BIRD Archives - the right effort

A Crazy, Busy, Birding Day in Texas!

May 11, 2023April 19, 2023Posted in Birds, blogging, photography, Travel, UncategorizedTagged BIRDLeave a comment

Texas is a huge state! I am never sure when I will be back to Texas, so I visit as many places as I can before leaving the state. But this day I was really crazy. I thought I would only be visiting two places. My goal of an eBird checklist per day prompted me to bird at my Harvest Host location: Haak Winery at 7:50 am since the weather looked questionable. (Not a fan of birding in the rain.)

My next stop was El Jardin Del Mar in Pasadena, Texas. Stopping at small local places, off the beaten track, is fun, so I do it. I observed seven different species of about 60 birds total and maybe a good photo or two. A young man approached me and asked if I got any good photos. My response always is, I hope so. He and I got talking and before I knew it I was in my life coach role. A time later as I left he said, “Bye and thanks for the advice”. I wasn’t sure I did, but okay if he felt that way. Then I was off to my main event location, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.

The wind was blowing so hard at this refuge I had a hard time standing. I used my van as a wind block to set my camera on its tripod. With baseball cap on backwards, viewing birds through my binoculars and taking photos, this was work! My van door flew open with the wind and I literally wrenched my left shoulder trying to capture the door. A couple also on the auto loop and smart enough not to get out of their vehicle stopped by to chat. They asked me why I do not check out Smith Oaks Rookery. Obviously they saw my battle with the wind. They mentioned I could take photos of birds up close, out of the wind, and on a boardwalk. Sounded good!

I was to be at my Harvest Host for wine and alligator egg rolls … who would miss that opportunity! With AT&T not connecting I drove to the Harvest Host location to let them know I will not be there by 5pm as planned. No one was there! Well, off I went to the rookery. What a great recommendation from the couple! Easy peasy as they say … photos taken in no wind! When I was leaving the couple was excited to see me and asked what I thought. (They too drove the half hour to view the birds at the rookery again and hoping our paths would cross to ask my opinion of their recommendation.) Very nice, great recommendation and the birds were everywhere! I hoped to have some good photos.

Back to the Harvest Host. Bummed, as the host was in Greece and no wine or egg rolls … good quiet night with only 2 local dogs barking at times. After a day like today, they did not bother me!

A couple of photos from this day:

Black Oystercatcher Search; Yes, It’s a Bird!

August 11, 2022August 8, 2022Posted in Birds, photography, TravelTagged BIRD, Bird watching, Black oystercatcher1 Comment

It’s been more than a month since seeing a new bird for my life list. With my desire for cooler daytime air temperature, I headed to California’s San Diego area. Dreams of cool ocean breezes, riding my bicycle or walking the beaches to find a black oystercatcher were on my mind for this quick trip to the west coast.

Along the west coast are numerous beaches. Bird watchers reported seeing one or two black oystercatchers along the coast. The chances of me seeing the bird? Honestly slim when only one or two birds are seen!

Learn About the Bird …

Before the trip, I wanted to learn all I could about the bird. Where do they hang out? What do they eat? I sketched the bird so its body shape and colors were in my head. I cannot miss their long red bill and how they carry themself. Black oystercatchers eat mussels so I look for them too. These birds do not eat oysters, but in 1731 an English naturalist observed the bird eating oysters so named it so.

Where is the bird?

For a few days, I walked the beaches from north of Dana Point Harbor to La Jolla Cove area of San Diego. At some sites, I went a second time at a different time of day. Just by chance I was looking at a Google map where another person reported, via the eBird website, seeing 2 black oystercatchers a few days prior. It was a beach site, just a stone’s throw, south of my more southern area of observations. So I went there!

Everyone is at the beaches this summer. I’m the only one walking along with camera and binoculars so I am often asked questions: what am I photographing, what is that bird over there, what do I hope to see, and I hear their stories. One man and I were talking about the gulls acting like they own the beach. He told me of a young gull walking right into his hotel room here by the beach. We laughed as he wished me luck finding a black oystercatcher.

The Search Continued for the black oystercatcher …

As I was heading back to my van, especially since a local person reminded me I can only park for 2 hours at the spot I was in, I thought it would be crazy for any bird except seagulls to be hanging around on a beach with all these people. So I walked even further from people when I noticed a body shape and color not like a gull. I thought I was dreaming, strongly hoping, wanting to envision the bird and in actuality it really did look like a black oystercatcher!

Expecting most of my photos to be the beach, surfers and overall scenery, I did not have my longer telephoto lens on my camera. I walked slowly and with no flurry of activity as I took photos. Creeping ever so close to not disturb the bird, yet also making it possible for me to capture a photo worthy of some editing for a good final photo. I could not believe it, the bird looked one way and then another so I could take a few photos. When I looked down at my phone to drop a pin for location, the bird flew off. That was it! I had my observation, my photos and the bird was gone! Amazing luck!

I saw the black oystercatcher at Cuvier Park, also called Coastal Boulevard Park, just south of the more popular La Jolla Cove in California where brown pelicans and seals are seen by thousands of visitors. No one else on this beach saw this black oystercatcher … I could not believe it … yet I saw it! My search is over. Someday I hope to see 2 black oystercatchers feeding on a mussel because I would like to see how they do it. Until then, I’m good!

Stop By Marana’s El Rio OpenSpace

April 19, 2021April 10, 2021Posted in adventure travel, Bike paths, Birds, historyTagged BIRD, Juan Bautista de Anza TrailLeave a comment

In the 18th century Juan Bautista de Anza once camped in this area as he and his followers were on their way from southern Arizona to San Francisco. I could see how this area would be best to travel through; flattened by any run-off from the Tucson Mountain slopes and the Santa Cruz River overflow. Today, many people live in the Marana, Arizona area and enjoy the outdoor space for hiking, bicycling the Loop path, and bird-watching. Within the 104 acres, the wetland area attracts resident and migrating birds. Recently I observed 15 different species of birds of the 244 individual bird species reported to stop by sometime within a year.

Looking for another area to explore? Stop by when you are riding the bicycle Loop path or park your car and observe birds from the observation deck. A hiking trail seems to be taking shape and you’ll also notice a variety of bird houses. It looks like the area will continue to develop.

Here are a few birds I saw on my most recent visit: