Choke Canyon State Park, A Day birding with Barb and Dan

Barb and Dan had never seen a green jay. They are a beautiful jay, as most are, with a limited range, so when we suggested we take a day trip to Choke Canyon State Park, they seconded the idea. We decided to ride together, to save on gas money, and the next day we loaded into our car for the short drive, (105 miles), to the state park. Arriving at the park we asked where we could see green jays and the answer was immediate, the Bird Refuge in the Campground. Leaving the office Barb spotted a vermillion flycatcher hunting insects but when we got our cameras out, it had disappeared. A female vermillion perched atop a tree branch and posed long enough for us to get a picture.

As soon as we arrived at the Bird Refuge, a bird blind with feeders, water baths, and drips, we spotted two green jays hiding in the thick brush. We all took pictures of the stunning birds. One close up even shows the males gnarly feathered eyebrows. I told Renita I wanted to grow mine to look like that!

As we watched the green jays, we started to notice all the other birds. The area we were in and a large portion of Texas are in a severe drought. The feeders and all the water brought them all in, (later in the day we returned to find that the water had been turned off).

A pair of golden fronted woodpeckers fed on the branch of a tree and at one point one flew to a bird bath and posed displaying it's glittering gold and red colors.

Other birds arrived, including a large flock of pushy red wing blackbirds, and then we noticed a larger bird on the ground by another of the water features.

It was a long-billed thrush, which was a new life bird for us! After a couple of hours, we decided we had enough pictures at the refuge, and next drove to the seventy-five-acre pond. As we left the campground, we saw a herd of javelinas, (peccaries).

They were completely unconcerned by the nearness of people. Even though there were people were extremely close. They are quite different from the feral hogs that have taken over much of Texas.

Nearing the pond, a Coopers Hawk sat on a tree alongside the road, and we were able to get front and back views of the bird. Parking at the pond and we looked for alligators but did not see any. We later learned that the largest gator, had been harvested during a previous hunting season, (In Texas some of the parks have a special hunting season to remove excess deer and alligators by licensed hunters. While eating lunch an eastern meadowlark landed nearby, allowing us to get good but distant images.

As we walked back to the picnic table a great horned owl flew away. We had not spotted it as its natural camouflage hid it among the dried-out tree trunk.

Driving to another spot we saw two scissor-tailed flycatchers and not being bothered by us continued to hunt bugs as they flew from their perches.

Their long tail and bright yellow breast are so distinctive. They use their tail feathers to turn and twist while they capture insects in the air. Our final stop of the day was at a trail named the warbler walk. The ground was so dry that each step raised a cloud of dust and the tree branches and underbrush easily snapped between our fingers.

We did spot a blue grey flycatcher which we already have on our life-list, but it was another new bird for our friends. Heading back to Rockport we talked about how lazy we have been in that we rarely drive far for adventures. It will not be long before we head north as the bears are coming out of their dens. Clear skies