Birding with Laurel: New Year at Choke Canyon

December 30, 2019-January 2, 2020

Laurel and I moved to Choke Canyon State Park to look for birds still common to the Valley, but also eastern and western birds. I always set out food for the birds, picking it up at night to prevent feeding deer, javelinas, and feral pigs. The green jays immediately show up, followed by the other birds that eat oranges. I had black oil sunflower seeds and peanut butter/lard mix I put in cracks of tree bark.  Our days there were mostly cloudy and we were shut out of my favorite birding area, Seventy-Five Acre Lake and the area accessed from it because it was closed for hunting. So, once again we didn't have a huge birding experience.

This was the first time I ever found a brown creeper here - distant and in bad light

All the following pictures were taken from my camp chair, sitting under the shelter over our table.

One of the specialty birds is the black crested titmouse.  It is a very fast moving species but this guy was forced to wait his turn to get a seed and I got a poor picture of him.

Black crested titmouse

The first visitors to our food offerings were the green jays.  Eventually we were seeing up to eight of them at a time.

One of the reasons jays, as well as all corvids are successful is that
they are willing to try most foods

The main reason we put up oranges is to attract the Audubon's oriole. But they are attractive to many other species.

We mainly put up oranges for the Audubon's orioles but they attract many other species

A golden fronted woodpecker checking out the peanut butter mix

Golden fronted woodpeckers eat a lot of different foods as well - this one is enjoying sunflower seed

Gotta get WAY in there to find some juicy parts

Yum

A few bugs would be good about now

A yellow rumped warbler is trying to figure out what all the excitement is all about

A long-billed thrasher visited the area, mostly to check out the activity

As did a Lincoln's sparrow - the ONLY sparrow I saw in the park

A cabbage butterfly on one of the last flowers

One of the most fun block of times we had at the park was photographing and observing a family group of javelinas. It was the first time I've seen baby javelinas since I once almost intercepted a family of them with a few females, juveniles and a boar while hiking in Bentson Rio Grande State Park.

Javalina - relatives of our domestic pig

This mom had two babies - they are also losing their reddish color they had at birth

The day was gray and Laurel was cold, and didn't want to hike so we went out and checked some of the little sub roads and checked out the boat launches to the lake and river. We had several birds along one road as well as some interesting brahman cattle. We had been looking throughout the valley for road runners and saw several dart across the road and disappear before we could photograph them at Falcon Dam. (We took a route that took us by it on way to Choke Canyon.) We finally got this guy, sitting in a tree under the dreary skies.

Roadrunner

Curious cows

We also stopped to check what was behind a tall fence and found exotics.

Nilgai?

Since we were here for New Year's Day, we had to document our first bird sighting of the new year.  It turned out to be a green jay, with the Audubon's oriole a close second.  It had only taken a day to get the birds coming for our offerings.

First bird sighting of the new year

This bird was barely the second sighting for 2020

I actually found the most birds at Choke Canyon way back in 2011.  I captured many of them from my hammock in site 107.  For that story, click here.

Choke Canyon Critters

For many years, I've  spent the third weekend of February in Choke Canyon State Park.  This park, located just outside of Three Rivers, Texas, is is on the confluence of western, eastern, and Mexican ecosystems. It is the westernmost place to find the American alligator, has western birds such as pyrrhuloxia, olive-sided sparrow, and Harris hawks. It has eastern birds such as the eastern phoebe, eastern bluebirds, and robins. It has lots of duck species and even birds we think of as coastal birds like the tri-colored heron.  And it has Mexican specialties like the Audubon's oriole, green jays, Kiskadees and crested caracaras. 

I arrived at site 107 about 4:00 PM and immediately took out an orange, cut it in half, and hung each half on tree branches.  Within seconds, I had Audubon's oriole, golden-fronted woodpeckers, and green jays all feeding on the oranges. I unpacked my seeds and put them in little hollows in tree trunks and just a few in front of a little log.  I  got my hammock hung and then sent a large part of each afternoon in it watching the birds in my camp.

My bird blind.  The next eight  pictures were taken from here or a few feet away. 

 By the next morning, Site 107 was the place to be.  I invited people with binoculars to come see our array of birds. We went off to see other birds and came back to find the camp full of friendly strangers, still enjoying the antics of our birds.

Pine Warbler

Audubon's Oriole

Orange-crowned warbler

Golden-fronted woodpecker

Verdin

Green jay, Audubon's oriole and cardinals

Olive-sided sparrow, a target species here

Green Jay

A green jay provided a good bird story.  It was early afternoon and the other birds had all disappeared for their afternoon nap. A green jay flew in and checked the little dip in the leaning tree where I had put sunflower seeds.  He hopped closer to me and said RAK, RAK, RAK, RAK, RAK,.  I just looked at him so he said, an octave higher, RAK, RAK, RAK, RAK, RAK.  So I got up and put the sunflower seeds in the tree.  He immediately went and got a seed and said,  Puhrr. ( a soft little purring noise).  I felt well trained.

I also walked and drove around and saw lots more birds but only got photographs of a few of them.

Crested Caracara

Rio Grande turkeys

Couch's Kingbird

Mottled ducks

White ibis

White pelicans and coots

This is a wonderful place to bird at all seasons. And they sometimes have rarities here.  Last year they had the pine flycatcher and the northern jacana..

Northern Jacana - this was a rarity from Mexico that spent several months here. 

And in the spring through fall, it is also a wonderful place to enjoy butterflies.  We go there to paddle the Frio as well, but this year, access was closed.  Lots of fishing goes on in the reservoir and there are lots of roads for bike riding. Altogether, a wonderful place.