A Flock of Ten Whooping Cranes, November 28th, 2025

We had heard that the Whooping Cranes had arrived in Lamar. They usual are here by mid to late October but we had only had reports of three present in the field alongside St Charles Bay. Nearing Eighth Street we saw stopped cars and as we turned south we spotted a group of ten! It’s unusual to see so many in one spot, this flock was composed of eight adults and two colts, (young of the year with brown and white plumage). The colts are given that name as they prance around after leaving the nest. By the time they are here in Texas we usually see them with their heads down feeding voraciously after the long flight from northern Canada.

The adults were calling to each other, with their necks stretched out straight up into the sky. There were numerous calls, or warnings, and it was a vocal fight of ownership of the field.

Pairs and then a single bird decided to look elsewhere for their own territory, (each family will claim an area of about one and a half miles. Two took off and flew south to a feeder located in a field edged with cattails.

The single flew in circles, and another pair took off, heading towards the back bay. We often see a pair when we kayak St Charles Bay and travel by motorboat to Dunham’s Bay. The latter bay borders the Intracoastal. The intracoastal is filled with barges which the Whooping Cranes ignore. It’s an area called the Blackjack Peninsula. The Aransas Wildlife Refuge owns most of the area and frequently sets controlled burns. The whoopers follow the fires and feed on exposed snakes, (The snakes are a safely killed by the cranes and are then swallowed whole). At one point two families Males, approached each other. They then raised their necks and squared off as if to fight. However, one of the pairs backed off and leapt into the air looking for a more welcome place.

There were numerous Whooping Cranes flying around us, before disappearing over the trees. Three sandhill cranes stood by and watched the departures, (they are smaller, shorter, than the Whoopers), and will push their luck before backing off when challenged.

The adult Whoopers are a fearsome opponent, a little over five feet tall, and have been documented as killing a feral hog which approached their young. The adult had hit the pig in the head and had killed it instantly. That’s how strong their beaks are! We decided to drive to 12th street hoping for a closer view, but we couldn’t find one. Several Rosette Spoonbills perched in a tree, and an American Kestrel preened itself near Big Tree.

Having had a great morning birding, it was time to head back to our fifth wheel to upload the pictures and rest up for the nights card game of Joker and Pegs. Clear skies. Ps If you want to see Whooping Cranes up close. Go to the small town of Lamar and drive along St Charles Bay. They are a lot closer than you will usually find them at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Port Aransas, November 2025, an easy morning of birding and sightseeing

Our friends Dave and Jane invited us over for a day of fun at Port Aransas. They drove their van, they no longer travel with their diesel truck. It’s pretty fancy and different as we have never owned a van. The trip takes about twenty minutes, (if you don’t count the wait for the ferry, which was longer than usual this day). After crossing the ferry. we turned right and drove to the Leorna Turnbill Birding Center. They had read that a flamingo had returned to the park and as we walked to the first large salt marsh it was easy to see.

It had been seen at another marsh, far from the boardwalk, but we were lucky as it had flown closer. Of course, I felt foolish as I had only brought my phone, having left my camera and large lens at home in our fifth wheel trailer. The pictures aren’t great, and I even tried to take a small video of it as it fed by sweeping its large black bill back and forth along the muddy bottom. When feeding It sticks its whole head under water as it works back and forth along the bottom.

Of course, the American White Pelicans were present, along with Blue Wing Teal and Black Necked Stilts. Two Least Grebes, rare birds, fed below us, but I couldn’t get a picture of them before they disappeared into the tall rushes. We did not see any Whooping Cranes. We also did not see the large alligator as it was reported to be near the water tower. Our next stop was at the Jetty where we watched as ships came in and Dolphins fed. There were lots of people fishing on both the North and South Jetties, but we didn’t see them do any catching.The swells were large and a small boat, fishing near the end, rose up and down and almost disappeared into the trough. It would not be a good day for anyone with sea sickness, (I have been fortunate in that it has never bothered me). We did stop at the usual Mexican Restaurant for lunch. It’s so nice to have proper spicy food after the bland Mexican food served in most places in Star Valley. There were reporrs of a new bird, a Grooved Billed Ani. but we never saw it. It was a pleasant day, thanks Dave and Jane for inviting us along! Clear skies

Crossing Nebraska and Iowa

We left Wyoming and headed into Nebraska. Our destination was North Platte. The North Platte River meanders from Wyoming and into Nebraska. It’s the location of the largest concentration of Sandhill Cranes in North America. The migrating cranes all funnel through a small area. They stop to feed and it’s said that in the morning and evening flocks of ten thousand birds rise into the air as they go out to the daily feed. The number of sandhill cranes this spring was estimated at seven hundred and twenty thousand birds. I can’t’ imagine the sound of that many birds with their raucous rattling call.

They had already left when we got there but we did hear a few near the Audubon Society’s Birding Center. The volunteer told us that we could make reservations for next spring’s migration. She did say that the field trips always sell out early.

From Nebraska we drove into Iowa and met my cousin Pat and Her Husband Greg Hudson. They moved to where their children are located, in Ankeny, Iowa. We met them for lunch and of course I had to have a pork tenderloin sandwich. It was great to catch up on all the cousin gossip. We both forgot to take any pictures of the four of us definitely a senior moment…. After lunch we headed to Keosauqua, where Renita’s sister Pam and her Husband Camp Host at Lake Sugema County Park. We were going to surprise them but decided instead to call just before we got there. Arriving at their site a party was in progress, along with a huge corn hole tournament. Renita and I played against each other, and she won. We spent the night in the Grand Hotel in Keosauqua. The next morning, we stopped and said our goodbyes. They also come down to Texas and camp in the same park we do so we will see them soon. Clear skies

Part 1 Continued, A bear and a coyote at Grand Teton National Park

From the moose encounter we next headed to a place where our friends had seen a black bear. As we neared the location, we saw a large number of people taking pictures and watching something below by a pond. Parking we grabbed our cameras and looking down could see a black bear munching berries. It would bite on a branch and then pull the branch through its teeth stripping the berries into its mouth. The bear was unconcerned about all the people and moved about the branches. As it neared the top of the small tree it slipped and fell but caught itself and climbed back up.

Nearing the top its head and shoulders were visible, which is a rarity when they are eating in thick brush. Finally filling up for the moment, it climbed down to take a long drink from a small stream below us. After slaking its thirst, it moved toward the people but stopped and decided it would be better off to go back to the first tree and make sure it had gleaned all of the berries. Its typical bear behavior, eat till its stomach is full, then take a long drink from a nearby pond, before returning to fill up.

The bears are all in hyperphagia and will eat for up to twenty two hours each day. Several years back we watched a bear go for a swim before returning to eating berries). This is the time the females eat enough to be sure that the fetuses will grow inside them and emerge as cubs next year. The sows, if not fat enough, will reabsorb the fetuses and will not produce cubs, (by the way the sows will mate with multiple boars and may have multiple fathers in their litter of cubs.

After taking lots of pictures we decided to go looking for a grizzly bear, Driving to Leeks Marina without spotting any grizzlies we saw a member of the wildlife Management team parking at a place where we have seen grizzlies. Pulling in we waited but no grizzly appeared and so we drove to Pilgrim Creek. Nothing was happening and returning to where we had spent time waiting, we saw people rushing to watch a grizzly bear, bear 1063, as it was heading into the woods. Getting back in the car we drove to Pilgrim Creek where the bear might be headed.

The only excitement at Pilgrim Creek was a lone coyote that paraded in front of us. It was wearing a collar which is never a good sign for its survival. Coyotes and Fox are only collared when they start to eat human food, they have been fed! If they continue to eat people food, they will be euthanized. If you feed wildlife, remember a fed critter is a dead critter, be it bears, coyotes, fox, etc. You might as well shoot it, you are not doing any kindness. The last sight of the day was that of a rescue helicopter with two first responders hanging below it on a long rope. If you blow up the picture you can see them dangling far below the copter.

What a ride!It had been a great day watching four moose, a bear, and a coyote. Time to head home. Clear skies

A nice day spent in Grand Teton National Park

It had been a while since we went to Grand Teton National Park. Renita had been watching Facebook and had noticed pictures of Black and Grizzly Bears. One even was taken of the dominant male grizzly bear nicknamed Bruno. Since we photographed him in April, he has had a fight or two and has had chunks taken out of his face, (not my pic so I can’t use it here). Arriving at the park we got our cameras out and drove our usual search patten, but did not see any bears.

Cow Elk were visible near the South Yellowstone Entrance, and a large buffalo herd, with red dogs was at it usual place near the Moran Junction.

The park was crowded as you would expect on Tuesday after Memorial Day. Renita spotted a Blad Eagle sitting on a nest, but it was so far away we could only see it’s head.

At the Sawmill Pond, we were rewarded with a Red-Tailed Hawk, glaring at us from its tree perch.

No moose, no bears but we did see a herd of life size Asian Elephants,just to the north of the National Wildlife Museum. The elephants are part of a traveling exhibit, and all are up for sale. They were constructed from a nasty invasive species weed in India. We talked about buying one but our place in Star Valley is too small. Guess we will just decorate it wilh more rocks….. Clear skies ps the opening photo is of a plant named Arrohead Leaf Balsom Root