Oasis overload

OMG! The number of species seen at the oasis today was limited only by one's ability to see and identify them. I managed 55 species, but know there were more. It was 109° there and the only water and food around. Quite a few insects... so many biting flies that I had to use repellent. And still berries ripening on the persimmons and Chinese Pistache trees. Two species I'd never documented at the oasis before, Grace's Warbler and Least Grebe.

The warbler flitted around in the grass so fast that I couldn't get a good photo, but at least documentation.

The grebe was much more cooperative. Even gave me a big covid hug. 

And while I'm anthropomorphizing, isn't it sweet how this father and son are bonding?

Nice photo ops today at the bird bath. Here are a few of the countless one I snapped.

Male Townsend's Warbler

Plumbeous Vireo (with deformed bill)

Young male Lazuli Bunting

Virginia Warbler

Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

As you may guess, I didn't get much watering done today, so I have to really get with it tomorrow.

Update on yesterday

A night's rest sure makes a difference. When I came dragging into the house yesterday my husband asked me if it had been worth it. I, unhesitatingly, answered "no." But today I told him it had been worth it. Turns out I had photographed a Paiute Dancer after all, which is a lifer for me. Yesterday I didn't think I had gotten it.

It doesn't look like the Paiute in my field guide, but it doesn't look like any other damselfly in my field guide either. 

Did not get a Desert Forktail but I already had that species, just not a photo of a male.

Not so fascinating!

For what I anticipated to be a fun day of odeing at Sandia Wetlands by Balmorhea turned out quite miserable. For starters, I couldn't fall asleep last night until 2 AM, so not my perkiest this morning. I had hoped to spend at least 3 hours there, hopefully more.

As soon as I arrived a couple of things were immediately apparent. Although I brought extra food and water so I wouldn't be rushed, I had forgotten a hat. No way could I endure, much less enjoy, odeing with no hat and no shade. I considered leaving.

Had I been in my pickup, I would have had a hat. I keep all kinds of things stashed in my pickup.  I scrounged around the car that we never leave anything in. Not always kept clean on the outside, but neat and new looking on the inside. All I could come up with was a reusable grocery bag that I kept rolled up in the door pocket so I don't end up with so many plastic bags at the store.... when I remember to use it.  And a plastic face shield that I keep on the dashboard since the pandemic. That was it. Nothing else. A couple of face masks don't count.

So I wrapped the bag around the face shield and arranged it on my head. Had to be redone every now and then as wind blew it off, or it worked its way down over my face. But it worked. Luckily the face shield had an elastic band that secured it around the head so that helped secure the bag-wrapped shield somewhat. And luckily, hardly any wind.

Next things I noticed were workers with loud weed-eaters working out in the wetland. Not a big deal, but somewhat spoils the ambiance. And I felt rather conspicuous in my "fascinator hat."

The mosquitoes were ravenous! Even though I don't react to them, it's most annoying. I'd just about be focused on a damselfly and the biting fiends would provoke me into swatting at them. Of course, the ode disappeared post haste.

But neither the 100° heat, nor mosquitoes, drove me away. What finally did me in after a couple of hours was pain in my back. Just can't do this stuff anymore.

I don't know yet if I got photos of the two species I most wanted from there, a Desert Forktail and Paiute Dancer. Will need help IDing my photos. Here's one that I found fascinating. It's of a pair of Rambur's Forktails, in copula, with the female eating a male Desert Firetail. You don't see that every day.

I probably messed up on getting a Paiute Dancer by not studying the book before I searched. I didn't realize they had blue-ringed abdomens so I dismissed all that had that as Blue-ringed Dancers. Later, when I looked in the field guide I saw my mistake. Here's Blue-ringed Dancer from today. (The Paiute has a different patterned thorax.)

I'll update tomorrow.

One day closer to rain

So hot and exhausting. I just keep putting one foot ahead of the other and know that it's not forever. Eventually, it'll rain, or cool off, anyway. 105° today, and I had a headache all night (dehydration from yesterday's six hours of watering). But I had no choice but to finish watering, repair the hoist on the seed feeder, pump rain barrel water into the house tank, fill and clean hummingbird feeders, and I forget what all else before heading back to Alpine. Not quite as birdy today. This is the only photo I even took. I was just in survival mode.

It's a juvenile Yellow-rumped Warbler that I was trying to make into something else, but couldn't. No wonder they're called "confusing fall warblers."

A hard rewarding day

Got to the oasis around 8 AM, needing to water the trees and service feeders. Before I even started, I felt tired, but resting wasn't an option. I would have liked to just sit and watch the birds. In a drought the oasis is a "migrant trap." I tallied over 40 species while watering and not birding. Imagine what if I had taken time to sit and observe. Carried my camera all day and snapped some photos, of course.

Female Wilson's Warbler

American Kestrel

Female Calliope Hummingbird

Mid-afternoon, when I could go no more, I spied a gorgeous male Lazuli Bunting coming in to the seed feeder. I sat down, determined to practice what I'd recently learned from a lovely visitor. I've actually been struggling and agonizing with photography for over 70 years. Obviously, I needed it simplified. This angel (Joanna Willars) helped do that on my wave length. Now if I keep practicing, I may actually be less frustrated with photography, because there's no way I'll ever stop taking pictures. The cool thing about this photo is that I took it with my camera using manual settings. Manual, not Auto!

Another fallout day!

So many birds coming to the oasis for water and food. I checked and there are still persimmons and Chinese Pistache berries on the trees, besides my feeders and insects. That's the only good side of the drought, but I'd rather have no birds than drought. Here's a Hermit Warbler. It took a bath in a puddle under a tree as I was watering the trees.

We've managed to tally 50 species per day yesterday and today, and I've no doubt we missed a bunch. I expect the bounty will continue until the area gets rain... or migration ends. A Rufous Hummingbird took advantage of my tree watering too.

This MacGillivray's Warbler opted for the water feature.

Busy busy busy

Headed south early this morning. Always exciting to see my mountain come into view.

Here's a recent video clip from my sister's critter cam. One of these days I'm going to put mine up.



I saw a fawn at my big tank today.

And lots of birds at the oasis. More than usual during fall migration but that's because no water anywhere else. Here's a lovely Nashville Warbler.

And here's the Aoudad photo I promised you, taken by Ivan Castaneda.on Aug 16. I think  there are at least 30 in that herd. And plenty of babies to ensure their population growth. UGH!

Several days ago a bird photographer, Mike Williams, took this photo of a Black-capped Vireo here.

So that makes four vireo species we've had at the oasis this month (Bell's, Black-capped, Warbling, and Hutton's.)

I love seeing Lucifer Hummingbird nesting success in the form of juveniles. Here's a cute male.

And I just love this photo of an adult male by Mike Williams. It totally captures the essence of the species.

Fun Post Park day!

This morning I headed to Post Park south of Marathon, specifically to locate an Orange Bluet that a friend had seen there two days ago. I followed her instructions on locating one. And to make sure nothing got overlooked, I photographed every damselfly that was even remotely orange-ish. There were quite a few beige-ish damselflies that I assumed were juveniles (tenerals). I didn't see anything that looked like the photo she had showed me. It's not really a lifer for me, I saw a few in Austin some years back, but none in Brewster County, and no good photos of a male.

After doing this for an hour or two (I lose track of time) some birder friends arrived and soon saw the Groove-billed Ani that had been being seen at the park a week or so ago. So I determined to photograph the ani. I got this unsatisfactory shot, but hung around the location for another hour or so (I lose track of time). I heard it call, but never saw it again, so made another round of the pond for the Orange Bluet and headed for home.

As I was going through my photos trying to ID everything, I saw one ode that looked like it could be an Orange Bluet. It hasn't been confirmed yet, but I'm pretty certain.* So an exciting day after all!

Yesterday in Alpine I photographed this Plateau Spreadwing consuming what appears to be a teneral firetail or something.

Tomorrow I have to go water at the oasis. I'm tired now, but I'm sure I'll be ready in the morning.

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Orange Bluet has now been confirmed. Another I submitted with it (below) has been confirmed. I think this one is the juvenile female, and the first one a juvenile male.

Odeing blues

I finally got some visiting oders and no odes worth looking at here. Bleak. Need rain.  Birds are scrounging around as best they can. Eating the Chinese pistachio berries (which I'm glad to see) and what insects they can find.

Summer Tanager

Trying to sort out Empidonax flycatchers but not making much progress. Here are a couple of Lesser Goldfinches.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

Several days ago Jimi Lowrey took this AWESOME photo from the oasis (looking northeast) of a meteor. How cool is that?

And this evening I saw my first oasis Bullsnake. Exciting for me.

And here's a preview of the Aoudad photo yet to come. Taken by Ivan Castanedo on the west side of my big hill. When he gets home and processes his photos he'll send me the actual photo.

All in a day's play

I'm pacing myself a little better lately. I have a doctor's appointment for Thursday just to check my heart. Nothing to play around with.

Sat at the drip after I finished the watering that I didn't get finished yesterday. Mostly the same birds. Tomorrow some birders are coming and the more eyes the better the birds. Today I had a bird photographer here, but he didn't walk around birding so much as just sit at the camera.

Also tomorrows visitors are into odes. Alas, the flycatchers ate them all I think. That Warbling Vireo is still here. I was glad to see it eating an American Snout butterfly (although I didn't get a photo of it). Those dang snouts (sorry, Brian) have blanketed the place for at least a month. Time to make themselves good for something.

Walking along my trail I encountered a javelina that wouldn't budge. Discretion is the better part of valor, so I made a wide circuit around him. His hairs were standing straight up, and I knew I was between him and the rest of  his squadron.

The drought is so bad that birds are eating the berries on the Chinese Pistachio tree as fast as they ripen. I've never seen birds eat those berries before. Maybe I'm just more observant lately, since the tree is near the drip/birdbath that I sit watching more now.

Summer Tanager