Red River Gorge

Wildcat Creek

This weekend, Ben and I decided to head south for a quick adventure of early spring migration birding, hiking, a bit of rock climbing, and our first camping of the year! The Red River Gorge in Kentucky is one of Ben's favorite climbing areas and the forest is beautiful so I always enjoy going. Before we left, I found a book of hikes in the region and picked one that was a decent distance and provided good habitat for the birds I wanted to see.

As soon as we arrived in the familiar area of the Red, we stopped for a restroom break. Immediately upon opening the car doors, we heard a Louisiana Waterthrush! Then a Hooded Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Northern Parula, and a Black-and-white Warbler! I forgot all about the restroom and walked along the edge parking lot bordering a wooded ravine. Two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds fought over a branch just feet away from me as I listened to a Brown Thrasher singing away and even including an Eastern Bluebird chortle in his repertoire! In 15 minutes, I had added 5 new species to my year list!

We finished the drive to the trailhead of our selected hike: The Swift Camp Creek--Wildcat Loop. The supposed 5.3 mile hike (which turned out to be 7 miles) led us through deciduous and pine forest, along rocky cliffs and into the ravine to a stream, over a 456 ft. elevation change. Warblers were abundant! I could hardly keep a count of the numbers of Black-throated Green Warblers, Black-and-white Warblers, and Northern Parulas we saw and heard along the way! After about a mile and a half of hiking, we found ourselves on a trail between a rocky wall and a ravine full of rhododendrons when Ben heard a Swainson's Warbler!

We waited and listened as he got closer, further away, then nearly beside us! He jumped out on a branch right in front of me and I got an exceptional look at him for maybe 3 full seconds before he was gone again, deep within the brush. We waited around to see if we could get another look but he seemed to be hiding for good.

Along the way, the wildflowers were fantastic! Red Trillium, Rue Anemone, Wild Blue Phlox, Halberd-leaf Yellow Violet, Wild Geranium, Dwarf Iris, and more!  If I would have stopped to get photos of all of the beautiful and unique flowers we saw, it may have taken us twice as long to finish our hike! But some, I just couldn't resist! Here are a few of my favorites:

Red Trillium 

Foam Flower

 As we hiked on, several species of birds seemed curious and watched us from the edge of the trail. We had stellar looks at a Hooded Warbler, several Black-and-white Warblers and a Blue-headed Vireo! Around the 5th mile, we heard another Swainson's Warbler and this time we both got to see it!

We finished our hike before sunset and headed to Miguel's for dinner and to camp for the night. We ordered our favorite pizza with black beans, mango salsa, green peppers and spinach before selecting a spot to set up our tent. Along the way we heard Pickerel Frogs, a Bullfrog and quite a few Spring Peepers calling. Exhausted from the hike, I fell asleep quickly.  At 6 AM, I awoke to a familiar and exciting sound. an Eastern Whip-poor-will calling from the dark skies above our tent! I tried to fall asleep again as the Chipping Sparrows, Northern Parulas, American Robins, White-throated Sparrows, Red-headed Woodpeckers, and Brown Thrashers all began to wake up around us.


Our plans for our second day in the gorge were a bit different than the first. While we were still hoping to see more migrant birds, our goal for the day was to get in some rock climbing! Ben is a skilled climber and really enjoys getting outdoors to climb. I, on the other hand, have a slight fear of heights, and get anxious while climbing. I still enjoy the hikes to the crags, the wildlife we see along the way, the peacefulness of the forest, and the view from the top! My favorite thing is to get to the top of a route and look down over the valley and hope to see a Turkey Vulture or a Black Vulture!

The weather for our weekend getaway was perfect and I felt rejuvenated and ready to start back into the work week. For me, hiking 7 miles and birding is much more relaxing than lounging around at home.

In all, we saw 13 new year birds on our trip! Broad-winged Hawk, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Worm-eating Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Parula, Hooded Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, Ovenbird, Swainson's Warbler, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Yellow-throated Vireo, Scarlet Tanager, and White-eyed Vireo!

A few more pictures from the weekend:

My favorite wildflower: Wild Columbine

Pleasing Fungus Beetle

Red Eft

After climbing!

My lovely husband watching a Blue-headed Vireo on the Wildcat Trail

Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge

November 3, 2016

Santa Ana is a beautiful wildlife refuge along the Rio Grande River in South Texas. While we were in the area, a Northern Jacana had been reported at Santa Ana so we agreed the bird would be a nice addition to our ABA lists and we headed out to look for it! We had a bit of driving ahead of us so we didn't arrive until 11:30am and it was already HOT! We hiked along a forested trail until we reached the first pond where the Jacana had been seen. We had already started adding up some life birds! (Black-crested Titmouse and Long-billed Thrasher)

The first pond was deeper than it had been recently so the Jacana was nowhere in sight. Other birders who had been searching the park since it opened that morning reported that the bird hadn't been seen all day. Either way, we had fun birding the area. Great Kiskadees called from every direction! The pond was full of waterfowl and shorebirds including Least Grebes, which were at the top of my list of birds I hoped to see in Texas! Other birds here were Black-necked Stilts, Stilt Sandpipers, and a White-faced Ibis. As we scanned the water, I noticed a dark snake swimming in the water. My first instinct was that it was a Texas Indigo Snake, but I didn't know if they were swimmers, so I asked Ben what it was. He confirmed it and was very excited because it was on his most wanted list! A few minutes later, another lifer snake swam by... a slender Western Ribbon Snake!

We continued to hike and stopped by a duck blind to get a different angle on the pond, in hopes of spotting the hiding Jacana. As we entered the blind, Ben spotted a Black Witch sleeping on the support beams. Black Witches are moths with a ~7" wingspan and bat-like flight. Their common name comes from a variety of folklore and superstitions from Southern Texas, to Mexico, Jamaica, and other areas of the Caribbean. Some say you've had an evil spell cast on you if you see one, others say if someone is sick and one flies into their home, they will die. I felt we were quite lucky to get to see one... but maybe there was a spell cast upon us because we missed the Northern Jacana and an assortment of other target birds for our trip! As we were leaving the blind, we ran into a friend. While we chatted and wandered along the path, he mentioned that he had never been the one to first spot a Common Pauraque so he wanted to try. Just moments later, he actually spotted one!

This was the first time I'd seen a Common Pauraque so close, and during the day! In Guatemala, I saw quite a few along the roads as we drove around at night, but it was amazing to see the feather detail in the daylight! After more hiking in the forested area, we trekked into more open and sunny territories. We both had water with us and wore hats and sunscreen so we didn't worry too much about the long hike. As we got into some brushy habitat, Ben noticed an Olive Sparrow! Another of the sneaky birds we had hoped to see. A lifer for both of us!! We continued on until we reached the next set of ponds, hoping to respot the Jacana. No luck, but we did see Roseate Spoonbills, and a variety of shorebirds!

Wingless, Featherless, Clawless Birds

I promise a birding update soon, but we have been busy all week, birding as much as possible and squeezing in barely enough sleep in between! We head out tomorrow for our long trek back home to Ohio. 

After birding most of the day today, we stopped by the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival headquarters and ran into some friends at the Leica booth. We mentioned wanting to find a Green Kingfisher before leaving and they offered several good locations. Then, to seal the deal, they said that one particular park, Sabal Palms Sanctuary was also a decent spot to find Speckled Racers... an incredibly beautiful snake that has a pretty small range in the US. That was all they had to say! We were off to find some snakes... oh yeah, and maybe some birds too. 

We headed to the recommended trails and within minutes I looked to my right and saw possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was like a scene from a movie where the lights are shining around a floating object, singling it out from everything else. There it was. A Speckled Racer, glowing blue, right there in the leaves! I tried to alert Ben, who was slightly ahead of me and I couldn't even speak for a few seconds... then I just kept repeating "Here it is! Here it is!" We watched through our binoculars in awe and tried to snap a few cellphone shots as it hunted a lizard. I was shaking and didn't get a decent picture, but here's one Ben took through his binoculars:

I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I had previously seen photos of Speckled Racers from Honduras but I had no idea anything like it existed in the United States until recently. As soon as I found out they were a possibility down here in Texas I wanted to see one. I never thought it would happen though. I was shaking and nearly crying and as soon as it was out of sight, I was jumping and cheering! I couldn't stop smiling, when moments later Ben spots a second Speckled Racer!! This one was a little closer, but as their name indicates, they are FAST and we couldn't catch it. I can't imagine actually holding one of these mystical snakes in my hands. 

Nearly forgetting we were there to see a bird, we continued down the path, watching only the ground. 

We made it to a bird blind and as we watched Least Grebes, Great Kiskadees and Mottled Ducks, in flew the Green Kingfisher! A new ABA bird for both of us! A Western Ribbonsnake swam by as we watched, and then we continued our journey. A bit down the path, Ben spotted another snake! This time it was the third and largest Texas Indigo Snake we've seen this week!! They are impressive shiny black snakes! Here we are after seeing the four snakes: 

We didn't have a lot of time left before the park closed, so we hiked around some more and decided we should check that initial trail we hiked one last time, just to see if we could catch another glimpse or possibly catch a Speckled Racer. We talked and joked about all the other snakes we'd like to see down here like rattlesnakes or bull snakes and decided it would be the coolest if we could see a Coral Snake before we left. Once we arrived at the fork in the trail that started the "good part" we decided that I would look left and Ben would look right so we could quickly and efficiently cover the ground. When we got to nearly the same spot as the first racer, I looked over and there it was. Not the racer... a Coral Snake!! I couldn't believe it! I already knew, but I squealed, "Ben! What is this!?!!!" 

These two snakes are possibly more exciting than any bird I saw here in Texas, and I saw some pretty amazing birds!! The next time you find yourself down in the Rio Grande Valley, and you need something to do, I highly recommend Sabal Palm for the birds, habitat and gorgeous snakes! 

 

 

 

 

AMAZON KINGFISHER!!!

Our first full day in Texas today has been incredible!! It started out with a Texas-shaped waffle and ended with a Great-horned Owl perched in front of a beautiful sunset. Here's the story:

After breakfast in San Marcos, we drove straight to the location of the super rare Amazon Kingfisher in Laredo. Along the way we saw DOZENS of Crested Caracaras and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers! Both are very cool birds that I was excited to see. Although they weren't life birds, both were new ABA birds and more numerous than I had previously seen. 

We arrived at Zacate Creek in Laredo around 11:20am. All earlier reports of the bird were negative until we were just 10 minutes away and I received a text message from a friend who was currently seeing the bird. We grabbed our binoculars and jumped out of the car. As we headed toward where we saw the crowd, we were above and could already see the bird sitting on the rocks! 

We got into place and set up the scope. What an amazing bird!!! I can't get over the bill! 

We watched her until she flew. Also foraging in the creek, we saw Black Phoebes (another Lifer!) and Belted and Ringed-Kingkishers! Then we explored the rest of the park located just across the river from Mexico! 

The paths were dusty and rocky and surrounded by grasses, cacti and succulents. Along the way, we found Verdin, Green Jays, a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, lots of squawking Great Kiskadees and Great-tailed Grakles! None of which reside in Ohio! The Verdin and Ladder-backed Woodpecker were also Life Birds! 

Once we left the park in Laredo, we went to Falcon Lake State Park for more birding. We visited an amazing butterfly garden with the most butterflies I have ever seen that weren't contained! There were Queen Butterflies, White Peacock Butterflies, Southern Dog Face Butterflies, Gulf Frittilaries, Tropical Leafwings (maybe my favorite!), Bordered Patch, American Snout, and many others! Within the garden, we found Inca Doves and a Pyrrhuloxia! 

As we left the garden, we saw a Couch's Kingbird and then a Greater Roadrunner foraging along the edge of some scrubby habitat! 

As we continued to hike around the park, a raptor flew overhead. As we got a look at it, we realized it was a Harris's Hawk. I almost cried! Not only was this a Life Bird for me, but I used to work with one at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary, and I have dreamed of seeing one in the wild for a VERY long time! It was such an experience to have this one soaring right over us!! 

As the sun started to set, Ben saw an owl move. We found where it landed and then an American Kestrel was screaming and trying to chase it away! Here's a terrible picture taken through my binoculars with the owl in the center and the kestrel on a higher perch to the left: 

A list of Life Birds from the day...

Amazon Kingfisher

Black Phoebe

Verdin

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Pyrrhuloxia 

Couch's Kingbird

Greater Roadrunner

Harris's Hawk

Vermillion Flycatcher

 

Pine City Natural Area

Yesterday we stopped in Pine City, Arkansas to bird in a beautiful loblolly forest. We hiked through the pines and found my first life bird of the trip!! Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, a small breeding population a ways from any other populations. We could see several of their nest sites too. Also in the area were a Wilson's Snipe, Red-shouldered Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, and lots of migrating Turkey Vultures!

In several marshy areas we passed, there were beautiful yellow flowers everywhere! I don't think it is Marsh Marigold, but if you know what it is, I'd be interested to know! 

On our way out of the area, Ben spotted this turtle in the road and stopped to save it! He said this is a male, and you can tell because of its long claws that it uses during courtship. 

We're in Arkansas!

It has been a long day on the road! Ben and I drove for 13 hours (including stops) and made it to Forrest City, Arkansas! The weather has been beautiful today and the fall colors are gorgeous although we were driving out of the peak colors.

We stopped in Tennessee to stretch and get some fresh air and of course, get some new state birds! We walked around the Old Hickory Dam, where there were many Pied-billed Grebes, Carolina Wrens, Northern Mockingbirds, Eastern Bluebirds and even an Eastern Phoebe singing! We tallied 25 species of birds and Ben caught a Pickerel Frog and a Chorus Frog! 

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