of every sort, we travel south and east across the immense state of Texas passing time counting red-tailed hawks, wind machines and the gauge of our  rapidly diminishing gas tank.  Towing the Parachute is an expensive proposition…we knew it would be.

A night spent outside of San Antonio brings us into the hill country and at long last, down to sea level along the coastal plain.  Trip Advisor leads us to a family run Tex-Mex restaurant in Kingsville where we consume massive quantities of chips, salsa, enchiladas and migas…before the final stretch, taking the pothole laden backroads into Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

The Parachute gets backed into the last available space in the Volunteer campground…full of gargantuan rv’s twice the size of our little pee-wee. Lots of seasoned volunteers here who are “full timers”, living and volunteering all over the country.  But that’s another entry..

The photo above shows one of the “must have” items.  Yes, sets of Christmas tree lights set up around the camper to discourage the nocturnal packrats from eating wires and building nests in your vehicle’s engine compartment. And it works, so we are told…