New Year's Eve update

 Because there was no way I could go see the record snowfall at the oasis my awesome sister and her awesome daughter walked the mile in through foot deep snow to take photos of the wonderment for me. Here are a few of them. My mountain...

Next photo is looking north halfway through their walk. Photo taken from atop the big hill that currently is impassable.

All her photos were taken with a cell phone. I'm impressed.

When I first saw this next photo of my new tank I thought the roof on it had collapsed. But upon closer scrutiny, I'm quite sure the north wind blew the snow from the north side of it.

2020 year in review

January was warmer than normal. Added a new agave stalk to the oasis collection. Tallest one I've ever had. A real challenge to install.

February felt like nothing to do but wait it out. A Golden-fronted Woodpecker over-wintered, which seemed nice for a while until it kept tilting the hummingbird feeders, causing bees to swarm them.      

(photo by Kim Wylie,  Mar 4)

Early in March I got some much needed work done on the road. That was a big relief.

 

Then came the pandemic.  How ironic that the first time the road was good for low clearance vehicles, none came.  All birding groups and trips canceled their visits.

April migration was slow, maybe because so few birders documenting it. Used water from the new tank to keep everything lovely.  

In May I got a life bird, a Blue-winged Warbler at the oasis. A species I only expected to ever see in photos.

Photo by Jon McIntyre. (His was better than mine)

June arrived very hot and dry. Started to get concerned about water supply holding out so cut back on watering. Triple digit heat daily. Things were starting to die when a surprise cloudburst slammed the oasis at the end of June. Surrounding areas didn't get hardly any. The oasis was the epicenter. And if that wasn't a miracle enough, the stucco tank didn't leak. So the oasis was in water heaven.... for a while anyway.

July continued with record breaking heat, and no rain. I didn't mind so much with having all that wonderful water. My pride was the dragonfly pond but it didn't host any interesting odes. 

Since, for the most part, surrounding areas were hot and dry, the oasis attracted some nice species. The best butterfly was a female Ornythion Swallowtail.

There were some great odes (California & Chalky Spreadwings) in the stucco tank for a while.

And my favorite ode photo of the year is this one I took near Balmorhea of  Rambur's Forktails with a Desert Firetail.

Also in July was the comet Neowise. Here's my favorite photo of it taken from the big hill on my road.

Photo by Jimi Lowrey

Incredibly, August continued with the triple-digit heat and scant to no rain. It was very wearing on the soul. If not for the late June rain I got, the oasis would be history.

September rolled around and things did finally cool off slightly. Migration was awesome. The June rain had arrived just right for the persimmon trees in the arroyo. Between them, the hummingbird feeders and seed feeders, birds were happy campers. Always plenty of insects too. Really enjoyed the oasis's first Least Grebe. 

So many great birds in August and September, including Hermit Warblers.

It was extremely exciting to discover a molting male Costa's Hummingbird at my oldest son's house in Alpine on Sep 22. It hung around for three weeks. Quite a few birders made trips to see it. My youngest son moved to Alpine in September and took this photo of it. (He'll be running the oasis when I'm gone.)

Not much cooler in October, with daily high temperatures in the 90s. Birding was still the best ever! The oasis hosted wonderful birds, including this Cassin's Finch.

Got my first Common Loon photos at Lajitas. Then an arctic blast came along which shut me down for a few days. As soon as that abated I went to Lake Balmorhea and got a lifer Yellow-billed Loon.

November remained unseasonable warm and dry. I was surprised to get a lifer Wood Thrush in Marathon. My sister-in-law, Dale Ohl, moved back to the area, so I'll be making birding excursions much more frequently. It's just like the good ol' days, but better, because now we have the internet, ebird, decent cameras, better birding skills, etc. Of course, we've slowed down some during the past fifteen years since we had been birding buddies.

Bird-wise, December was the bleakest ever, since the beginning of the oasis. I read somewhere that 2020 was the fourth driest year on record. Other places had way fewer birds too even though rarities kept popping up, including a Clark's Nutcracker in Alpine (late Nov-early Dec.). Another lifer for me.

A horrible year for the whole world has finally come to an end. For me personally, it's been a good year other than the drought. Great birding! I love having my son and sister-in-law living here. Since I'm certain I had covid a year ago, I don't worry much about getting it. I rather like an excuse not to socialize or eat in restaurants, etc. 

In true 2020 fashion, the year ended with a record snowfall (about 12").  My sister said it's indescribably gorgeous. No way can I get to the oasis to see it. Her carport collapsed and I have no idea what damage, if any the oasis suffered, but I do know we got some welcome moisture. Over an inch for sure when it melts.

Unexpected bear visit

Hadn't had a bear visit this year so figured none would show up. Took away the unwelcome mat, unfortunately. I didn't see a bear but only a bear would have been heavy and strong enough to straighten the strap the steel ring was anchored to. I can't even bend it without a lot of effort. I had bolted it together during bear season, but it was a  bother so I quit doing it.

Here's the finished workshop project.  Looking good. Not just a narrow aisle down the middle with shelves too deep to access or see what's on them. Not beautiful, but functional for the first time.

More transitioning in progress

My son is working at making the oasis property his future home, while I'm spending more time in town. It's a necessary transition, and better than not being prepared for the future. He's been there making the tool storage shed into a functional workshop, a most daunting task.

The shelves were so deep that there wasn't much space down the middle, so he took everything out and cut the shelves shallower. I don't know where he gets all that energy. I'm very grateful for him. He's just what the place needs.

Here's some of the stuff he took out. Most of it is heavy and obsolete, useless stuff to him or me.

 

I'm so glad he's into this. I wish he had taken a "before" photo. I'll get him to at least do an "after" pic.

And he gathered some sotol. It's great for starting a fire in the efficiency wood stove or cooking meat on.

A year of change and transition

 The oasis went from the birdiest it's ever been to the least birdy, almost overnight. 

One big, more permanent, change is my son moving to the area. He's doing most of the maintenance at the oasis other than I'm still watering and servicing feeders. He bought a jackhammer today that he plans to use to make improvements to the road. That is huge! He'll be able to make the steepest part a little less steep and less rough. I'm excited about it!

And my husband sold his rent houses so that takes a big workload off me. 

And my birding buddy, Dale Ohl (sister-in-law) moved back to the area

.

And I'll probably wear a mask in public for the rest of my life now. Seems unwise to expose myself, at my age, to whatever viruses are circulating. Plus I'll always limit close contact, hugs, and shaking hands from now on. 

I'm also going to be more focused on proper breathing. It seems modern man is always suppressing breathing to the bare minimum, for whatever reason. Like I hold my breath when listening for birds, looking through binoculars, and especially camera lens. But new research is bringing to light the value of good breathing practices. Maybe it'll help my essential tremors and tinnitus. Can't hurt.

Today I took a few bird photos before heading back to town. The Ladder-backed Woodpecker doesn't seem to tilt the feeders like the Golden-fronted did last winter. I haven't had the feeders swarming with bees anyway.

Molting male Anna's Hummingbird

Rufous-crowned Sparrow

Shortest day of the year

I always love it when the days start getting longer. Reenergizes me. Came to water the oasis today. Still basically bird-less here. Even the very first winter of the oasis, while the trees were little more than saplings, I had a flock of Mountain Bluebirds visit every day to get a drink. Other places in Big Bend area have good birds. I guess the drought is keeping birds away from this area. But it'll improve. Before I know it the Lucifers will be back. And the abundance of good birds in September and October makes up for the scarcity now. Thankfully, water isn't an issue this winter.

I've been entranced by the Big Bend ever since I first came here in the early 1970s. I especially loved Agua Fria Mountain.

Photo by Marshall Bowling

Originally, I purchased land near the base of it. On my deed it said they would furnish me a road to my 80 acres. I camped in a trailer and tent for a year waiting on the promised road. Finally, they said it couldn't be done and refunded my money. Several times I tried to climb it unsuccessfully, and I've visited the spring for which it's named a couple of times. Photographed the rock art near the springs too. But I never saw what the top of the mountain looked like and always wondered. A few days ago I found a photo of the top of it online. I'm sure that's the closest I'll ever get to actually seeing it, but based on experiencing my mountain, I bet it's a whole other world up there.

The ranch that the mountain sits on is for sale for many millions of dollars. I hope the new owners conserve the land and stop the overgrazing of cattle on it.

Oasis time

 I went to the oasis early this morning, planning to stay overnight. But when I got there I discovered the water heater in the kitchen was leaking. House water is in really short supply without a well and with this record drought, so my priority was to get the water turned off. Took a couple of hours. There are three valves between the tank and the water heater but one doesn't shut off and the other two were frozen. Finally, with a hammer and kleins, I got the water off. My back hurts all the time and even more so contorting my body to get to the valves, which were both in hard to get places. I ended up breaking the handle of one of them. 

By then, I didn't have it in me to do any watering, so I tackled the drip that hasn't worked for awhile. I made it much harder than it would have needed to be. All I needed to do was take off one connection and clean it, but I had it in my head the skinny line would always be a problem plugging up with silt so I took everything out and put in a garden hose. But once I got that installed I couldn't stand the looks of it, and couldn't hide it, so went back to the original line. When I took off the reducer in it, there was algae plugging it. No silt in the line. In the future, I'll know to just clean that fitting. 

As soon as I had it running two Anna's Hummingbirds jumped in to bathe. Just reinforced how wonderful a drip is. Worth all the trouble for sure.

The oasis is so dry and dead looking and so bird-less that I don't enjoy being at it right now. I would have needed to build a fire in the house, and I would have pushed myself to get more work done, so I retreated back to town with its warm house.

I bought a new water heater that my son will install this weekend. Meanwhile, it's so hard to wash your hands or brush your teeth without a faucet. I can do it, but didn't see the point.

Third's a charm

Three times I went to the Davis Mountain State Park trying to photograph a Ruddy Ground Dove being seen there. Yesterday it had been seen at 8:30 AM, so I arrived today at 8:20, and there it was feeding beneath a feeder. But as soon as I raised my camera it disappeared. I waited and froze for three hours when another birder spotted it back in the brush a ways uphill from the viewing area. Finally got a photo. I would have preferred one of it feeding, but just thrilled at this point to have anything.

Actually, I sort of went for it four times. The first time I was right outside the park on my way home from getting the Tundra Swans at Balmorhea, but lost cell service and was on an important phone call, so turned around. The second time it was too cold for me (24°) so I only waited 45 minutes for it, but it didn't show. Then the third time I was on the way back from Balmorhea with Dale so she could see the swans, but she had to get home, so we only were there 30 minutes. So today, I was determined. Likely I would have failed if it hadn't been for that young ace birder there.

Yesterday I watered trees at the oasis. The most bird-less it's ever been I think. Did have 5 Anna's Hummingbirds though. Dry and little greenery, with few birds, is kind of a downer. Having more fun chasing good birds here. About ran out of good birds to chase though. Maybe something good will show up.

Winter birds

 As long as birding continues as good as it has been, winter is more tolerable. Today I impulsively rushed to Balmorhea to see some rare Tundra Swans reported there.

And I still haven't tired of photographing the Clark's Nutcracker.

Alpine snow day

 No precipitation at the oasis but a nice snow in Alpine.

I've been wanting a photo of a Harris Hawk for a long time. Today I finally got photos of three of them. It's feast or famine!

The cold doesn't seem to slow birds down, or birders either. Lots of birders in town seeking the Clark's Nutcracker. I put out some nuts for it that I'm told he ate, but I didn't hang around waiting. Went seeking the Harris Hawk instead. I already had the nutcracker's photo. 

Even the Rufous Hummingbird seemed not to notice the cold and snow.

The birds keep coming

 Nothing good at the oasis, but Alpine has had really good birds lately. The Clark's Nutcracker is still here and delighting many seekers of it. Today it flew into a pecan tree, knocked a pecan to the ground, dropped down to retrieve it, and consumed it back in the tree.

There are other good birds around town too, plus I just learned there's a Ruddy Ground-Dove at the Davis Mountains State Park. I need a photo of one and need it for my Jeff Davis County list, so I may chase it in the morning. It's just so miserably cold outdoors that it's hard to think of going out.

As if the Arctic front isn't enough to contend with, we have rampant covid and record drought. I'm beginning to hate that dark red color. It's starting to look like dried blood mixed with the sweat and tears.

And speaking of covid, if you look at my blog posts for last December, you'll see I was sick for three weeks with what I've believed was covid ever since I learned there was such a thing. Now the CDC has discovered that many blood samples from last December have covid antibodies in them. The record number of flu deaths last winter were probably mostly from covid. Like my daughter was very sick in early November, went to the doctor, who told her it was not the flu, but was some kind of virus, he didn't know what kind. I've heard similar stories from many, many people.

So, I'm hoping I'm immune. I had forgotten a lot about my illness until I looked back at my blog. And I never get colds or flu, which makes it even more strange. I remember two instances during that illness that I was unable to breathe and thought I might die. Being an asthmatic, I had little tricks and steroidal inhalers for such situations, that probably saved my life. In my memory the painful throat stood out the most. Maybe, because I still have my tonsils, they fought the battle. I'm not sure, but I don't think most people have working tonsils, if they still have them at all.

The incidences happened because I had a constant dry cough. It wouldn't let up long enough for me to eat. So when I tried to eat I'd cough, then aspirate and choke. I ate very little for fear of that happening. I had forgotten all about that cough until I checked my blog for December. And I did lose my sense of taste, but that was a minor issue compared to breathing. That's why journaling is so important. My memory is too unreliable.

Crazy birding!

 Yesterday a birder discovered a rare Clark's Nutcracker in Alpine not too far from our home here. Although I rushed over there to look for it, by the time I had learned about it, it was probably through feeding for the day.

So, at daylight this morning, as the moon was setting, I staked out where it had been reported. Other birders, including Dale, began showing up and looked elsewhere. The more eyes spread around, the better the chances. In 30 minutes to an hour, to my astonishment, it landed on a high wire not far from where I was sitting in my car. The temperature was freezing. I was so excited that I fumbled quite a bit with my esoterical phone before I got hold of Dale. By then the bird had hopped down along the fence where it had been seen yesterday. Dale spread the word and within a couple of minutes birders were photographing the object of our pursuit.

I went back to our house to warm up and eat something, then headed back. The observers said it had flown across the golf course, so I drove over there. Dale joined me. Soon she spotted the bird in the grass. Word spread and others arrived. (Cell phones and social media make birding so much more fun!)

Finally I went back to our house to get on with my daily tasks when one of the birders called me that there were Red Crossbills and Cassin's Finches at the cemetery. Not new species for me, or even new county ticks, but as many times as I've checked the cemetery for rare birds, in vain, I couldn't resist actually see what good birds there would look like. So I headed out again.

With help from a birder there I soon located both species. There were other good ones there, I later learned, that I missed. The miss I hated most was a Harris Hawk. When I get back to town after servicing feeders and watering tomorrow, I'll be in pursuit of it.

Female Red Crossbill

Male Cassin's Finch