One bright spot in a bad day

I didn't have the gumption to go to the oasis to water and service feeders today, but went anyway. Hadn't been watering long when the electricity went out. I can't function there without electricity, so I came back to town. But before I did, I found a new (sorta) oasis butterfly species. Brian had seen it on the mountain; it's a species that hilltops, but none in the oasis before, and I'd never seen one before, so that was exciting for me.

Sleepy Duskywing

I'll have to go back to finish watering in a couple of days, but at least the feeders are serviced.

Chasing a wren

 A wren that might be a Pacific Wren was reported at La Plata (between Shafter and Marfa) several days ago. Today I got a recording of it singing. If it gets accepted as a Pacific Wren it'll be a first Texas record, so just in case, I didn't want to miss seeing it. If it's just a Winter Wren, it's the first time I've seen one singing. 

Alpine nesters

Stuck in Alpine a lot these days, so finding what pleasure I can. A pair of Inca Doves have been building a nest above the grape arbor right outside the sitting room window, so monitoring that. (Second photo shows gathering nesting material.)

Today I saw one of our ducks in the nest box for the first time this year, so monitoring that.

WIND!

I hate March because it's the windy month, and I hate wind worse than heat or cold. But I persevered through the raging gales and watered trees today, plus serviced feeders. Wasn't going to let it get the best of me.  At least there were a few birds to watch meantime. I enjoyed watching a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher catch and eat insects. I swear it belched after this one, but it probably had to assume that position in order to swallow.

I'm not sure what the insect was, maybe a wasp. The bird seemed to handle it gingerly. Probably more used to smaller gnats. (Must be a reason it's called a "gnatcatcher") In this wind and time of year it can't be choosy.

I'm sure I've pointed out, at least once, how the color of Lucifers gorgets change with the light. But these photos were taken of the same bird, at the same time, only seconds apart. Instantly it went from deep purple to magenta.

See, just when you thought there was nothing more to say about Lucifers.....

Did all I could

Finished the watering and applied nearly a gallon of Dryloc to cracks in the stucco tank. I had planned to do a whole gallon but gave out before then. However, it's not doable to coat all the hairline cracks and if I did, they'd just crack again from heat and expansion. So if the cracks weren't leaking, it'll be fine and if they were, they'll now be leaking less, hopefully. I feel pretty confident that the tank will leak very little this year. The cracks were there a couple of years ago when it didn't leak. I'm sure there are currently no places that would leak, but a leak could develop. If there's just a pinhole leak and water gets under the tank floor or walls, then it can erode things from the outside, which is what I'm sure is the main source of leaks that develop. But I've done what I can. Thank goodness I have that new above ground tank (thanks to generous birders) or the oasis wouldn't be nearly the oasis it is now. 

I'd still have Lucifers though. I love them. Here are a couple of recent pictures I snapped. So gorgeous this time of year!

Buffy female

I love the male's tail on this shot

Fall and winter of 2020-2021 was a La Niña, which may be part of why birding was so bad. Now we're in another La Niña, but later this summer we should come out of it and get more rain.

"Forecasters point out that this is actually the second La Niña winter in a row, a not-uncommon phenomenon that they call a "double-dip." The most recent period lasted from August 2020 to April 2021."

Another great oasis day!

I arrived at the oasis at daylight, ready to push myself again. First I stained and sealed the wood on the raised bench. I'm very happy with it even though it doesn't match the other wood exactly.

Used up the leftover paint on a picnic table and small bench.

Didn't do anything to the other picnic table because I want to replace the top boards on it first. Seems one project always leads to another. And another!

Also gave the drip tank another partial coat of paint.

Tomorrow I'm going to finish watering and finish up my sealing project in the stucco tank.

Darn gophers are burrowing right next to the underground basin in the new water feature. We went to a lot of trouble to protect the sides of the plastic liner from burrowing critters. Sure hope it works! I read online that they can burrow up under things as deep as six foot, so I sure hope they don't attack the reservoir from below.

Pushed myself hard today

Got quite a bit done today, then back to town to wait out the impending cold front.

First thing this morning I went to check my drip. Had an unexpected sight beside it.

My guess is that a newborn javelina got trampled or maybe was stillborn. Yuck! As for the drip, it still needs a bit of tweaking, but is acceptable.

Spring migration is inching along. I still haven't decided how, or if, I want to paint the drip tank. I love having the valve at eye level though. I just need a short ladder for filling the tank once a week.

I did some patching in the stucco tank. Still have some more to go, but it's probably as waterproof as it's gonna get.  Here's an example of a patch I put on a bad place.

Then I coat the patches with Dryloc. The above patch is at the red arrow in this next photo.

While watering today I decided to identify the six volunteer conifers that had sprouted a couple of years ago. I had wanted to wait until they were a little bigger to be able to see what they are. Today was the day! I was thrilled that five are Alligator Junipers and one is an Arizona Cypress. Here are a couple of the junipers. Now we need some good monsoons so I can enjoy them as real trees in my lifetime.

Hard, but good day at oasis

I left Alpine at 6 AM, arriving at the oasis around 7:30. No sooner had I filled the seed feeder and cleaned the bird droppings off the viewing blind shelf than birders started showing up. 

Expecting some would, I had filled my tubs with silt from the stucco tank, so got a couple of strong young men to tote the tubs out. That was a life saver. Took them less than 10 minutes and would have killed me if I could even have done it at all in two days time. Finally the stucco tank is cleaned out! That left me enough energy to do countless other little chores, plus I did some watering that I'll need to finish tomorrow. Also hope to finish patching the stucco tank tomorrow.

I had planned on painting a camo design on the drip tank, but chickened out. Afraid I'll mess it up. Thinking about just painting it a solid beige color so the water will be cooler. Otherwise, I'm fine with it as it is. Here it is as I'm filling it.

The male Lucifer has settled down now and goes about his normal routine, waiting for the females to arrive, I guess. He's on territory, guarding it all day long, except occasional feeder visits. Probably forages for insects too, but I was too busy to pay attention. Too busy to watch birds too, but while watering near the back drip, I got a photo of a Green-tailed Towhee. They don't usually leave until May, so plenty of time to enjoy them yet.

Lucifer Hummingbird behavior

Through the years, I've noticed that when the first male Lucifer first arrives, he buzzes right up to me, all hyper. That first flurry of activity seems like he's had a long hard trip and is excited to be back. He usually settles down in a day or two, per my observation (hopefully, not anthropomorphized). And thereafter usually doesn't buzz me like that.

So today I spent most of the morning watching and waiting. Frequent feeder visits by a female Black-chinned, but no Lucifer. 

Shortly after lunch time, a birder showed up. The first thing he asked me was if Lucifers were back yet. I hardly had the "no" out of my mouth when a male Lucifer buzzed us. Maybe because of the birder's orange cap. Maybe so, maybe not. That behavior felt so normal that I doubt the hat caused it. It happened fast, but I was aware that the bird had just streaked in from the south. I didn't get a decent photo. Not only was he bouncing all over the place like an excited puppy, but I was really busy. This is all I got. They're at their most beautiful when they first show up, though you can't tell it from my photo. Photographers should take note though.

I can't believe that basically the only thing I accomplished today was to get about 35 gallons (7 five-gallon buckets) of dried silt out of the bottom of the stucco tank. About 80-100 gallons more to go. I actually did take a photo of it, but accidentally deleted it.😣

My son showed up with the new drip tank stand that he had spent the last two days making. 

The Orange-capped birder (David Mehlman) provided welcome assistance. They got the old one carried off (right side of above photo), and got the new one installed. I had to come to town before the tank got placed on top of the stand, as Lee wanted to paint the planks he has planned to place under the tank. Next time I'm down there, I'll take pictures. Maybe I'll even paint the tank another coat. I feel more pressure to get the stucco tank patched though, so may focus on that. Doubt I'll have the energy to do both.

UPDATE: Lee sent me photos of what he did after I left for town. The next photos I'll take of the tank will be after I paint it again, which should be the final appearance.

Son to the rescue again

The last two days Lee has been slaving away at constructing a new tank stand for my drip tank. It may be every bit as heavy as the raised bench he made recently. I feel really guilty. He's getting farther behind on his business commitments. Totally overloaded.

Not the final color

And here again is the tank that'll go atop it. I think I'll paint it a lighter color to help keep the water cooler, and hopefully free of algae. With all the paint I've put on it, it's nearly opaque. Not quitting until it is. I could have bought a new opaque beige tank for around $600, but didn't have the money. Even this paint was over $60 for a gallon.

As you may recall, the stand will replace this one that wasn't sturdy enough, didn't fit the tank, and required me to climb a ladder a lot. The new one is two feet shorter, which will make a lot of difference. I'll be able to adjust the drip without climbing a ladder.

I'm so excited that we're going to the oasis tomorrow to set this all up. And while I'm there, I plan to work some more on cleaning out the stucco tank. Just depends on how much abuse my body can take. Getting close to finishing. Then a few hours of patching, and it should be good to go when rainy season arrives.

Surely I'll see a Lucifer Hummingbird tomorrow. And Elf Owls are due to start arriving too.

Plugging along

Came to the oasis this morning. Without a helper! How soon I get spoiled! Had my usual lengthy to-do list. My first trip up the big hill since Deirdre and I worked on it. It's definitely improved, but people not familiar with the road might still find it daunting.

Spent most of the day painting. Another coat to the drip tank and putting water sealer on four of my five wooden benches (ran out of sealer on the fifth). Also painted the bench my son raised, to better match the blind and "grandstand," as Deidre called it.

I did see a hummingbird, as expected, but not the Lucifer I expected. This one turned out to be an Anna's, which is good for this time of year. It didn't hang around long. Lucifers have never arrived this late before.

Identifying White-crowned Sparrow subspecies is fraught with frustration too. Here's one that I think is a Z. oriantha subspecies, characterized by black lore and darker bill.

However, this next picture is the same bird where the bill looks the same color as the Z. gambelii subspecies. Following photo is of a Z. gambelii with the same color bill. Go figure!

 Oh, well. I'll let the experts deal with it. Gotta rest up for another grueling day tomorrow.

Continuing oasis progress

Yesterday Deirdre and I worked a while on the rocks at the steepest part of the big hill. I think we made it less daunting, and a smoother ascent, so I'm happy about that. We also coated the water drip tank in an attempt to make it more algae-proof. Still needs another coat.

Before it's put back on its stand, my son is going to reconfigure the stand to make it more user-friendly and stronger. Right now the welds don't look strong enough for the weight, plus I had to continually climb a ladder to check the water level and fill it. I like that it'll have a lower profile too. All good! 

Ultimately, I'll spray paint it green again like I had before. Here's the only photo I can find of it green, but gives you the idea.

Can't wait to get back to the oasis and to see the Lucifers that I'm sure are starting to arrive now.