October 24, 2012

More Texas Photos

I've finally been getting back to processing the thousands of photos I took this year during my trips to Texas, Arizona, and Alaska.  Over the next few weeks, I hope to finish posting all my photos from my Texas trip with Bill Drummond, and then I'll move on to Arizona and Alaska.  For now, here's my next installment of photos from Texas!  As always, you can click on each photo for a bigger version.

Morning at the Indian Lodge
Carmen Mountains White-tailed Deer and Mexican Jay

Audubon's Warbler, enjoying his breakfast...

...and ready to face the day!

Black-capped Vireo

You're not supposed to play with your food!


Scott's Oriole

He hasn't quite mastered the art of concealment.

American Pipit

His plumage suggests he's from the population that nests in the Rocky Mountains.

Homesick, perhaps, for his Colorado wildflowers?

Cactus Wren

Brown and beautiful

Some shots of the natural beauty in Big Bend




Vesper Sparrow

This was one of the most exciting finds of the trip!

My first prolonged sighting of a wild Bobcat!

He crept around this clearing for a half-hour.

He eventually pounced on some poor rodent!

He didn't seem to mind our presence, and we kept our distance.

He was very relaxed, unlike most Bobcats I'd encountered before.

The apparent master of his domain

He continued to prowl...

And finally, after a thrilling show, he sauntered off into the brush.

This Greater Roadrunner kept running around in circles through the Indian Lodge parking lot!

I found another Greater Roadrunner taking in some sun.



Green Heron posing

Big Bend Slider

Pied-billed Grebe

One of the cutest birds out there

Usually alone...

but content...

Male Lesser Nighthawk

I felt so fortunate to capture this in-flight photo of a Lesser Nighthawk.  In the past, I've typically had to differentiate the Lesser and Common Nighthawks by geographic range or, in some cases, by voice.  This was the first time I successfully photographed a nighthawk in flight, allowing me to document the plumage differences.  Four marks stand out in identifying this as a Lesser Nighthawk.  1) The pale bar on the primaries is farther out toward the tip of the wing than on a Common.  2)  The pale bar clearly tapers toward the rear (toward the trailing edge of the wing).  On a Common Nighthawk, the pale bar doesn't taper, but shows a consistent width or may even appear wider at the rear.  3)  A Common Nighthawk's wings appear very pointed.  The Lesser Nighthawk in the photo above shows wingtips that are more rounded.  You can make out the individual tips of two separate primary feathers on each wing because the outermost primary is shorter than the one next to it.  4)  On Lesser Nighthawk females, the pale bar on the primaries is small and buffy.  In the photo above, the pale bar is prominent and white, not buffy.  Therefore, we know the Lesser Nighthawk in the photo is a male.

Finally, one afternoon, while I was meandering alone through the trails around the Chisos Mountains Lodge in Big Bend National Park, I heard a sound, a vocalization, a birdsong that I recognized immediately...but it took me by surprise.  I whipped out my camera, and though my hands were unsteady, I switched on the video and captured this footage of a singing Black-capped Vireo!  Check it out!