New oasis species

Got to the oasis around noon today but it was so chilly that I decided to fix myself lunch and wait for the sun to come out. Around 2 PM or so, as I was entering the oasis parking area I saw a large-ish dark bird fly from a perch near the viewing area to the big cottonwood tree. As it flew, I thought maybe a Common Grackle. It looked black. But when it landed, it clung to the trunk, so I knew it was a woodpecker. Then I thought "gotta be a Williamson Sapsucker," but as soon as I got my binoculars on it, I saw it was a rare, to the Big Bend area, Lewis's Woodpecker. It was too far away for a good photo, but I snapped what documentation I could. Then creeping closer for a better shot, it disappeared. However, it hung around the rest of the day, so I got a slightly better shot. I'm hoping it'll be here tomorrow for anyone needing it on their county list.

I already had it for Brewster County. In 2013 one was at Mile High Road. It stayed there for quite some time, so I'm cautiously optimistic here. I don't think there are any acorns left, but there are still some pistachio berries.

Also present today were three American Robins. 

I heard a Gray Catbird, but did not see it. Maybe tomorrow. A visitor here on Monday got a photo of it at the new water feature, which was really cool.

Photo by Betty Moore