Mother Nature Put The Breaks On Spring.

Spring is popping out all over. Trees are blooming, daffodils are blooming, flowers are blooming and tree buds are popping, some with full green leaves open already. Yesterday was in the 80s; today was in the mid 70s. A cold front finally decided which way it was going to have forward motion after it stalled then moved south a few miles then stalled. When I came in around mid afternoon, it was warm. By dinner time it was cold with nearly a thirty degree spread in temps.That kind of spring should be expected with the off-the-wall weather we have been having this year.


It's going to slow down spring for sure but it's not enough to stop it all together. There are more spring issues to deal with. For one, towns and cities around the metroplex are in their annual  rush to shoo-off the great white egrets before the big birds nest. If communities can't get rid of the birds before they do nest, then the birds are off limits completely while they nest and cover yards, sidewalks, rooftops and streets with their smelly droppings. You see, the big birds are Federally protected once they do settle into their nest. So neighborhoods are blowing horns, whistles, watering them down when they are in the trees ( I think that one is somewhat comical because the birds are "waterfowl" folks, they fish in water, waterfalls, stand on one leg and sleep in rain storms. A water hose isn't going to get the job done.). The pelicans will soon be getting ready to leave for their nesting sites from Salt Lake all across the northern states that border with Canada. It will be interesting to see when they leave this year because the snow pack on both sides of the Rockies is massive this year.

Today, I added another new item seen at White Rock. There is always something new at the lake. That just amplifies the mystic of the lake. This Hookah was being worked on by a man who have just  had the pipe come to him from a friend that was visiting family in Iran. The glass base is absolutely awesome in craftmanship as is the woodworking on the pieces that rise above the top of the glass base. I love both glass work and hand carvings of wood, so when I saw this, I had to have an image. The man was kind to afford me the opportunity to shoot the piece.

The Pelicans Dominate the Waterfowl at the lake for a variety of reasons, the least of which is that they have the second largest wing spand at 8 feet.

The ground cover in the wetlands were totally under water two weeks ago.

The Big Thicket Raptor Is Back Surveying The Tree Damage

Today, finally, I spotted the ole boy high atop his favorite tree in the Big Thicket. After a bit, he took flight over the hillside ticket east of the tennis courts and points south. I could see him diving low and then come up and ride the updrafts then back down in a swooping dive. He most likely was hunting. I could hear the crows squawking  then saw five of them doing their, "this is my ground buddy!" squawks. As I drove from Buckner up the hill at Peavy and made the loop down into the park, over W. Lawther to the cottage at the Big Thicket. I parked and walked over to the edge of the grove where the Red Shoulders and the Owls have shared for a couple of years without fail. I was about to give up and walked up closer to Buckner, finding the tree that I had seen from Buckner earlier. Sure enough, there sat the ole boy eating lunch. What a welcomed sight that was.

There was a fairly large group of people sitting on blankets. Nothing wrong with that, but they had dogs--maybe three---and the ole boy was quiet uncomfortable with the barking and the kids chasing the dogs so close to the big nesting tree. That has been one of the things that is a concern, especially at this time of year when nesting and mating are close to happening. The last thing I want to see is for the ole boy to relocate at such a critical time. Or worse yet, the increased pedestrian traffic would cause the pair to abandon the nest with eggs. That would be disastrous.

Still, there is hope that nesting will take place as in the past without any trouble. The guys from Parks
and Recreation are aware that it's nesting time there, especially with the big tree being down for a couple of months. The guys have so much work to do  this time of year and with the past two floods already this year, there is tons of wood on the floor. They are going to give it their best shot to get the tree removed before much longer and I, for one, greatly appreciate all their work. The guys are two great crews--one for West Lawther and one for East Lawther. The do such a great job helping to keep the park in order.

In fact, there was a guy today that was shooting the pelicans and finches, from Delaware who commented about the trash in the Dixon. He was surprised to hear that there are volunteer groups that work picking up trash and were even out today in large numbers with the bill board date of January 12th not until this coming weekend, it shows that people do care and were working in support groups even today. They are much appreciated, too!

Cited from Buckner Road

Mr. Squirrel with a very high post to observe and take in sunshine.

Just finished his lunch, He's back at has normal spot when the mate is on the nest--although that hasn't happened yet at the old nest. But, he's back in the neighborhood. That's a good thing.

It's Nesting Time Again.

There is a pair of Red Shoulder Hawks that I have followed for the past five years. Even on the days where I don't go specifically to the lake, I will drive by the area from the upper road to see if I can see them surfing the thermals. Today, was one of those times when all the bells and whistles went off as I drove by a road sign and saw the female sitting on the top of the sign.

 Quickly, I made the block and came back around  from another angle. To my surprise, there she sat in the same place on the sign top. Putting the window down on the passenger side before I came to a full stop, her attention was on me but her focus was on the ground below the sign. I had a clear shot of that area. Even without checking settings, I fired off three quick shots for reference. Then, in a flash, she takes off from the sign and glides over the grass area between the shoulder and the incline were I was parked. Into the grass she landed. For a quick bit, I had begun to wonder if she had been injured. She stood up  with a field mouse in her beak. I had gotten the shots of her in a final moment of a hunt that was successful. The next thirty-eight minutes was just amazing as she flew off over the road into a thicket of trees. I decided that I could not miss this action and gave in driving around to the entry of the park about a mile or two away.

Parking the car, I got out and slowly walked into the thicket watching for shadows on the ground and any movement in the trees. Nothing. It was at that point that I wanted to get a fix on the location of the sign where I had seen her first and  where she had flown this way. Walking quietly and slowly through the thicket, I came up on the road from the opposite side from where I had been in the car. Walking down the roadway on the shoulder with traffic whizzing by has plenty of room to walk and not be in an unsafe spot. My intentions were to walk around the thicket and come back to my car  that I had parked in one of the lots. For some reason, I stopped to photograph the sign from across the road when there was movement in the corner of my eye.

Looking up, there was the most amazing hawk in just the right spot doing just the right thing. Perched on a branch in clear site, she sat there while I got off plenty of  images. The sun was back lighting her right side (anatomically correct) so I risk moving and upsetting her, but she continued to sit there watching me. I do talk to wildlife. She got the, pretty bird routine. I moved back and forth several times covering and recovering 20 or so yards. She continued to just sit there on her perch. Then, I hear the screech of her mate from overhead. I looked up to see him appearing to be ridding the thermals, but in reality, he was busy defending his territory as I found out later when the aerial battle began.

There was a Red-Tail Hawk along with the Red Shoulder. Both were attacking a pair of big crows with sticks in their mouths in mid air. It appeared that the crows were starting to build a nest in the hawks territories and they both joined in the fight to defend the range. I have a blur shot of one crow in flight with the stick as nesting material and at least one of the hawks. I'm still learning how to switch back and forth from pre-set settings and those images are more blur. I am always amazed that I can shoot jets coming in from 130 to 170 MPH and not blur an image but something about real birds gets me excited and I blur the images. I'm still working on the problem. But, to me, at this point, the experience is captured in clean shots and the blur shots all the same. That tells a story, too!

It was a good day and I came home.

The Field Mouse Is No More

The Female Red Shoulder Hawk that just  finished  the mouse.

The Male Red Shoulder had to defend his own territory from the crow after the Red Tail drove the crow into the Red Shoulders Territory. Boundaries are Boundaries!

Love Birds--Hawk Style

 Headed out about 11 after packing a lunch.  Meds were ready at the pharmacy. Needed to cap off the tank at the gas station and do a little fill-in grocery shopping. Heading for White Rock. Drove to Dreyfuss Club, parked and took my lunch to the picnic tables overlooking the lake.

Just as the last celery stick, red grapes and peanut butter was eaten, something caught my eye in the trees between the tables and The Bath House Cultural Center. Packing up my lunch utility materials and putting them in the trunk of the car, I got the camera out and headed toward the tree, thinking it was probably nothing more than a squirrel. About that time, a guy walking his dog called out to me and said,"that's a pretty big bird." I said to him that I was just checking it out because I didn't know if it was a bird or squirrel. He confirmed again that it was a bird. Just then, I spotted a second hawk in the big sycamore in the middle of a small thicket and said to the guy as the bird was flying toward the second bird. Then, he saw both birds,too.

Continuing to walk toward the thicket, I was shooting as I walked. I would stop and shoot, watch, walk a few steps. Stop.Shoot. It was an amazing site to see both of them setting side-by-side out on a branch at the top of the tree with one of the best views for hawk eye anywhere at White Rock. Plenty of over site of the territory. A meadow of prairie grasses for rodents. Water, fishing, insects.  Plenty of small birds. It is a perfect territory to nest and it looks like the two have been discussing where this years nest will be if they are nesting for the first time.  They might have a nest from last year. That is only a guess, however. I've seen a lot of single red shoulder hawks lately and the big red tail, but this is a first to see the two together as a pair. That was the shot of the day. With that, it was time to head out to the pharmacy and grocery.   As a sidebar of information, I paid $01.629 for gas at Kroger's. It really was a good day.

346-1F119796

346-1F119801

Click on any image to enlarge all three.

346-1F119804