Christmas Mountains Oasis

Luna's Jacal

2012-01-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist taking a couple of hours this morning to make one last try for the Nutting's Flycatcher. But I think it either found a better place to winter, or got eaten by a predator. I wonder how savvy it is around unfamiliar predators away from its normal range.

On the way back I stopped at "Luna's Jacal." It's impressive that Gilberto Luna, who built the jacal around 1890, lived to be 108 years old. Contemplating that, I noticed he had a view of Santa Elena Canyon from his house. I think I could live that long with the great view, plus eating nothing but home grown food like he and his family surely did. (He died in 1947.)

I'm not sure how authentic the walls and roof are these days but I'm sure the floor was wet and tamped like hard adobe, then swept occasionally. The Mexicans that built my house never slept indoors, so I'm thinking this structure was more for cool food storage than for actual living space. For one thing, it's earth-sheltered for coolness, has thick rock walls,and no windows. He had a large produce farm and keeping food cool had to be vitally important to marketing it successfully.

Having said that, in an old photo taken in the 1930's (http://www.nps.gov/bibe/parknews/upload/V27N2.pdf) there's a bed outside under a ramada attached to the front of the house. And protruding from the roof just inside the entrance of the jacal was a stovepipe. That undoubtedly was for cooking, but would surely have added warmth. Perhaps the cooler back part, by the wall consisting of a huge boulder, was the storage area.

Besides, can you imagine how hot it would be to sleep in there if it was full of warm bodies and no breeze during sweltering summer nights? By some accounts he had 11 wives and fathered over 50 children, but that could be an exaggeration. Some of his "offspring" may have been grandchildren, or poor relatives from Mexico who weren't faring as well.

And you gotta love the view!

Surely, at least once in his long lifetime he must have seen a Nutting's Flycatcher. And he surely would have noticed it was different than the Ash-throated species he was accustomed to seeing.

Having a good time

2012-01-25T20:32:00.000-08:00

I came down from Alpine around 6 PM this evening and plan to remain here until midday Sunday while my husband is on a fishing trip. Here's the scenery as I got to the big hill south of Alpine.

It was dark by the time I got to the oasis.

One of my brothers gave me a bunch of really old family photos, which I'm planning to scan and circulate among the family this weekend.

Here's one I really like. It's of my German grandfather holding my mother, taken in Waterloo, Iowa.

Now back to work....or play.

Family time

2012-01-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

My brother from Washington State is visiting this weekend. The last time he visited was in 1993, as close as we can reckon. He loves the country and especially the moonscapes in the vicinity of Agua Fria Mountain. We all piled in two vehicles and rode around the roads there, had a picnic, and rode some more. I didn't see any birds, but did see this plant. I thought it was the Terlingua Creek Cat's-eye (Cryptantha crassipes), but am not positive.

A good day today

2012-01-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law visited the oasis today and right away discovered a Brown Thrasher. I hadn't seen that species here since the spring of 2006, so that was exciting. It was above 70° too, which I loved.

While I was waiting for the thrasher to come into the open for a clear shot, I photographed a Texas Antelope Squirrel again. But they're so cute I can't resist.

Lesser Goldfinches are here year-round so I seldom bother to photograph them.

Good to go, AGAIN!

2012-01-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

It's loaded full of water and headed for the oasis early in the morning.

I don't see anything else that could possibly break on it, but I need to get in the habit of inspecting it to keep that from happening. It's all bolted together for one thing, and I need to monitor those bolts.

Trailer in the shop

2012-01-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

My son helped for a little while, then had other obligations he had to take care of. The trailer is still not done.

But it's getting there.

More woes!

2012-01-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

Problems upon problems. Granddaughter, financial woes. Daughter health woes, and no insurance. And now the water trailer broke again. Had to bring it to town to get fixed. Can't haul water in it the way it is.

I had put that tape on there to keep the tank from rubbing the bar. First the bar bent, then the bolts holding it broke, and as all that happened the wood splintered to pieces. This happened over a period of a month or two. For one thing, I'm going to need heavier-duty straps to hold the tank. Then more and stronger steel.

Gonna put the men (husband and son) to work on it tomorrow. Right now I feel pretty overwhelmed. Too many long hard days. And after each one of those days I was a day older.

CMO rainfall statistics

2012-01-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

For those who are interested in this sort of thing, here are the rainfall totals at CMO from 1998 to present.

1998= 7.20"
1999=12.80"
2000=10.80"
2001= 5.20"
2002= 8.60"
2003= 9.85"
2004=23.25"
2005=11.50"
2006= 8.75"
2007=21.25"
2008= 9.40"
2009=12.25"
2010=13.40"
2011= 2.25"

Hauled 2 loads of water today and going to haul one or two more tomorrow.

To Santa Elena Canyon today

2012-01-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

My plan was to go there and help birders locate the Nutting's Flycatcher and try for a shot of the flycatcher's open mouth. Sounded like a fun challenge. Life is what happens while you're making plans. Whew! I tried every strategy I could think of to find that nutty bird. I'm positive I didn't miss it; it just didn't show up. Hopefully, tomorrow the birders from today, that are all going back, will find it. I can't go back tomorrow, but plan to on Thursday.

I took the Old Maverick Road to Santa Elena Canyon, as it's much shorter. However, dirt roads are slower...

...but it seems like the canyon is getting closer.

It is getting closer, isn't it?

Now why was it I agreed to drive the low-clearance town car?

I gotta be almost there, don't I? (It does look closer through my telephoto lens.)

Ah, my destination, at last.

Now the waiting game. I walked, I waited, I bushwhacked, I waited....

Buses loaded with teenagers came and went. Finally, I gave up the quest after the sun set behind the canyon wall. It disappeared around 3:30, I left around 5:00.

Wonderful scenery, wonderful companionship, how can I complain?

Nose to the grindstone

2012-01-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

I so wanted to go enjoy the Nutting's Flycatcher today knowing that many of my friends would be there. But I needed to go haul water to the oasis. On the way down there from Alpine I heard on the radio that there was a 40% chance of rain Monday. It was hard to turn off on the Terlingua Ranch Road and not keep heading south towards Santa Elena Canyon and the rare flycatcher. I tried to convince myself it would rain so I didn't need to water. But of course "myself" knew better. I finally decided the best way to make it rain would be to water everything thoroughly. A modern-day rain dance, I guess.

I felt bittersweet about missing the action when I learned the bird didn't show up until 2 PM, when most people had already given up. But if I had to miss the fun, I resolved to get a lot accomplished as a consolation. After hauling 3 loads of water and watering everything, I spread a little mulch, then tried to prune a huge limb from a cottonwood tree about 15' above the ground. I was up in that tree slaving until it got too dark to see, then I headed back to Alpine. The limb is interfering with a mulberry tree that came up by itself underneath. I'd rather have the mulberry than that limb. I'm trying to cut one fork of the limb so the whole thing won't crash down on the mulberry tree at once. Next time I go down there I'll finish the job. It has to be done this month because that tree leafs out in February usually. (It didn't last February because of the record cold.)

Mexican Blue Oaks

2012-01-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

Until someone mentioned today in a previous post comment about my relict oaks, I had forgotten that I had promised to post photos of ours. I searched all my files and could only locate this photo (filed under Lucifer Hummingbird nests, would you believe?). If I can't find better ones, I'll take some in the spring. The second photo is a close-up from the first photo. There are probably a dozen of the oaks there of various sizes, the tallest being maybe 15-20,' but I'm not a good judge of height. Lucifers nest in that area.

Here they are from a greater distance.

Probable Nutting's Flycatcher

2012-01-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

Today was an exciting day. Dale Ohl (my sister-in-law) and I rode down to Santa Elena Canyon with Kelly Bryan. We got there early. Other birders had been looking unsuccessfully since daylight. Apparently, the bird doesn't forage until the sun comes out and insects become active. After about an hour of about ten people spreading out searching, I located the bird as it began foraging across from the rest rooms, one of its favorite haunts. A birder from Virginia had gone hundreds of miles out of his way just to see this bird. He just happened to be the person closest to me when I spotted the bird, so I called to him in a loud whisper that I had the bird, "get Kelly." Bless his heart, he took off in the opposite direction of his coveted sighting, without so much as a glimpse at the bird, to get Kelly. When Kelly arrived, everyone then gathered around quietly while Kelly recorded the sound. As luck would have it, after the first call Kelly's recorder broke. Not knowing that, I was stopping cars and asking people to turn off their engines so he could get quality recording. However, the flycatcher didn't vocalize again all the while we were there. That didn't prevent everyone from getting ample looks and photos.

All that saw the bird agree it must certainly be a Nutting's. But until the record committee rules, we can't count it. It didn't forage the same as the only other option, an Ash-throated Flycatcher (ATFL). I felt the tail looked too rufous for an ATFL, and the belly was too yellow. Not to mention that ATFLs usually vocalize (a different call note) freely. Too much brown on the top of the head and rufous on the rump for an ATFL. The jizz just wasn't the same.

I didn't really work at taking good photos. Kelly takes better shots than I do and he was there taking lots of them. I socialized with old friends (and made new ones) more than I would have if documentation would have depended on me.

I took a few photos just because I could.

New blog feature

2012-01-03T16:00:00.000-08:00

I've just started blog pages featuring old photos of the making of my oasis. They can be accessed by clicking on the "pages" links on my homepage (upper right corner). I'll be adding and lengthening as time and energy permits. Hope you enjoy them. Feedback is welcome. Hope to get to the park tomorrow to check out the possible Nutting's Flycatcher sightings.

A little family time

2012-01-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

The family finally caught up with me after Christmas. While we were breaking my daughter's boyfriend in to oasis work, he did a little breaking her in to his world too.

Looks safer than dangling from cliffs. (See previous post) This photo was taken by her boyfriend's father. At least she didn't hit my water tank beside her. Of course, it's empty, but it will rain..... someday.

There's a possible Nutting's Flycatcher in Big Bend National Park. I'm hoping to get down to see it in case it turns out to be one. Yesterday was cold and windy so I didn't photograph anything.

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Holiday help

2011-12-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

I try not to waste anything around here, not even energy. Visitors are subject to being put to work. Here's my daughter's boyfriend, getting broke in. He sure made a dent in that mulch pile.

They still had energy left over to hike. Seems like a waste of energy to me. Here's my daughter in the canyon below the oasis.

More on relict trees

2011-12-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

A reader of my previous post asked me some questions about relict trees on my property. So I thought I'd go into a little detail here. A relict tree, or group of trees, is a species that was once plentiful in a given place and is now extinct except for one specimen, or a small population of them. In that category, the dead juniper was probably the last holdout of its species due to the continuing desertification of this region. There are two other species that are still alive here, but of relict status. One is a small cluster of Mexican Blue Oak that are gone from the Big Bend area except for a couple of small stands. My patch is high on the slope above my oasis. I'll post some photos of them when I get them from my Alpine computer. I hope this drought hasn't killed them.

Interestingly, Lucifer Hummingbirds favored nesting places are cholla, high on slopes, near oaks. That's the only place where we've seen their nests on my property. I wish it wasn't such a rough climb, or I'd go up there more often. (refer to post of June 30, 2010 for nest photos)

The other relict species here is one small cluster of Faxon Yucca. Again, I hope the drought doesn't impact them. Here's a photo from today.

Mysterious tree

2011-12-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

I decided to scan some more old photos today and came across this one taken 15 years ago. It's some kind of tree, probably juniper, that is probably way older than 100 years.

That's me sitting under the tree. Here is the same tree today. It hasn't changed much in 35 years, and probably much longer. The mystery is, how old is it, what kind of tree is it, and who hacked on it for firewood?Prehistoric foragers?

The mystery deepens. I first saw the tree around 1977-78. Then, even though I knew it was on my property, I could never relocate it again. Quite by accident, I rediscovered it 25 years later, more or less. And it's actually within sight of my house!

In the above photo the camera is looking NW. My [earth-sheltered] house is near the center, with basically just the roof showing. The oasis is hard to see, but it's near the center at the left edge of this photo. That road coming down to my oasis is the road I photographed Hugh coming down yesterday (see previous post).

Afterthought: Studying the photos a bit I see on the first one some unweathered wood, so I'm thinking some of the Mexicans that helped build my house probably scavenged some on the tree. But most of the hacking activity was very weathered 35 years ago, so someone with crude tools worked on it before then. And in case you're wondering, I employed some undocumented immigrants; I didn't check IDs, but in those days it wasn't illegal to hire undocumented immigrants. I even helped a couple of them get their legal status here. Times change.

Mulch delivery

2011-12-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

Hugh brought the load of mulch right on schedule. The plant in Alpine opens at 8 AM, so I expected him around 10 AM, and at 10:03 I saw him coming over the hill.

I'm experimenting with video clips so if it works, here's a short one:

And by 10:30 he was gone. This ought to keep me busy for awhile.

Pre-digital photos

2011-12-26T18:08:00.000-08:00

I'm at the oasis. Got here before daylight, at 10°, took down the frozen hummingbird feeders, and put up warm ones.Was pleased to see about 6 hummers (Rufous and Anna's) today. It was so cold all day that I mostly stayed indoors and scanned some of my favorite old film bird photos.

After Christmas of 2003 we left our Christmas lights up and the following spring a Black-chinned hummer decided to nest on them. That was really cool!

In 2006, off and on, all through the month of May, the oasis had its only ever Broad-billed Hummingbird.

Here's a just-fledged, or soon to fledge, Elf Owl that apparently got pursued by my ex-neighbors' cats and got into their house. They called me and I caught it and released it at my oasis. This photo was taken in their house in 2001 inside a home-made wreath the bird managed to retreat up into.

Christmas lights, a green and red hummingbird, and wreath are the last of Christmas cheer you'll get from me this year.

Christmas Ducks in Alpine

2011-12-25T08:57:00.000-08:00

A Christmas-like day outside and warming some. This is the second pond, the one I put the duck nest in. Today I discovered a couple of Gadwalls in this pond, besides the normal shoveler and mallards.

Here are my first Gadwall photos. I believe they're a breeding-plumaged male and female. This is the male. I couldn't get a clear shot. He stayed along the edge by the grasses.

And the female.

Wherever the ducks are, so are our domestic ducks. They love having other ducks around. Here they are with a Gadwall.

I'm thinking about going down to the oasis for a day.

My special Christmas present

2011-12-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

During the 6 days (see posts Dec 1-6) the Violet-crowned Hummingbird was seen at the oasis very few people were able to come see it. One who was able to visit that week was Dennis Shepler. Afterwards, he made me a wonderful painting of it that is being mailed to me. Meanwhile, he gave me permission to post this photo of it here.

What a wonderful souvenir/xmas present of the rarest species documented at CMO to date (19th state record)! Thank you so much, Dennis!

Early this morning I hung out a warm hummingbird feeder, then tried to sneak into the duck blind for some photos, keeping low to the ground.

I put my camera in a small cooler to keep it from freezing. Somehow, while entering the blind hunched over to keep the ducks from seeing me I bumped the cooler on something and the ducks spooked.

Within minutes they had all moved to the other pond. So I returned to the house and took hummer photos through the window.

I wasn't satisfied with the quality, so opened the window just 4 feet from a feeder. By the time I got all the holes that were letting cold air in plugged, feeder activity had all but died, so I didn't get any great photos. Tomorrow I'll set up earlier.

I discovered being so close I needed to ramp down the camera light settings from what I normally use, so all I got was an overexposed shot of the Allen's.

After making the adjustments, I only got one other quick shot of him. Oh well, I didn't need any more photos of him, it was just something to do.

I'm getting cabin fever. Don't know if I can stand being stuck in town until we get the mulch Tuesday. I need to be here Tuesday to help, and Hugh invited company for dinner tomorrow, so I can't justify running down to the oasis and right back to town. Holidays always mess me up.

On the bright side, it's cold at the oasis too, and the ponds out back here are like grand central duck station. I just saw some American Wigeons, a shoveler, and both Mexican and Northern Mallards.

Record number of December hummers in Alpine

2011-12-23T07:46:00.000-08:00

At our place in town I documented a record number of hummers for the month of December. FOUR! Previously, I had two at most here in town. I did spend more time watching the feeders today than I usually do, which might have helped. The weather is so nasty that I didn't have anything that I considered better to do. Here's the banded Allen's juvenile male that's been around for quite a while.

Next, is a juvenile, probably female, either Rufous or Allen's, first seen today.

Third, is the adult male Rufous that I first saw late yesterday afternoon.

And last is a juvenile male (I'm pretty sure) Rufous that may have been around for a few days, but I couldn't get a good look at before today.

Here's the borrowed trailer that we plan to fill with mulch Tuesday.

It's just sitting here patiently, unlike me. We had to borrow it at a time the contractor didn't need it, but it's also bad timing to fill it. It'll work out, but next week I have company coming too. Right now I'm just hanging out, mostly at the computer, waiting.... I'm used to being super busy, so waiting isn't my strong suit.

Here is the pond taken yesterday from near our house across the alley. The camera is looking south and the blind is out of the frame to the left.

This morning as it started to snow I hurried outside to pick some lettuce. That's my outdoor venture for the day, unless some awesome hummer or duck arrives. (Afterwards, I covered it back up with the old shower doors.)

The hummers are now ignoring the feeders out in the open and coming to the one on the protected patio. The weather is deteriorating fast.

Well, heck, snow is precipitation. I can't be choosy.

Eagle story

2011-12-22T12:22:00.000-08:00

We were going to take a huge trailer load of mulch to the oasis today (in a big borrowed trailer), but it turns out the recycling plant is closed until Tuesday, so we went anyway to fill feeders. I rode down with Hugh. About 20 miles south of town (right before Calamity Creek) we passed a Golden Eagle on the side of the road at a road-killed javelina. Hugh didn't see it and we were long past by the time I decided I should have demanded we stop and take a picture of it. (He doesn't stop automatically like I do). I don't have any photos by me of a Golden Eagle.

I forgot all about it until on the way back to town four hours later Hugh said, "there's that eagle you saw." This time I made him stop and turn around. I took some photos with the truck running hoping the Image Stabilization feature on my camera would compensate. The eagle wasn't eager to leave the javelina, not that he wasn't stuffed like a Christmas turkey, but that lift-off might not work so good for him.

When we got as close as we dared, and Hugh turned off the engine, I was going to change my ISO from 800 to 400 for a sharper shot, but just then the eagle attempted to take off. He labored across the highway and into some low brush. No majestic flight today. Per my Sibley bible I think it's a 2nd year bird.

PS- Yes, Hugh put the replacement tire on the water trailer for me while we were there.

Ducks in a row

2011-12-21T08:30:00.000-08:00

I sneaked into the blind this morning for a little while. I give up on telling the Mallards from the Mexicans. One expert thinks I have both here, but keep in mind, they're both the same species (Mallard), just different subspecies (N Mallard and Mexican Duck), which is why no one gets excited trying to separate them.

At least I know which is the Hooded Merganser.

This week we're going to get a big load of mulch and take it to the oasis. I'll take lots of photos.

UPDATE: Most of you probably know that much of my time is consumed with Kelly Bryan's hummingbird banding project. I leave it to him to relate the findings. For the exciting summary of this year's results go to

http://westtexashummingbirds.com/information/2011-banding-report/

Barely went outdoors today

2011-12-20T16:09:00.000-08:00

I was perfectly content to stay indoors today until late this afternoon when I saw out a window that the pond was full of ducks. Of course the light was bad for photos, but I took a few distant shots just to help tell if they're Mexican or Mallard. I'm not sure which they are. I want to learn though.

I think the above are Mallards based on how pale the head is on the yellow-billed (male) one and all the dark color on the bill of the orange-billed (female) one. In the next photo (below) the orange bill looks more like a Mexican Duck to me,and the one with dark on the bill, a Mallard, but I don't know. I've consulted an expert. I'll let you know what they turn out to be.

Here is a species I know very well, a Curve-billed Thrasher, that just perched in front of me as I was trying to creep closer to the ducks. What was I to do but snap a few shots? And then rush back indoors to the warm fire.

Hibernating as best I can

2011-12-19T17:46:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I've told you often enough how I hate cold weather, so I just mostly hung out at my computer today. Finished entering those old sightings on ebird. Most of them weren't usable because they lacked dates, or where they were seen. The devil's in the details and all.

I'm delighted that my son, who had planned to move away from Alpine, has decided to stay. That's a huge relief to me because he's always there for me in a pinch. And you know how frequently that happens to me.

That Allen's Hummingbird that Kelly banded, and then recaptured, is still here. I got a bad photo of him through a dirty window right before dark awhile ago. It's not a good enough photo for me to see the band, but maybe tomorrow I can do better.

How about you all email me and tell me what you'd like to see more photos of?

Looking back

2011-12-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

I'm in Alpine for a few days so decided to enter some old birding records (that have been entrusted to me) into the ebird database. I'll do as much as my arthritic body can stand. It's the back and right arm that bothers me when I sit at the computer for long periods of time. I started doing it last winter and really want to get it behind me. I only have time to work on it in the winter.

There are lots of ducks here on our Alpine ponds. Ring-necked, Mexican Ducks, and the merganser and shoveler are still here. I think the reason we have so many right now is because I managed to prevent Hugh from mowing close around the ponds. The tall grasses help the ducks feel insulated from the street noise and traffic.

The Allen's Hummingbird is still around too. I meant to photograph it today, but that didn't happen. No sunshine, and my photos don't turn out as good without sun.

I've been working on scanning old negatives into digital photos. Here's one of me that dates to sometime in the early 1980s, when I was in my early 40s. Seems like an eternity ago. I finished the house in 1979. This photo was taken in the courtyard after that, but before the vegetation got big, which is how I date it.

In comparison, here is how the courtyard looked in the summer of 2007. Unlike me, it looks better with age.

Hopefully, it'll look that good again someday. It's had a rough year. That planter bench (in both photos) was made out of petrified wood by my brother. I remember how hard I worked to get grass to grow inside the courtyard. That was before I worked even harder to get rid of it. I pluck out any little sprig that comes up. I just want native trees, flowers, and bushes now. In other words, habitat for birds.

I need a break!

2011-12-17T19:20:00.000-08:00

I thought today would be easy, even though it was on the cold side. I just needed to haul 2 loads of water and I'd be good to go. So I took my time, riding in my warm pickup to the lodge for water, listening to NPR radio. When I got home with the second load I smelled rubber as I closed the gate behind me. Didn't ring a bell. I had gone slower than usual, and had stopped to pick up every rock I saw in the road (as I usually do). Barely made it up a hill, tires spinning with the effort. I remember thinking, gosh the load seems way heavier than usual. How could that be? Must just seem that way because I was going slower. As I was struggling to back the trailer into place for unloading, it hit me. A glance in the rear view mirror confirmed my worst fears... I had what was left of a shredded tire on the trailer. It had been a brand new one too. Hugh will be so mad, so I decided I'd take it to my son to fix. Had to get it off first. What a horrible job for a weak little 71 year old woman, but I finally got it. Had to find a pipe to make a breaker bar because those lug nuts had obviously been put on with a machine.

I rejoiced with every lug nut I managed to break lose like I had won the lottery. (That board seemed necessary to prop up the lug wrench... to keep it from falling off when I pushed down on the bar. It was a bit tricky and fell a lot, but eventually it worked.)

I couldn't get the wheel, scant and airless as it was, lifted up into my pickup to bring to Alpine, so I had to summon enough energy to make a ramp to roll it up in. No need to even attempt to lift the spare out of the trailer. When I get the flat fixed, I'll shove it out of my pickup via gravity and just leave the spare in the trailer.

I get so discouraged at times I think I just can't do this anymore by myself. I need a man that is as passionate about the oasis as I am. I know at some point I won't be able to take care of it anymore. I guess I just don't have enough sense to recognize when that point is. Sure do miss my wonderful late husband Sherwood.

Mysterious hummingbird attacks

2011-12-16T15:18:00.000-08:00

Today when I got to the oasis I eventually got around to hanging fresh feeders.(It's really cold and windy!) I was shocked to see blood on one feeder. I tried to rationalize at first, but the more I thought about it the more I think something attacked a hummer on the feeder. There were no feathers on the ground, but an attacker would snatch the bird and go off somewhere with it. I suspect a shrike. Remember a few days ago I photographed a shrike that was hanging around? The first time I did that, and the first time I found blood on a feeder. Coincidence? Not so much, I suspect. It looks like spatter as if the bird was taken as it lifted off at the last second.

I think the predator had a few misses before he perfected his technique. One feeder had impact marks (like you'd see if a bird hit a window) on both sides of it. First time for that happening to one of my feeders also. May be hard to see on this photo.

More Alpine ducks

2011-12-14T09:09:00.000-08:00

I have a photo blind beside one of the ponds, but the light is only good early AM. So I got myself out there early but it was foggy and my photos didn't get good. Here's one of the better ones, a Ring-necked Duck (with some photoshopping)...

But awhile later the sun peeked through so I sneaked back out there and got some decent photos. When I say "sneaked," I mean it literally, because if the ducks see me enter the blind, they'll take flight. This first one is probably the same merganser I got poor photos of yesterday afternoon. (The light in the blind is bad in the afternoon.)

This next duck was a surprise Northern Shoveler that showed up.

And leaving the blind I spied this Cactus Wren. No telling what I'd see if I hung around longer.

Alpine ducks

2011-12-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

Quite a few ducks are showing up at our ponds in Alpine. I usually have Mexican Ducks visit this time of year, which are currently considered subspecies of Mallard, so I just assumed that's what these were.

But when I saw this male, which is impossible to confuse with a Mexican Mallard, I took another look at the others.

I'm almost positive they are the [Northern} Mallards also. You may have to click on the following image to see the detail but it looks like this is a young male, just starting to get green on the head.

And while my "bible," Sibley's guide, doesn't show this, it seems on the Northern subspecies the cheeks have more color.( Mine would too if I was up north.)

Earlier today I had 4 or 5 Ring-necked Ducks. There was a Hooded Merganser in with them, but when I tried to get closer for a better photo, they all departed.

UPDATE: The merganser (or a different one) came back just before dark, but I didn't see the Ring-neckeds again. Hope I can get some good duck photos tomorrow.

Birding excursion to Big Bend National Park

2011-12-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

The only birder in my family, besides me, is my sister-in-law, Dale. We went to the park today, and although it was chilly and not very birdy, it was a fun day just spending it with her. Along the highway we enjoyed an abundance of Lark Buntings. Here is the only photo I got today. It's a Green Heron off the boardwalk at Rio Grande Village.

On the way home we stopped at Gage Gardens in Marathon. I had never been there before and was really impressed. I plan to visit there more often in the future.

One miserable day!

2011-12-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

I figured I needed to water, at least somewhat, every 10 days, so I went down today to water. The last time I watered was Dec 1st when I had that wonderful Violet-crowned Hummingbird. But today the weather was cold, damp, and windy. I got chilled to the bone. Didn't even use up all the water I hauled. Now I'm back in Alpine.

I was surprised to see a flock of about ten W Bluebirds when I arrived at CMO. By the time I grabbed my camera, didn't set the settings right, they flew. All I got was one quick blurry shot of one of them. I usually just see one or two, so that was the most W Bluebirds I've seen there at one time.

There were hummers everywhere. Anna's and Rufous. The most we've banded at one time in December before was 14. Monday, when we band again, I'm hoping to break that record (2008). We'll see...

I don't think I've posted a shrike photo before. Here's one I snapped today. (Loggerhead Shrike)

Brrr!

2011-12-06T07:37:00.000-08:00

The Violet-crowned is still here. The feeders were slushy to frozen this morning at 24°

I had left my camera in the pickup all night and it wasn't working right, therefore the poor quality shot. I also parked close to the house instead of in the carport like I should have. Could have saved myself window scraping. Guess I forget about things like precipitation, even if it's just frost.

6 PM UPDATE

I stayed indoors all day after confirming the VCHU was still here. I have thousands of old negatives to digitalize and was working on that. Here's a cute one I came across. My daughter (now in her mid 40s) is on the right, and my niece is on the left. They were probably around the age of 12 here... no older than 14.

At 3:30 I went to the oasis to see what the high temperature for the day would be (40°), and to my dismay, the Violet-crowned was not there. I hung around until nearly 6 PM and no sign of it. I hope it found a warmer place to spend the night. Just in case, I put a heat lamp under its favorite feeder.

The above Violet-crowned photo may turn out to be the last photo of that gorgeous bird.

Sun... not so much

2011-12-05T10:44:00.000-08:00

Coming down from Alpine to continue monitoring the Violet-crowned Hummingbird, here for its 5th day, were a few snow flurries in the higher elevations.

Clouds, but no precipitation approaching CMO

I decided it would be a good day to stay indoors and work on the computer, so I built the first fire of this season in my efficiency wood stove. Since my home is earth-sheltered, it's more for cozy comfort than needed heat. (I'm using a film scanner to transfer old black and white family negatives to digital photos.)

The feeder on the left is the one the Violet-crowned uses. I checked with the Texas Birds Record Committee and this VCHU will be the 19th one documented in Texas.

Back to Alpine

2011-12-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

At 7:30 AM I confirmed the Violet-crowned was still present, then I headed north. Photo taken on Highway 118 at 70 mph. (Kokernot Mesa left, Elephant Mountain right.)

Soon it was obvious that I had left the land of fun and sun behind.

We finished detailing the rent house and now I'm going to stay in a warm house for some much needed recovery time. New tenants move in tomorrow.

It was just bad timing to have the trashed house become vacant in Alpine at the same time I got a rare hummer at the oasis. Normally, it takes less than a day to clean one of our 4 rent houses, but this one took 4 days.

A Virtual visit to CMO

2011-12-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

Some of you are on your way here to see the Violet-crowned Hummingbird as I write this. Others want to come but can't, so here's the next best thing. I spend a lot of time on the road between here and Alpine at sunrise or sunset. Here's the gorgeous sunrise as I was coming down this morning, taken toward the vicinity of Santiago Mountain..

After I turned off onto the blacktop Terlingua Ranch Road, here was my view of the Christmas Mountains. That flat mountain to the right of the highest peak, which is W Corazone Mountain, overlooks the oasis.

Now I'm coming over a big hill on my land and can see the oasis ahead. Williams Mountain is in the background. The flat topped mountain is to the left, creating the shadow I'm driving through.

And shortly after 8 AM I'm photographing the Violet-crowned Hummingbird as it hunts for insects. Not to worry, there are plenty... just not when you're looking for them.

More VCHU photos

2011-12-01T18:20:00.001-08:00

I did get one or two photos with no flies on the bill.

But most were more like this

Hated leaving and going back to Alpine but did see an awesome sunset on the way.

I want to express a heartfelt thanks to those of you who have donated to the water fund. With your generous help I know we can make it through this drought. The donations are as much a sorely needed morale boost as a financial one. You are all the greatest!

Life is good

2011-12-01T07:33:00.001-08:00

We were in the middle of cleaning a rent house in Alpine and I wanted to get it done, then have time to go enjoy my oasis. But I hadn't hauled water over the holiday, and felt I really needed to get down there and do that. First time I remember ever being reluctant to go to CMO.

On the way down I thought something great would probably be there, in that case. After arriving I began a quick assessment of what birds were there. It was 22°... colder than everywhere else in the area, as usual. As I was counting Sage Thrashers (2 or 3), and Anna's Hummingbirds (5 or 6) I couldn't believe my eyes when I got a quick glimpse of a gorgeous Violet-crowned Hummingbird. Naturally, my water project was put on hold as I ran for my camera. A new yard bird for CMO!

It'll probably be long after dark before I get back to Alpine tonight.

UPDATE: I decided to check a bird guide and apparently the female and male VCHUs look alike, so I don't know which this is, unless it sticks around and gets banded by Kelly Bryan.

Back to normal...

2011-11-27T17:08:00.000-08:00

Whatever normal is.

I have a wonderful large extended family, and we all had a great holiday. My genius sons did lots of stuff to my computers, so I feel state-of-the-art now.

After everyone was gone I slipped over to a private residence (in Alpine) where a Harris's Sparrow has been hanging out for several days. Another tick to my Brewster County list. Bad lighting, through a window, but at least you can tell it's a Harris's Sparrow.

It got down to 16° at the oasis last night. I hope that's not a harbinger of things to come.

Turkey Day aftermath

2011-11-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

I still have company here, my son, his wife, and 3 little daughters, from Austin. Today they decided to climb the mountain behind my oasis. My son is carrying the youngest (about 3) up. Must be great to have that kind of energy. Here's a very distant shot.

In case you're wondering, we got a couple light showers yesterday, less than a tenth of an inch.

Later: They didn't stay on the mountain long. Weather turned cold and windy as predicted.

Mountain is on right side of above photo; courtyard wall on left; Nine Point Mesa distant center.

Another sapsucker

2011-11-23T18:09:00.000-08:00

I got done what I wanted to get done today, so I guess it was a good day. Walked the water line from the well and discovered why no water was getting to the house from the well. The line had come apart (I was too traumatized to take a photo). So all the while I was buying water, nearly as much was just disappearing. So frustrating. My sons will be here tomorrow and fix it. I can't let things like that get me down. I have to accept what I can't undo. At least the well hasn't gone dry.

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (see Nov 5 post) finally left, and now a Red-naped showed up.

Digging out

2011-11-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

I felt stressed when I got to the oasis. The well to the house isn't making water as far as I can tell. (I'll do more testing.) It hasn't been long since we spent a thousand dollars fixing it. Now with tons of company coming over this Thanksgiving weekend, it seemed like the last straw. But I just bit the bullet and hauled water to the house storage tank instead of to the oasis. Of course, before I could haul water I had to clean out my pickup.

Tomorrow I'll haul another load for the house and 3 loads for the oasis. Things aren't too dried out there. Some of the trees are really putting on some nice color. Here's my beloved Chinese Pistachio.

And the apricot tree went all out.

For me, the day's highlight was seeing a flock of Sandhill Cranes fly over in a perfect V formation. I would have gotten a photo but somehow in my haste I must have bumped the camera setting to "auto" and it wouldn't focus. By the time I figured out the problem, it was too late.

Never too much mulch

2011-11-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

I've been in Alpine for 4 days (since Thurday) and am getting really anxious to head south in the morning. Meanwhile, I convinced Hugh that he should work mulch into his garden this winter. (The soil here is pure clay). So he borrowed a big dump-trailer and took his bobcat for a load of mulch.

When we arrived at the mulch plant at 8 AM, when they open, a bunch of deer were scavenging there.

In short order Hugh loaded the trailer (black object behind loader) and dumped a big load beside his garden. All you can see of the garden in the photo below is the cold frame in the ground (full of yummy lettuce) behind the fence, and maybe if you look carefully, some tilled ground to the right of the cold-frame.

He couldn't keep the trailer long enough to take a load to the oasis, but during Christmas vacation he can. Can't ever get too much mulch.

Of course, I had him fill my pickup while he was at it. Had to put it in with the 35 gallon water tank I forgot to empty before coming to town. Such is life!

Visit to Rio Grande Village

2011-11-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

I decided to get a load of water and then check out Rio Grande Village in Big Bend National Park. I hadn't been there all year and was curious how it looked after February's freeze and the summer's unbearable heat / drought. Remember, RGV is my second favorite place on earth. Last November the rare Tufted Flycatcher showed up there.

At the lodge I, the "queen of water," photographed my "water wand" (all this terminology per the office personnel), and loaded up my water wagon.

In my eagerness to get unloaded and packed for RGV, then Alpine, I forgot to empty the 35 gallon tank. So it made the long circuit with me, full of water. Duh! Now I can't fill it with free water in Alpine because it's already full!

RGV looked great!

And I loved the new state-of-the-art boardwalk..

But the day's highlight for me was watching an American Bittern trying to swallow a fish.... a very serenzipitous sighting. (My newly coined word means zippity-serendipity, ie. not a long enough look at an awesome unexpected sighting.)

It seemed that the bittern would get tired and droop its head, then try again, then droop, then repeat the process over and over. Since it's the first time I've witnessed this event, I'm not sure if that was the case, or if the bittern was somehow using the ground for leverage. Or maybe trying to dislodge the stuck fish. Any comments?

It was a long way off, and when I tried to get closer, the bird waddled into the underbrush and disappeared, fish and all. Since the bird was about ten feet away from any water, this process may have been ongoing for quite some time. Any idea how long that lasts? I've watched snakes take as long as 30 minutes to dispatch a large frog, but that's my only experience in that area.

Another day, another blog

2011-11-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

And another day closer to the next rain.

Hubby came from Alpine and fixed the trailer's boo-boo. I've learned how imperative it is that the tank is centered over the axle, and is strapped down so it can't bounce. The new brace is made of angle iron.

All better!

Almost home with my 3rd load for a total of 1,080 gallons today.

Notice the little 35 gallon tank in the back of my pickup. I told the girl in the Terlingua Ranch office (the one that dubbed me the 'Queen of Water'), that it takes longer to unload the small tank than the large one, and probably wasn't worth the trouble. Try telling that to the tree that gets that 35 gallons, though.

Had the fun of watering for an hour, until I used up all the water. Need one more load in the morning to finish watering, then heading for Alpine.

I thought I only had one robin but everywhere I turned I seemed to be practically tripping over it. Very suspicious. So I put a sprinkler under each cottonwood tree, stood between them where I could see both sprinklers at the same time, and lo and behold, a robin under each sprinkler.

A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds visited and among them a Brown-headed Cowbird really stood out. I don't remember having a cowbird in the fall before, so was somewhat surprised.

(Red-winged is in the foreground, Brown-headed Cowbird behind it)

Trees, tank, and Phainopepla

2011-11-15T17:06:00.000-08:00

A few of the deciduous trees are finally starting to change color. Here is the peach tree.

And the Chinese Pistachio tree...

Ever since I started hauling water I've struggled with my little 35 gallon tank sliding around in the back of my pickup. The faucet bangs against the tire well and starts leaking out the water, or gets in a position where I can't screw the hose on to drain it. And full of water it's extrememly difficult for me to move. I've tried tying it down every way possible, with no success. Well, while contemplating how I could secure it, I remembered a rack that had come with the pickup when we bought it. We couldn't think of any use for it, but I wouldn't let my husband throw it away. My recycling mentality and all. It was sitting forgotten in a corner of the carport. I put that in the pickup, and it's magic. That will surely make my life easier. Such a small thing, but it makes me so elated.

The rack can be swiveled up and onto the open tailgate, which is probably a way of extending the bed length, something I would never have a need for. I ordered another small 65 gallon tank that, with this one, will make 100 gallons in the back of my pickup, surely the maximum weight it can haul. The new tank is a flat rectangular one that should ride nicely in front of this one.

I seldom see Phainopeplas, except when the mulberries are ripe. (Click Phainopepla label for photos.) So when I saw one today I right away wondered why. Upon closer examination I realized it was feeding on mistletoe, its trademark food. Having never seen a mistletoe berry, I was somewhat perplexed, but I scrutinized the patch of mistletoe, and sure enough, there were a few berries. I was amazed. They also nest in mistletoe, so when I saw an old nest, I wondered. I'm going to pay more attention to mistletoe in the future, that's for sure. It astounds me that the Phainopepla even located that one small cluster of berries.

This old nest is full of old leaves.

The mistletoe is on a scraggly catclaw acacia bush above an old gray water cistern near the guesthouse. (Because the guesthouse is underground I couldn't run the water out onto the ground.)

Contrary country

2011-11-12T16:58:00.000-08:00

Every other fall I want things to stay green as long as possible, and I hate the first freeze. I even don't like golden autmn foliage. I like it green. But this year I was looking forward to the freeze so I wouldn't have to water as much. Night before last it got down to 23° and the hummingbird feeders froze solid. But no change in the trees. No leaves have fallen, and none look frost damaged. So I hauled more water and kept on watering. A support board broke in the trailer, so I can't haul more water until it gets fixed.

The robin is still around. I guess it figures scrawny worms are better than no worms.

Robin around today

2011-11-11T17:49:00.000-08:00

In Iowa where I grew up, robins were a sign of spring. Not so here, but they make it feel spring-like anyway.

I think he looks a little glum. Probaby because the only worms he can find in my new mulch are scrawny ones.

Alpine ducks

2011-11-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

Every year my Alpine habitat gets better. Today it hosted its first Wood Duck... a gorgeous male.

There have also been various other visitors recently, including these Mexican Ducks.

Tomorrow I'm going back to my oasis for several days. Can't wait!

Alpine habitat

2011-11-08T16:44:00.000-08:00

I got out and did some much overdue work here. Still much more to do, but I can just do what I can.

Above is the Mexican Elder tree before I worked on it. Below is after.

Here is a Desert Pine (elderica) after I cleaned out around it and put it in a bigger deer cage. They come up by themselves around our yard and I put some of them into pots while they're still just tiny sprouts, then plant them in the habitat once they develop a substantial root system.

Last, is a White Mulberry I bought online, cheap, this spring. I wanted a white one because I think they grow larger than the black or red ones. Birds like tall trees.

The soil here is pure clay. It takes forever for water to soak into the ground, and it's a killer digging in it. I did four trees today and still have about 20 to go. Here's the after shot.

The extreme cold and heat of this year was hardest on young trees, but I think this one will thrive next year.

Goings on

2011-11-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

As the sun rose yesterday morning I arrived at the oasis, from the house about a block away, feeling I was one day closer to the next rain. I realize I'm married to the place, for better or worse. The honeymoon may be over, but I'm as determined as ever that things will get better, not worse. Wondering if and when I should fertilize some things. Definitely going to plant more elder trees both at the oasis and in Alpine.

It's supposed to get cold tomorrow night. I'm ready for it to freeze at the oasis so I won't feel such a need to water so much. It's already frozen here in Alpine.

Today I went looking for that reported Lewis's Woodpecker by Ft. Davis. No luck. Guess it moved on. Maybe it'll show up somewhere else.

It was windy in Alpine so I didn't get much done. Tomorrow I'm determined to fill in the pond around the Mexican Elder tree so the tree isn't so close to the water. I think that will solve the problem. I posted the before picture yesterday. Tomorrow will be the after photo, if all goes according to plan.

Mexican Elder trees

2011-11-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

Since Matt York (from Marathon) told me that tree the warbler was eating berries from was a Mexican Elder (see yesterday's post), I've developed a new appreciation for that species. It seems to have thrived in spite of the record cold, as well as the record heat this year. (It gets plenty of watering so I don't count the record drought.) And the elder tree by the fountain was blooming. The one the warbler was feeding in had both green and ripe berries. I'm impressed.

I planted one in Alpine and one at the oasis, and neither of them looks good. Nevertheless, I think I'll plant a couple more in the spring. They're almost evergreen and can bear fruit twice a year. Awesome! Meanwhile, I watered and pruned the one here at the oasis.

Admittedly, after I cut off the dead stuff there wasn't much left. But it's alive and putting on new growth, so there's hope.

Last Wednesday we saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker here. I'm dismayed to see it's still hanging around. Sapsuckers drain so much sap from trees that it can kill them, and mine are so vulnerable right now.

Here is the Mexican Elder tree in Alpine. Hardly any green on it. I'm wondering if it's unhealthy being so close to the pond. I'm going to plant one somewhere else and see what happens.

The yellowish-green is from a tree in the background. There are only a few sprigs of vivid green leaves on the elder. But they're pretty tough trees. If I have the energy tomorrow I'll try to take a better photo and dig out some of the grass around it. I just got to town and I'm pooped. So much to do.

There's a report of a Lewis's Woodpecker near Ft. Davis that I'm going to check out in the morning.

Bay-breasted Warbler revisited

2011-11-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

I wanted a better photo of the warbler in Marathon and I feel like I got it. Still higher in the canopy than I would have liked but I'm not going to try again.

I was hoping it would go into this Mexican Elder tree where it wouldn't be so high in a tree, but no luck.

Here's the tree it was in... a large elm.

I don't know what kind of tree was just to the right of the elm, but the warbler ate lots of berries from it.

There's a nice fountain by the elder tree.

The gardens at the Gage Hotel are wonderful, but street noise and people activity spoil the ambience, in my opinion.

Another day, another setback

2011-11-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

This will give you an idea of the latest setback.

It seems the new springs have more bounce to them than the old ones did. The tank bounced going to the lodge empty. Got there and saw what happened so came back without water and put a spare fitting on, then removed a support board that was under the fitting that I thought had caused the break. Got to the lodge again to find the spare fitting broken. Guess the board wasn't the culprit. So this time I had a small faucet with me, just in case, and put that in the tank.

It took 2 hours to empty the tank when I got back to the oasis. Normally, it takes 5 minutes. So after 2 loads of that, I decided to go to town tonight and get new fittings first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, I strapped the tank down so it can't bounce. Whew! That comes to one hour of time spent per hundred gallons of water. But while it was draining I photographed birds and watered a few trees.

This "Oregon" race of Dark-eyed Junco showed up today, but the Fox Sparrow of yesterday was gone. Juncos have been scarce so far this fall.

Pine Siskin numbers seem normal for this time of year.

Also a normal number of White-crowned Sparrows.

Fox Sparrow here

2011-11-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to see a Red Fox Sparrow at my oasis when I arrived today. It's not the first one I've had here, but maybe the third.

Also had a couple of Sage Thrashers...

Texas Antelope Squirrels are always fun to watch...

Ready, and set to go

2011-11-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the way the trailer was (pictured on my pickup)...

Here it is now (pictured on Hugh's pickup)...

It rides higher off the ground now, and won't tilt backwards when I hook it to my pickup anymore. That might put a little weight on the hitch to where I'll have better traction going uphill. I hope so, because I used to have to go too fast to make it up the hills. Good thing it broke so I got a better trailer out of the deal. It did cost nearly $1000 though. Right now it's loaded with water and ready to head south in the morning.

I'm happy again

2011-10-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

My son and husband got right to work after they got back to Alpine from their weekend of playing. They understand the urgency (akin to saving my life), and I didn't complain when I was the one sent to Ft. Stockton for a new heavy-duty axle and springs.

Axle-less trailer

Voila!

Tomorrow they'll put new wheels and tires on it and I'll be ready to go. This new axle is twice as heavy-duty as the old one, and Century Trailer Co in Ft. Stockton assured me I wouldn't be able to break it. Music to my ears. I feel nothing will stop me from making it to the finish line (when it rains).

Latest calamity

2011-10-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

Every time I feel comfortable and secure in the new situation my life has been reduced to, something happens to unravel it. I was hauling water yesterday, feeling happy because I could haul all the water I wanted, therefore, I could water my trees all I wanted, therefore, I was happy. Should have known better than to feel happy. A spring or something broke under the water trailer and I was just "happy" I got it to Alpine without a wheel falling off. Now I have to get it fixed asap.

I wired the spring up as best I could so it wouldn't drag the ground like it was doing.

I really needed a photo fix. Went to Marathon but didn't see the Bay-breasted Warbler so came back to Alpine and found a little teal in the pond.

When I put out corn for my husband's two domestic ducks, the teal came too, but I don't think they let it feed.

Little duck meets big ducks.

Bay-breasted Warbler in Marathon

2011-10-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Another life bird sighting today. Matt York works at the Gage Hotel in Marathon where he discovered a Bay-breasted Warbler yesterday. Today I managed to get a few photos of it high in the canopy of a tree in spite of my vertigo which made my world spin whenever I looked up at it.

Matt and Heidi are awesome birders. So wonderful to have them nearby. I look forward to many more fun birding times with them.

Matt has determined this bird to be a juvenile male. Fall Bay-breasted Warblers are notoriously difficult to ID. I'd like to get better photos if it sticks around.

Big surprise!

2011-10-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

I arrived at my oasis yesterday morning and have hauled 1500 gallons (5 loads) of water since then. I was really down in the dumps. Felt like it was an exercise in futility, while my granddaughter and her husband are suffering financially, and here I am buying water with money that could be easing their financial situation. Admittedly, in the past giving them money hasn't helped, but in theory, and all.

Since yesterday morning I hadn't seen a bird that inspired me to photograph it. Just because I wanted to photograph something I took pictures of some of the Hermit Thrushes running all over the place.

But I've taken so many Hermit Thrush photos that I found it boring and wasn't cheered up at all. So I figured if I got an extra load of water and sprinkled it extravagantly on the trees as birds played in it, that might cheer me up. I got back with the water around 4 PM, set the sprinkler, and sat contemplating.

I thought about how every day something exciting happens here and it's been two boring days of hard work. It even occurred to me that every time I get discouraged, something exciting happens and I get all recharged again. I knew it was late in the day and nothing like that was going to happen. The sprinkler wasn't cheering me up. Since I have a hard time sitting still when I constantly see work that needs doing, I started to take down dirty hummingbird feeders. As I approached one hanging beside the shade water feature, I saw a tiny reddish bird scoot into the brush. Before long I got a good look at it, and knew immediately it was a Winter Wren, even though I'd never seen one before, and had thought they were gray, not reddish.

Now you see why I keep on keepin' on!

Hard to photograph birds

2011-10-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

Today as I was busy hauling water, watering, digging out grass, servicing feeders, getting ready to come back to Alpine, a group of about 40 White-throated Swifts descended from the skies. They normally come in and circle, while a few at a time dip down to the water (such as the puddle it currently is). In ten minutes or less, they're all gone. They're way too fast for me to photograph, but I so wanted to. In my frustration, I just aimed above the water and clicked as they trickled in. As expected, I didn't accidentally get anything in focus, but it was that or nothing. Here is what I typically got.

One photo surprised me though. The swift had its mouth wide open, maybe catching an insect, or perhaps that's how they drink and in the mili-second from the water to the photo it hadn't closed its mouth yet. Looks like a flying fish leaping out of the water.

Before I laid my camera down and went back to work this Verdin came around. They're so cute. Much easier to photograph, too.

Then, as I was getting into the pickup to leave (always a sad occasion), I heard a flock of Sandhill Cranes flying over. I searched but couldn't find them until finally as they were headed southwest right into the sun I spotted them. I was only able to snap this one shot of the edge of the flock (of around 30 cranes) before the sun obliterated vision. I answered their calls with an emotional good-bye of my own.

Never a boring day at CMO!

By the way, the dead twigs you see on the acanthus of the Verdin photo is not a result of the drought, but of the record freezes we had in February. Many bushes and trees are frozen back like that. But at least they're alive, and hopefully will thrive next year.

Catbird fun

2011-10-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

I drove down from Alpine and unloaded the mulch. Am feeling better than I have for several weeks. Vertigo almost gone. After I hauled a couple loads of water I actually had enough energy left to play awhile. My idea of play is to photograph birds. I located a catbird, to my delight, but couldn't decide how I wanted it to pose. I tried it by the water, but that was too far away. I wanted something closer.

So I tried it in a bush, but couldn't get a clear shot without the bush blocking part of the image.

I tried to coax it up onto a rock, but a Curve-billed Thrasher kept stealing the show.

Finally, I gave up and let it do what it wanted to do... forage in the mulch.

Hummers and sparrows

2011-10-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today I started hauling water again. My "month's supply" that I got two weeks ago was used up. I could have gone another week before hauling, but I decided I'd rather haul water than not water today, so that's what I did.

A young male (per Kelly) Ruby-throated Hummingbird showed up this morning. I took lots of photos of it. Here are a couple.

I photographed ten species of sparrows today at the feeder. Here is the most interesting, a Grasshopper Sparrow.

I hate it that bird seed has nearly doubled in price. Not to mention the cost of water went up from 3 cents per gallon to 4 cents per gallon.

Today's hummers

2011-10-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

I saw what I believe is the last Lucifer of the year. I think it's a young female, but without Kelly trapping it, I can't know. It's catching insects in the second photo.

I haven't seen the last two male Lucifers since yesterday morning. This morning I did see what I think were two female Anna's, but when I tried to photograph them late this afternoon, all I could find was the Lucifer. Earlier today I did manage to photograph a male (I think) Anna's in the courtyard. It appears to be banded.

Update: Kelly said the above Anna's is a female.

Bermuda grass woes

2011-10-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

The popular term "managed natural habitat" has always seemed like an oxymoron to me. How can it be "natural" if it's managed? But regardless of any ambiguity, I've been managing, and mismanaging, my oasis habitat for over 15 years. The most recent example of mismanagement is how I let grasses take over, particularly Bermuda grass. At the time, I just wanted the ground shaded and didn't have an endless free supply of great mulch (apparently I do now). Grasses shaded the ground. Water hadn't been a problem. It is now. So I'm determined to get rid of the grasses in favor of mulch. Lots of it.

You may recall that recently I set out 14 cholla plants that I had started in pots last year. Well, since I hadn't watered the area where I planted them for years, I didn't realize that underground were old bermuda grass roots. Lots of them. And when I watered the cholla..... yikes! Click on the photo and see for yourself.

So I spent most of the morning trying to dig out what I could of the grass roots.

No way am I naive enough to think I've solved the problem. It'll probably be hard to control until the cholla gets established and I can withhold water from it. And Bermuda is dormant in the winter. That'll help. Below is after I finished and put the mulch and cages back on. Once the cholla gets large I won't be able to get to the ground beneath it, so I have to stay vigilent right now. Always something! I thought planting cholla would be about the easiest low maintenance thing I could plant. Here, as I'm worrying about keeping stuff alive, I'm just as aggressively trying to kill stuff. It's called management.

Any habitat that has lots of visitors has to be managed to some degree. For example, I have to do some pruning just to be able to get around to water things. If I didn't water, there would be no oasis, or even habitat. The term "oasis" denotes quite a bit more management than the term "natural habitat," anyway. I don't think a big thicket of mesquite would qualify as an oasis. In fact, I think I should plant a couple of palm trees. I would if I wasn't afraid there aren't any that are cold hardy enough for my place.

Aoudad and javelina

2011-10-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

My sister lives a mile north of me, but both our places are overlooked by the same mountain on the east. Her son from Boston is visiting and he saw, and photographed, 8 Aoudads (African sheep) on top of that mountain yesterday. So this morning I scoped the top of the mountain and actually saw one Aoudad. Here's a photo of my end of the mountain that I took last summer (when things were green) from several miles away.

And here is the Aoudad I saw today, taken from my oasis really far away.

Also this afternoon while I was sitting quietly photographing sparrows, several javelina were headed towards me. I yelled at them, and they stopped and sniffed the air, then proceeded towards me. I was a bit nervous, I admit, but eventually I ran them off a little ways, then I departed as they ambled back.

sniffing

proceeding towards me

I have most of my wintering birds here, I think. Here is one of my favorite wintering birds, a House Wren.

My latest invention

2011-10-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

I decided to make double-decker hummingbird feeders by hanging one beneath the other.

The advantages are:

1. Hummers are accustomed to foraging at different levels so it's more natural for them.

2. One ant guard protects both feeders.

3. Less blowing, therefore spillage, in high winds, at least for the top feeder.

4. Have more feeding ports in their favored locations.

It's ridiculously easy to make. Just hang a wire from a feeder, then use an "S" shaped wire to hang between the two feeders, or you can buy those S hooks. I made mine from a small section of a wire coat hanger.

Below is a young male Rufous. I saw at least 3 today here in Alpine.

More from yesterday

2011-10-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning my husband came down and cut out the dead willows that were an eyesore. They would have rotted and fallen over before long anyway, but now I have it all done in one operation. Even the brush pile they made was ugly. I should have taken photos of some of my more attractive brush piles for comparison, but I'm in Alpine today, so can't.

This morning I paid a local to fill my pickup with mulch, so I'm all ready to go back to my oasis either tomorrow or the next day.

A few blooms

2011-10-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

If one looks around the oasis it's likely they'll locate a flower or two. Fragrant Mimosa grows wild on my property and looks similar to this. This is Velvetpod Mimosa that I planted. I water it occasionally.

This next bush is also native, meaning it grows wild on my property. One of its common names is Yellow Bells (tecoma stans). I planted this one and seldom water it.

Next is a volunteer Feather Dalea (dalea formosa). I occasionally water it. When I spread the mulch I made sure to protect it in its location along the rock-lined path.

Bee Brush has come up under most all the trees.... anywhere there's moisture. It fills the oasis with a heavenly fragrance.

As you can probably tell, I get lots of pleasure and peace from my oasis. One thing that delighted me today was to see a Spotted Towhee and Hermit Thrush foraging in the newly spread mulch in the "pine forest" area of the oasis.

I doubt if they would have been there if it was blanketed with tall grasses like is normal for this time of year.

I positioned myself where I could photograph the action. Didn't capture the towhee though. Had to leave for Alpine. I don't like driving after dark, so was just glad that I got to spend what time I did in my favorite pasttime.

Oasis today

2011-10-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

Got down to my oasis this afternoon with another load of mulch. After unloading it I took a little time before dark to watch birds. Still a couple of Lucifers left. I miss them already and they're not all even gone yet.

This is that young feisty male I photographed before (Sept. 26th). He's just so cute, and he'll be gone soon, that I couldn't resist. Very surprised to see a Blue Grosbeak today since they've been gone for quite some time. Probably a young bird here.

When I first planted my trees they were small and slow growing, so I enjoyed having grass and wildflowers fill my oasis. Better to look like a prairie than a patch of dirt. But then the trees got pretty big, and still I was taking the grasses and wildflowers for granted. Then along came the drought, and gradually it became just the trees (with mulch spreading underneath as fast as I could make it happen). I decided I prefer it this way, not only because of snakes, but the grass and weeds use water that should be there for the trees. Everyone else seems to prefer it without the grasses, too.

So now that I don't want the grasses back, that little rain we received recently has grass and weeds (wildflowers, whatever) growing everywhere, even through the mulch. I sprayed some of it with Roundup, but I agonized over that decision for a long time. Probably it won't rain and all the grass and weeds will die, but I don't want to have to mow it if it gets tall because mowing it is hard enough (for my husband) but with 2-3 inches of mulch there, it would be nearly impossible. There are just too many for me to pull out by hand, though some that are real close to trees and bushes will have to be hand-pulled.

Alpine birds and bottle

2011-10-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

I was given a "special" bottle to make into a hummingbird feeder by a special person (Martha Latta) who works at the Alpine recycle center. She's doing a bottle tree and wanted the bottle, but unselfishly gave it to me. Notice the word "special" is scultped in relief on the bottle. How cool is that?

My hummingbirds have dwindled down to 3 or 4, which is as it should be this time of year.

There has been a juvenile Yellow Warbler around for about 2 weeks. I didn't think much of it, but when I entered it into the ebird database it showed as rare for here this time of year. That surprised me so I thought I better document it with a photograph.

We're supposed to get rain down at my oasis in the next few days. Here's hoping! This is what my "stucco tank" looks like after I pumped out what I could salvage from the dirt tank a few days ago. This is about 3-4 thousand gallons and should last me into November during this cooler weather, if I don't get rain. Very nice reprieve from hauling in water.

Up close and personal

2011-10-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

Today I was bailing out the big tank again (you know the drill) as a very determined Lincoln's Sparrow was practically underfoot. Normally, I think of that species as a moist underbrush skulker, difficult to see, but I guess with the drought it has to find lunch wherever it can. Not much moist understory around. Actually, none. (The sparrow is on the tank floor behind my tub.)

Other than that, the next most interesting bird of the day was a juvenile Scissortail Flycatcher. I wasn't able to get even remotely close to it.

Monarchs everywhere

2011-10-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

It's awesome to see the oasis swarming with butterflies, and impossible to get a satisfactory photo of the spectacle.

What with banding almost over, cooler weather, and a month's supply of water in my tank, I feel a big burden lifted. I removed my self-imposed state-of-emergency status that I've felt under for the last several months.

Still lots to do, though. For one thing, I need to start preparing should the drought continue into next summer. And I need to get the pump situation rectified. I'm working on all that. More about it in future posts.

A small success

2011-09-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

My sister called me early Wednesday morning (27th) to let me know that we had over half an inch of rain during the night. I would have rushed down from Alpine, but she said it came slow and none ran, plus I had to go help band hummers in the Davis Mountains the next day. So after banding I headed south, my pickup loaded with mulch.

Nothing had run into my tanks at the oasis except for what fell into them, BUT to the east of my place there must have been a heavier rain because my upper dirt tank had 2' of water in it. That might be anywhere from 4 to 10 thousand gallons. I'm not a good judge of that.

In terms of watering the oasis, that's at least a month's supply for this time of year. I had already lost a quarter of it before I got here because that dirt tank doesn't hold water for very long. so I was desperate to get it pumped out to the stucco tank. Easier said than done. After nearly 2 hours of trying to start the gas pump, I called my son in Alpine and prevailed on him to drop everything and come. He couldn't get it working either. He said my gas was too old, and because the tank wasn't full, a connection above the water was letting in air and it wouldn't pick up (download) the water. It was nearly dark by then. He took the pump to town with him.

It was torture to have all that lovely water, and not be able to save it. It was a blackish rain, probably because of the fires in the area, so the water was definitely tinted and sooty smelling, but lovely, nevertheless. So, I took my little electric pump (that I used to bail out the concrete tank previously), ran extension cords from the guesthouse about 150' or more away, stuck a hose in the 3" line, and waited for water to show up at the other end.

When it hadn't by 10:30 PM, I took a flashlight and walked (more like bushwacked) the line. Found where a joint was letting it all leak out. A little leak is no problem when you're pumping a torrent through with a 3" pump, but with a little garden hose it's altogether different.

To make a long story short, I spent all morning killing myself before a trickle finally started going into the stucco tank. What a joyous occasion! I gave myself the rest of the afternoon off! My body wouldn't move anyway, so it wasn't a hard decision. And it's way too windy to unload the mulch, thank goodness. There are still several leaks on the line. I didn't have the fittings I needed to fix it, but I figure I'm still getting over half of the water.

The amount of water in the stucco tank is partly what I had put in there for the wildlife and gambusias, and partly what fell in there during the rain. Notice the little stream of water starting to come in now. It'll probably run for 2 or 3 days, but unfortunately I have to be in Alpine Sunday morning. I'll get all I can until then.

The soapberry trees I was so worried about in the arroyo are putting on some leaves, so hopefully they'll survive. And finally, it's obvious these plants in the courtyard didn't forget how to bloom during these horrible months of record heat and drought. I had been watering them, but it's not the same.

Ready for more mulch

2011-09-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Hugh made me the mulching fork I wanted, and soon I hope to go fill my pickup with mulch. He welded 3 extra tines (taken from a broken fork) on a 4-tine fork. It'll work much better now with more tines, and having them closer together.

Some better, some worse

2011-09-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling poorly again. I get over one thing and get socked with another. My pulled back muscle is almost better, but now I've got that vertigo again. I staggered around hauling water and watering yesterday, though I didn't do anything resembling thorough soaking. Hopefully it'll get by until I feel better.

The transmission on the truck shifts so bad that I'm afraid to drive it, so I'm hauling water in the trailer behind my pickup. Have to make more trips but they're more comfortable, and less stressful. It's just 7 miles to the lodge for water. I had thought it was farther but I set my odometer and measured it.

Looking at my oasis, I remind myself that it looks better than during winter, and since it's lovely in winter, it's lovely now. I'm like a mother seeing her ugly kid as beautiful, I guess.

So what's the "better?" The flies are gone from the feeders, so they don't sour as fast. Very few hummers are left, so I don't have to fill them as often. Or help band as often. And the weather is cooler, so I don't feel pressured to water as often, or as heavily.

As far as we can tell, only two Lucifer Hummingbirds fledged successfully this year. Here is one of them, a male. I could tell it was a male, before I even saw the two gorget feathers, by its aggressive behavior, which is very aggressive, even for an adult male Lucifer. Note the band on his right leg.

At least it's cooler

2011-09-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

I got down here yesterday after banding, but had pulled a muscle or something in my back and didn't get anything done. So today was catch up, and tomorrow already I have to go back to Alpine for Saturday banding at CDRI. Banding season is winding down though. Less hummers around. Most have taken advantage of the recent cool front and gone south with it. And with slightly cooler weather there's less pressure on me to haul water. After the first freeze twice monthly will suffice. October is forecast to be warmer and drier than normal.

This morning I spent squeezing the last drops out of the big tank that had fallen into it during that 3-day rainy spell we had that gave me, bit by bit, an inch or so of rain. (Sept 15-17) I bailed the water into the tub as it pumped out to the big cottonwood tree. I thought about leaving the water in the tank for wildlife, but it would evaporate in a week, and not before it made a big mosquito hatch. The birds still have 3 water places in the oasis, so they're not hurting. I could bail faster than the pump could pump, so I set up my tripod and took this self-portrait to help pass the time.

It seems to me that the Lucifer Hummingbirds are more orangish this summer than normal. I was wondering if it could be drought related. Maybe forced to a different diet, or something. Here's an example.

Still in Alpine

2011-09-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'll be here for several more days because we'll be banding in the Davis Mountains and it's too far to drive from the oasis.

Here are a couple of photos of a Black-chinned Hummingbird with a tumor on its bill. Seems to have trouble feeding. Just keeps poking in and out of the feeder port, and never really feeding, but it seems to be surviving OK.

I think I'm becoming a blog-a-holic. And I don't think it's curable.

More photos from yesterday

2011-09-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

I ran out of time yesterday, but here are a few more photos.

A year ago I took some Cholla Cactus cuttings and potted them, planning to plant them in the ground after they grew roots. Then I waited for rain so the ground would be easier to dig. Rain never came until that little bit I got the last few days. The Cholla really needed to be planted, so I did that yesterday, all 14 of them. I originally intended to plant them on a slope just outside my oasis, but ended up putting them just inside in the area I dub my pine forest so it'll be easier to water them.

If you're wondering why I want Cholla in my oasis, it's because Lucifer Hummingbirds prefer to nest in Cholla. I'd like to get that species to nest closer to me so I can monitor and photograph the process. A long shot, but you never know unless you try. They really prefer to nest on higher slopes, but since my Cholla will be near feeders and trees, I might get lucky.

Basically, the oasis has 3 areas. The pine area, the hummingbird arena (where most of the feeders and viewing area are), and the main area where most of the bigger trees are.

Here is a view of the pine forest. My whole oasis is smaller than a city block, so none of these areas are really large.

If you look closely on the above photo (enlarged) you can see the Cholla patch in the background (center of left side). Below are a few miscellaneous photos taken yesterday.

Here the bees are shoveling the bird seed onto the ground where the opportunistic javelina are scarfing it up.

It didn't take the snakes and frogs long to move into the puddle in the tank.

I saw the Baltimore Oriole again yesterday and it flew just as I was snapping its photo. Did get a blurry image of it in the frame though.

Photo tour of oasis

2011-09-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

I figure with the ground wet the place is looking as good as it's going to get this year, so I took some photos of it. When I made my previous post today it was still dark outside. Here's the expanding puddle in the big tank. Keep in mind that I had pumped out a lot of what was there yesterday. I debated whether to pump it out now, or chance evaporation and pump it to the trees later this week when they'll need it worse. It's at least 1,000 gallons. I opted to wait.

And if we get more rain things might green up more than I expect. Below is a photo of where I removed the gravel and rock-edged walkway and put mulch. That big center bush is a Mountain Laurel. To the right of it is a small mesquite that came up on its own. In a few years it'll be big and fill that area with wonderful habitat that I won't have to worry about watering. That's the plan anyway.

Next, the arroyo that delivers the water to my tanks with a quick half inch of rain or more. This stand of young soapberry trees grew here because of the diversion dam downstream backing water into this area. They look pretty dead but remain supple, so I'm optimistic. Oasis is on the left of this arroyo.

One big surprise is the apricot tree. It has weathered the cold, drought, heat, and deer much better than expected. I watered it less than I did the mulberry trees. Note the new mulch around its periphery.

And here are the pitiful mulberry trees for comparison. But at least they're still alive.

And last, the two cottonwood trees. This first is the Eastern cottonwood, sparse, but what leaves there are on it, are green.

This last one is the worst looking tree in the oasis, but parts of it have tiny greenish leaves. I think it's alive. This is just how it adapts to drought conditions. The Chinese Pistachio (right foreground) is doing good, all things considered.

A little rain

2011-09-17T01:33:00.000-07:00

Remember the portable pump I left in the tank yesterday?

Well, that's the first time all year I left anything in the tank overnight, and wouldn't you know it started to rain at 2:30 this morning, so I went out in it, and removed the pump. Then it stopped raining before anything ran.

Nevertheless, any rain is good. In the last 3 days that makes a total of one inch. Not only won't I have to haul water for a week in that crippled old truck, but, hopefully, the native trees along the arroyo (that don't get watered by me) might survive with this. I'm thinking the soapberries, Vasey Oaks (downstream from my oasis), hackberries, persimmons, as well as the sumac bushes, etc.

Enjoyable day

2011-09-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to wet ground. No typo.... WET GROUND! One inch below the ground.... bone dry. Checking the rain gauge it showed .4 inch. I don't see how the ground didn't get wetter, but I shelved my plan to go haul water. The puddles in the tanks had grown in the night. No water ran anywhere. The water in the tanks was from what actually fell into them.

In the big tank there wasn't enough water to pump out with the permanent well pump that's in there, but I put in a little portable pump and pumped some of it out. I worried about burning up the pump since it's supposed to be submerged, so I quit. However, I have a plan for tomorrow. I'm going to put the pump inside a bucket or tub and bail the water into the tub by hand as it pumps it to a cottonwood tree.

In the other smaller tank I keep a puddle of water to keep my gambusias alive, so I watered a few things with the excess water it had accumulated.

With the temperature cooler, I worked nonstop from 8 AM until 1:30 PM. By then my right arm wouldn't move anymore, but I got a lot done. Unloaded the pickup full of mulch, removed a walkway I don't use anymore, covered it with mulch, plus relocated the gravel that had been on that walkway, and pruned the "droopers" from an AZ Cypress tree. Droopers are the limbs that grow straight down and rub on the nice horizontal limbs. After a short lunch and nap, I went to enjoy watching the Wilson's Warblers picking the black flies off the hummingbird feeders. You may remember how they were covered with the flies. (If not, see the photos posted Aug 29.)

There were about a dozen warblers foraging on the feeders all day long, and those tiny flies were getting harder to find.

The flies must not be very filling because they sure ate a lot of them.

Wilson's Warblers migrate through here in the spring and fall. Today I saw only the males, so I look forward to continued insect control when the females come through in a week or so. I hope I don't run out of flies for them.

Never gonna rain at CMO

2011-09-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

At Alpine we got well over an inch of rain today, but at CMO, only one-tenth inch. By the time I finished helping band hummers in the Davis Mountains and got down here the ground was already dry. Bummer! Here's how much ran down the sides of the big tank. It'll evaporate tomorrow.

A big surprise! There's a Cenizo bush that I planted years ago but haven't watered this summer since I ran out of water. With just that tenth inch of rain this morning, it bloomed this afternoon. Pretty amazing even though that's the scraggliest, most pathetic blooming it's ever done!

More mulch

2011-09-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

I headed south with a huge load of mulch, feeling pretty good. I resisted the urge to yell out at the border patrol checkpoint as I went breezing by. I wanted to say, "I'm winning!" But I figured they wouldn't understand and might chase me down.

By the time I got the mulch unloaded and spread, I wasn't so chirpy anymore. At 100° it didn't feel like I was winning either. More like delusional.

I should explain that when I first planted my trees starting in 1996 I mulched as much as I could. I didn't have the great mulch I have now, and with the oasis pretty barren, most of it blew away or was rooted up by wildlife. Then, through the years, the trees made a pretty nice canopy of shade so I got remiss in mulching. But this year, what with the drought, then record cold, then record heat, very few trees are lush enough to shade the ground. That wouldn't be so bad if it never got over 100° as is the case most years. But months of triple-digit heat and sparse canopy cover means the situation is compounded as the ground beneath the trees sizzle. So the mulch helps insulate the tree roots from the heat. Of course I should have done this months ago, but I didn't know about this great mulch, and kept thinking it would rain any day.

So now I have a headache (probably dehydrated) to go with my chronic blisters. No time today to water or watch birds. Tomorrow I'm going to just recover, then help band hummers in the Davis Mountains the next day. Then back to the oasis to water everything. When I can fit it in I want to get more mulch, though everything now has some under it.

Update from yesterday

2011-09-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

My oriole has been confirmed as a Baltimore. Here's a female Bullock's that was also feeding on black flies (or whatever they are) yesterday for comparison.

This morning my son and I went down to my oasis to bring the crippled truck to town, but he discovered it was 4 quarts low on transmission fluid, and with fluid added, it seems to work fine. I feel like I got a reprieve from death row.

I know this drought is hurting everyone and I hope I'm not giving you the impression that I expect to be exempted from its effects. I'm just sharing my experience of it with you. Somehow, I'll still have a wonderful oasis when it's all over, and I want to share that with you too.

Baltimore Oriole

2011-09-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

I was enjoying a brief respite from slavery, photographing orioles eating those nasty black flies off hummingbird feeders. One I thought was more colorful and probably a young male Bullock's. I took lots of photos. When I downloaded them awhile ago, it struck me that it looks more like a young Baltimore.

Those insects must be yummy. Just goes to show I need to pay closer attention. All input appreciated.

I'm really bummed out. I think the transmission is out on my water hauling truck and that may prove to be the last straw in my attempts to save my oasis.

Here's a Black-throated Sparrow demolishing a moth, or some other kind of insect.

Another hard day winding down

2011-09-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

I left Alpine early with my precious load of mulch.

Some miles before the Laremore Ranch and Elephant Mountain I passed a herd of big black feral hogs. I had never seen them south of Alpine before, but like they say, there are only 2 kinds of ranchers in Texas--- those that have feral hogs, and those that are about to get them. I knew the nearby O2 Ranch had them, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

Through a dirty windshield, the Christmas Mountains are straight ahead but still at least 30 miles away.

When I drove up to my oasis with the aromatic mulch, I swear I heard all the trees begging to be the first in line. It was hard to see my drought-stricken trees and not be able to pamper every one of them with mulch and water.

I figured it would stay cool long enough for me to haul a load of water before unloading the mulch. Not! By the time I got a load of water from the lodge, washed and filled the hummingbird feeders, and shoveled out the mulch, it was over 100°. Fighting exhaustion, I went for more water. At the lodge I told the woman at the desk where you pay that I was tired, as I had just unloaded a load of mulch. She remarked that she couldn't imagine what a person would use mulch for out in this country. I guess I live in my own little world.

My husband had loaded the mulch and the next day his bad back was hurting intensely. I want more mulch (only had enough for 3 trees) so I'm going to try to get him to load his bigger pickup with the bobcat loader. It'll be a killer for me to unload, but what else is new. My babies need it so bad.

After taking a short nap, I gave them all a little water while watching a gorgeous male Bullock's Oriole picking bugs off the hummingbird feeders. Unfortunately, he didn't make a dent in them. My camera was in my pickup and I was in the water truck, but tomorrow I'll try to photograph it. Saw several empidonax flycatchers, but I refuse to even look at another one of them.

Also tomorrow I have to install a new pump in one of the house rain barrels, then haul a load of water to it, then water the courtyard with it. (The courtyard vegetation is really hurting bad. Lots of stuff in it has died.) Then back to Alpine for more mulch, service the feeders there, do laundry.... you get the idea.

Empidonax ID challenge

2011-09-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week Kelly Bryan photographed several empidonax flycatchers at my oasis. Yesterday he emailed the photos to me in the form of a quiz. It was so much fun trying to figure out which were which that I thought some of you Texbirders would like to try your hand at it. So, with Kelly's permission, here are 8 photos (taken by Kelly) of 4 individuals of 3 species. Even knowing which 3 species were involved in the quiz, I only guessed one correctly. Click any photo to enlarge.

Empid 1A

Empid 1B

Empid 2A

Empid 2B

Empid 3A

Empid 3B

Empid 4A

Empid 4B

This is just for fun and maybe a learning experience. I know it's about as tough a challenge as birding can offer, and very few of you will even attempt it.

Mulch

2011-09-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

Mulch is so important when trying to keep the ground from drying out, and even more so in this drought. (Think frosting on a cake.) The Alpine recycling center has it for free, so I couldn't resist. I would take all they have if I could physically haul it away. But I intend to take some to CMO with me every time I go there for as long as the mulch supply lasts. My husband loaded my pickup with what I hope is the first of many loads. It's wonderful stuff. Unlike grass clippings that blow away, this should stay better and last longer.

The mulch is shredded tree limbs and has a lot of pine needles in it.

I baked hubby a yummy cake.

A triple win! (Oasis, Hugh, and me)

Here is the documentary-only photo Kelly Bryan was able to snap of an Eastern Kingbird taking off to continue south after a brief stop at CMO on 9-5-11 (see post for that day).

I feel such gratitude to Kelly for so much, including this photo. Thanks, Kelly.

New yard bird

2011-09-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

Kelly and Donna Bryan arrived early along with their friends, Charles and Nancy Floyd. We saw 6 hummingbird species in spite of brisk winds all day. Kelly spotted an Eastern Kingbird, which is a species I'd never seen here before. We both ran for our cameras but he was faster, and managed to get a couple of shots, one as it was taking off, and the other in flight. I was just a few seconds too late. When I get copies of Kelly's shots, I'll post them here. Meanwhile, it is a documented new yard bird, considered rare in this area.

I was amazed that we captured and banded 5 Calliope hummingbirds today. Surely a record number for here. (One pictured here.)

My guests are spending the night in the guesthouse, then heading towards Study Butte / Terlingua to band at a couple of sites there. I'm staying behind to haul water to my trees. Bummer, but gotta do what I gotta do to keep my oasis as healthy as possible during this ENDLESS drought.

Besides the kingbird, Kelly counted at least 6 empidinax flycatchers; 3 Dusky, 2 Least, and 1 Hammond's.

Cooler, but WINDY

2011-09-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

Kelly and Donna Bryan gave me this thistle seed feeder for my birthday in July. Today I saw my first finch (Lesser Goldfinch) at it.

I already had an upside-down thistle feeder but for some reason it only attracts Pine Siskins.

I look forward to having more goldfinches around this winter, including American Goldfinches. The regular seed feeders attract House Finches, but they don't use this type, or the upside-down feeder, which is the reason for using them.

Here are a couple of other shots from today. The first is of the shade water feature. I have one in the sun for better photography, but the birds prefer the shade one. Knowing that I'll always have the water features, and at least a few trees even if it doesn't rain for another year helps me cope with the drought better. (Maybe if you click on the photo you can see the water trickling over the little "falls.")

This next photo is of the mulberry trees viewing area. Sometimes there are 10 or more people sitting there observing birds eating mulberries, even as recently as this spring, which seems eons ago. The mulberry trees are to the left of this view, not shown on this photo. The tree in the center is a Live Oak, alive, but sparce. The one on the right is a Little Texas Walnut, and in the background between them is an apricot tree. I've been surprised at how well the latter is holding up in the drought and heat.

Below is a hummer at what seems to be the only flower on my place--

an anisacanthus sometimes called Desert-Honeysuckle. As for the hummer, it appears to be a selasphorus, either a Broad-tailed or Rufous. Sorry to disapoint those of you who think I know my hummers better. I'm still learning. This time of year there are lots of confusing juveniles that can be hard to distinguish from adult females.

A new normal

2011-09-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for several days, so thought I'd better check in. Today was another day of hauling water and watering, as tomorrow will be. It's beginning to feel like normal.

My son from Alpine, Eric Faust, came down briefly with a friend, Herman, who it turns out we both have friends in common, Matt and Heidi in Marathon. Small world. Not having heard from my other son from Austin, Leonardo Sonoqui, for months, I called him. He says he hasn't called because he checks my blog every day and feels up-to-date. That would be fine and dandy if he had a blog I could check. (He's a talented artist and photographer.)

Anyway, I got Eric to cut down some dead trees. He was in a hurry to get back to Alpine but I was glad to get the trees down even though it left me a huge mess to clean up. My chain saw broke before he got all the dead willows cut, but that saved me from overdoing myself. My former willow patch is going to become a mesquite thicket eventually. At least my mesquites are alive and green and don't require hardly any watering.

Quite a few migrants are coming through ahead of the cold front. Chance of rain tomorrow (Sunday) and cooler Monday. Today was still triple-digit as I slaved away. Monday and Tuesday hummingbird banders will be banding here and at several other places in South Brewster County. They'll be staying in my guesthouse so I have a lot of work to get done tomorrow. I hope the headache I've been dealing with for 2 days is gone by tomorrow. I'll post some photos of something around here tomorrow, even if it's just my growing brush pile.

Making the best of it

2011-08-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

I do enjoy my oasis, and if I can enjoy it in the worst of times, that's good. And think of the millions of people worse off. For them, no rain can mean crop failure and starvation. Even if they had the money to buy water, there's no water for them to buy. And I do enjoy not having snakes, grass, weeds, or mosquitoes. This whole experience is educational. (I'm trying to be upbeat about it.)

I wasn't able to locate a dragonfly that wasn't in flight. Too fast to photograph. Saw an Orchard Oriole that seemed to be picking the flies off a feeder, but couldn't be sure. Maybe he was trying to get to the sugar water.

In the last 2 days I hauled about 3,000 gallons of water and watered everything. It's easier to be cheerful when things are watered and I'm not sick. Soon it'll cool off and I won't have to water as much.

Tomorrow I'm going to Alpine, as we'll be banding in the Davis Mountains for the next 3 days.

All things reconsidered

2011-08-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Having gone a whole year now without measurable rain, it gets me to thinking of what I should have done differently. I can't really think of anything. If you want an oasis in the desert you have to water it. Otherwise, you'll end up with what was there before you started, a desert in a desert. Even native trees weren't there before I planted. Granted a few might survive without water for a year or so. Like native hackberry, soapberry, and junipers. Maybe buckeye and persimmons. But the sotol even look dead, so I don't want to chance losing my trees, native or otherwise. And most of what I planted are natives, whatever "native" is.

Does it mean grew here a thousand years ago, or may still be around a thousand years in the future? How long does a plant that has naturalized have to be here before it's considered a native? I never was a purist. I planted what I thought I could keep alive when the inevitable drought came and what I thought would attact the most variety of birds. A few I just wanted the fun of growing. The Chinese Pistachio comes to mind in that category. I knew my cottonwoods and mulberries would be iffy. But so worth having in a desert oasis. No conclusions, just thoughts. Enduring things like this record cold winter, record hot summer, and record drought change who we are. And what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I took a few minutes late this afternoon to watch the feeders. For several weeks now they've been plagued with tiny black fly-like insects.

Then today for the first time I saw swarms of olive-colored dragonflies (maybe Variegated Meadowhawks?) around the feeder area and nowhere else. That would be serendipity if the dragonflies eat the black flies. They move too fast for me to get photos but maybe tomorrow I can find one perched. Consulting my dragonfly book it says, "where prey is abundant, flyers can quickly gather in swarms to feed on it." (Dragonflies through Binoculars by Sidney Dunkle, pg 11)

And there are quite a few flycatching birds here to feast on the dragonflies. I wish I had more time to observe. I saw a couple of empidinax flycatchers besides an Eastern Phoebe, a Black Phoebe, and a

Western Wood-Pewee.

Also saw a hummer that I think is a juvenile male Calliope. Too bad it wasn't present when we banded here Friday. It would have made our 6th species for CMO for that day.

Newspaper article about CMO

2011-08-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

I always dread articles about my place because they're usually so inaccurate. This one from the Houston Chronicle is no exception.

http://www.chron.com/life/article/Christmas-Mountains-Oasis-a-haven-for-birds-2142829.php

I agreed to the article on condition I could proof it first. Of course, that never happened. One of the most glaring inaccuracies is that cottonwood trees grow naturally at my place. Maybe they did thousands of years ago.

Most migrants come in the spring months (Apr-May), though some do come in Aug-Sept.

This is also incorrect: "She had two concrete-lined ponds built to catch rainwater as it flows down an arroyo. A small dam diverts any excess to trees and understory plants." In actuality, the concrete-lined tanks are for storing water that is diverted by dams into them. The tanks (not ponds) do not catch flowing rainwater. And no dam diverts excess to trees and understory plants. All are watered by me by hand with a hose, or from rainfall. Oh, and I built the tanks along with my late husband, Sherwood Kolb. Just to set the record straight.

At least the last paragraph quotes me accurately.

There I got that off my chest.

Big Banding Blitz

2011-08-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

I thought today went well. The group banded at 3 places in S Brewster Co, including CMO. They caught 81 hummers, 40 of which were Lucifers, plus 5 other species. All had a good time. The weather wasn't over 100° for a change, and with a brisk breeze, not too uncomfortable. The next couple of days are supposed to be brutally hot, so we got lucky there. Here's Kelly retrieving a bird from a trap.

And here's some of the group waiting as Kelly is grilling the meat for lunch.

Food at last...

Still running....

2011-08-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

Made it through another day. Put water in the water feature. On my post of July 12, 2010 I posted a photo of how it looks during good times. Here it is today.

Helpful visitors

2011-08-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

I was working on the water feature when an old friend, Bill Tarbox, and a new friend, Greg Page, visited. They helped lift some of the horsetails out, and now the water feature is ready to go. It got too dark by the time I got water hauled to it and the pump running, but if the javelina don't demolish it before I get back down there tomorrow, I'll take photos.

Greg had never seen a Dusky Flycatcher and, as there were several empidinax flycatchers hanging around, we photographed them in hopes of one turning out to be a Dusky. I don't think any I shot were, but maybe he got lucky. Here are the two I got. I think Least and Willow. Or they could both be the same bird.

Empids are so hard to ID. All help appreciated.

I'm feeling somewhat better today.

Plans

2011-08-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

I'm still feeling dizzy and weak. My husband isn't feeling well either, and he has never handled a hummingbird, so that can't be the cause. Probably what I suspected all along, working too hard in the heat for too long a time, combined with old age, makes me susceptible to viruses.

Nevertheless, I'm plugging away. For the second consecutive year now, a group of 15-20 bird banders will be visiting (Aug. 26), and I have lots I want to get done before then. Luckily, I arranged the seating in the house (for our luncheon) before I got sick.

Now, besides hauling water and trying to water my oasis, I'm ever so slowly trying to clean out my central water feature. I habitually put potted water plants in it, then they escape their pots and take over, leaving no room for water, or for viewing birds at the water. I've removed the water lilies and have to chop out the horsetails in the foreground. I'll leave those in the back part. Grueling work. In a normal year this is all pretty shaded and hidden by vegetation, so the growth in the water is too much.

I'm determined to end up with a better oasis after this drought is over than I had before, though it may take a year or two. Before, during rainy times, it was pretty much a mass of greenery, often snake infested. Now I hope to continue in the direction I originally envisioned, that of a lush green canopy with a sprinkling of understory and wildflowers. I had let native grasses overtake the ground beneath. I hope to prevent that from now on, and use more mulch instead. The most native stuff should survive so there will be more of that in the future.

I plan to prune up this cottonwood, if it survives, making room beneath it for the volunteer mulberry to thrive. That means cutting off the huge lower left limb. The tree looks bad right now and may well succumb to the drought. Currently, that lower left limb is the only one with leaves left on it.

Also going to cut out all the dead willows. And continue creating the hummingbird flower garden I started working on a year or so ago. With a few good rains, it should get lovely. More on that in future posts.

This sprawling huisache tree is going to get severely pruned to make it more upright and allow the small live oak under it to thrive. Many projects like that are in the plans. As I and my trees wait for rain.