Questionable judgment

Waking up today to a cold miserable world, I felt desperate to escape. So I decided to go south to Big Bend National Park and look for the Nutting's Flycatchers that had been seen there before flooding had closed the road to Santa Elena Canyon. Then it had been an eight mile walk in, and now down to one mile.  Piece of cake! Someone had walked in and seen them two days ago. And it was bound to be warmer there.

It's a tedious 2½ hour drive for me from Alpine. At the park entrance I asked if the road was open yet, and was told no, so I expected to have to walk a mile. Luckily, it was open. And luckily, I had tossed a heavy jacket and long-johns into my vehicle at the last minute.

When I got to the location (Santa Elena Canyon Overlook), it was bitterly cold and windy. I started to question my judgment. Do people with impaired judgment know they have impaired judgment? The forecast had been clear that the whole area was cold and windy; and would stay that way all day. What was the matter with me? Was I of sound mind? Flycatchers can't forage in bad weather like that. Especially rare tropical ones.

I figured the energy I had saved by not walking in would be best spent climbing down the steep slope to the trees and bushes far below the overlook to search for birds there. During that climb was when I questioned my decision-making skills the most.

After nearly two hours of not seeing a single bird, I thought maybe the canyon itself would be a more sheltered place to look. Luckily, the road to it was open too. As I approached the confluence of the Rio Grande and Terlingua Creek right at the mouth of the canyon, I thought I heard an unfamiliar call note. Was trying to remember what the Nutting's call note sounded like. Suddenly, two birds flew into the canyon. I got binos on one of them. It seemed good for a myiarchus flycatcher, brownish with yellow belly. To get into the canyon to search further would require either wading across Terlingua Creek or walking upstream along it until I could cross, which I did. 

Next, the only route into the canyon was up a gazillion stairs. There was too much surrounding vegetation for me to get a photo, but here's an old one I found online. Even if I got up the stairs, going back down would be more treacherous. My knees just do not work. Reluctantly, I turned back.

I stopped at the oasis to check feeders there. Saw three Lucifers in the short while I was there.

Plans are in the works for me to ride to Santa Elena Canyon with someone Thursday. Driving long distances, especially when I'm exhausted, makes me so sleepy. I constantly nod off, then jolt awake. But what if I didn't? Can't risk it.

I took our Bougainvillea inside at our house in Alpine before last night's freeze.

Next weekend it'll be back into the 80°s. If winter birding isn't good, I'm not going to be a very happy camper this winter. I'm optimistic though.

Water to pump

First, I pumped the water from the upper dirt tank into the lower dirt tank. From there I pumped it into the stucco tank.  I don't know how long it'll stay there, but I estimate, what with the big tank being almost filled, and what I can salvage into the stucco tank (maybe 40,000 gallons), this recent rain probably gave me 100,000+ gallons to work with, besides the 65,000 gallons reserve I already had in the above ground tank (in background of this photo).

Without this monsoon, I would have had to start using from the reserve tank and ration water. All good now!

Finally some water in tanks

Got another rain and this time it came down fast enough that there was some runoff. Nothing went over the dams and the tanks didn't fill, but got enough to be assured the oasis can make it until next year's rainy season. Plus everything got a good soaking. First runoff since May!

I rushed down from Alpine to pump from the dirt tanks into the stucco tank. Gonna do a little patching on it first. It's a lot of work and I'm not up to it, what with age and healing from dental surgery, but doing my best. 

I checked the new ugly low water crossing. At least it functioned, not as well as the old one, but in the scope of life's challenges, insignificant.

Not much bird activity with everywhere being an oasis. Back to work!

Nice soaking rain today

The oasis got treated to a long slow rain that didn't produce any runoff into my tanks, but was lovely nevertheless. Maybe tomorrow we'll get some more. It was nice not to have to water today. My son and I did a little patching in the stucco tank. No sooner did we finish than the misty rain increased for long enough that we worried the patching would wash away before it set up. I'll check it next time I'm there. It was too mud-slick to go into the tank to look, but from above it looked OK. Needs more patching, but every little bit helps if it should happen to fill up.

Even though there was no water added to the tanks, other than the nearly inch that fell directly into them, it's water in instead of taking water out. That puts me ahead, not to mention, rain water is so much better for vegetation than watering is. Too late for new growth, being almost November. Still very happy with the rain.

At least four dampish Lucifers still around.

Two rare Nutting's Flycatchers have been seen in Big Bend National Park in the last couple of days. Hoping to get down there Wednesday (day after tomorrow) and get better photos of the species than I got last time one was there in January of 2012. (If you do a search on this blog for that species, the details of my previous encounter[s] will come up.)

My mouth is healing well. Life is good!

___________________

Update: Can't chase the Nutting's Flycatcher. The roads in that area are closed due to flooding. Maybe this weekend.

Back at it

I'm not able to eat anything but pureed stuff so far, but I still enjoyed birding today. Going to Musquiz is always fun and it's only about 15 minutes from home. I arrived there at daybreak, hoping to maybe hear an owl, but didn't.

It's always fun to see Elk there, even though they're really far away.

And I enjoyed seeing a pair of Wilson's Snipes foraging frenetically.

Then back in Alpine, I did see an owl. A Great Horned Owl flew to the utility wire just above my water feature at 6:30 PM, during a time it's normally busy with birds. It stayed about 10 minutes. Bird activity didn't resume until around 7 PM, when it was too dark to take decent photos. Even though the owl had left the wire, it was probably lurking in a nearby tree.

No exciting birds today, but enjoying nature sure takes my mind off the world's craziness! 

Quick dental update

I have three new implants. Still in quite a bit of pain, but wanted to let everyone know. I didn't have enough bone on one side of my mouth, so the dentist was just going to put two implants on the other side. I insisted on having them on both sides, so at more expense (haven't told hubby yet), the dentist put in some bone graft and one implant on the other side. Couldn't bear the thought of only being able to eat on one side after all this expense and torture. Since my husband had put an absolute limit on what he would pay, I'll have to come up with some extra money, but at least I'll have six months to do it. Gonna be three months of mush while the implants heal. 

Also the one lower implant that the dentist didn't remove isn't doing well. He said it won't have to be removed, but might come out on its own. I'm hoping that once some of the stress is transferred to the new implants the old one might tighten up. Probably won't since the dentist assures me it won't. My new implants are good and solid. My bone is strong. He said, "Hard as rock." I've had other dentists tell me that before. When I was a teenager and had a tooth pulled the big strong dentist told me if everyone's teeth were that hard to pull, he'd quit being a dentist.

To be continued...

Exciting new oasis feature

My oasis quarters

The oasis now has wifi! So cool! When they hooked my quarters up to the new fiberoptic cable, I got them to install an extender at the same time. (Your donation dollars at work) I posted the password on a post at the viewing blind. I could now set my trail cam up to where I can watch it from Alpine. Gonna be a while though. Will have to bury an electric cable to it and get my genius grandson to hook it up to my computer, or whatever has to be done. I'm in no hurry, but at some point I suppose it'll happen.

I swear these Javelina think the water features are theirs and theirs alone. They come in often and when they do, all the birds disappear. I don't like them hanging around, but feral hogs would be worse, so can't complain. Must not be water anywhere else. 

White-throated Swifts swoop in to the big tank continually. Normally, during dry times, they would come in once or twice a day. Now it's almost constant. Even though they often zip close by me, they're too fast for me to photograph. This is the best I can do, no matter how many shots I take.

This Scaled Quail has obviously been dipping its beak into persimmons. I don't know how far they dip into the persimmons, but they stick their whole heads into the new ground feeder ports. I took photos, but they're on my computer at the oasis. I'm in Alpine now. I'll post some one of these days.

My son was tasked with making woodpecker-proof guards for the Wi-Fi extenders. Here's the first one. Two more to go. (One at the house and two at my quarters.)  He does good work on everything he does.

House radio (extender)

I photograph the remaining Lucifer Hummingbirds since I know it'll be four months before I see any again. Here's a juvenile male, practicing his territorial posture. I estimate there are at least five still here.

I'm stressing more over fear I won't get implants tomorrow than I am over the anticipated pain of getting them.

Water crossings and water birds

This first photo is one of the nearly dozen low water crossings I've built on my roads. It's been there 28 years, works perfectly, and blends pleasingly along the road, as do the others I built.

This next photo is what another water crossing looks like after the contractors that buried the new fiberoptic cables finished rebuilding it (after destroying my original great one). When I complained that it was ugly and didn't have lovely rock work on it like it had when I built it, they piled dirt and rocks on it to make it "blend in." Clueless regarding esthetics obviously. They just said they bury cables, not do rock work. I had given the phone company the number of a contractor who could do rock work, but they ignored that. But I'll live with it. It's not where I drive very much, and birders, not at all. Hopefully it'll keep the road from washing out, which is the purpose. Frustrating though. Never could stand trash or ugliness on my property.

I've given up on getting rain and started water rationing. The oasis will survive.... at least as long as I survive.

My implant surgery is scheduled for Thursday. I'll be so very relieved if the dentist actually puts implants in. I have this huge fear that he'll say I've lost too much bone (while waiting on him) and need more grafts etc. before he can do it. That would be devastating! I'm just not eating as healthy without teeth, even though I really try. 

One time he numbed my mouth in preparation for putting in implants, then discovered my existing ones were abscessed and had to be removed. But he couldn't do it then because he had to order bone graft stuff to put in at the same time. So I went through the agony of the needles for nothing. Some people aren't bothered by them, but for me it's always excruciatingly painful. Once I get implants in I have to wait at least 3 months to get teeth on them, but it'll be the end of needles and torturous pain, at least.

Weather is cooling off, though I prefer heat. Went birding yesterday morning and this morning to nearby Musquiz Lake. Today was really cold (38°) so I bundled up. My hands got so cold that I felt chilled. Don't dare get sick now. 

The traffic is ferocious, but it's great birding, so I mentally block out the noise. Here's a link to info about the place if you're interested. https://birdinghotspots.org/hotspot/L1025550

I don't often get good photos because you have to bird from the highway and as you can see in the above photo, the birds are very far away. It'd be nice to have a scope and huge telephoto lens there, but not worth the investment. I try to content myself with documenting things and leave the magazine cover shots to the pros. 

I guess my favorite birds of the day were a Wilson's Snipe and continuing Green Heron.

This Ruddy Duck got close enough that I got a pretty decent photo of it. 

My son was at the oasis during the recent eclipse and was fascinated by the pattern the eclipse made on the courtyard floor. He called it "a million eclipses."

Meanwhile, I tried for photographs from Alpine. Naturally, on the last one my auto-focus was accidentally turned off or I might have gotten a sharper shot of the moon. Or not...

The oasis today

At this point, the stucco tank won't hold water. I'm going to try to patch it, but not real optimistic, either about my ability to patch it, or whether it will hold.

It wasn't constructed well enough to last forever and what with heat, cold, and continual movement of the earth, it's not surprising that it's deteriorating. Some things in life just have to be accepted. The only solution would be to put a plastic liner in it, but animals would puncture it. Originally, we used a plastic liner instead of concrete on the big tank, but ended up having to cover it with concrete because animals punctured the liner. So far the big tank is holding pretty good, even though the concrete is breaking up on much of it. Nothing is forever.

As I watered trees yesterday, I enjoyed watching birds, as usual. Always love visits from Gray Catbirds.

And Belted Kingfishers.

Green-tailed Towhees should stay the winter. I never get tired of seeing them.

The bear that visited recently broke a limb on the Chinkapin Oak tree. Not sure if it happened the night it left those tracks and I just didn't notice until the leaves wilted. No other evidence of a more recent visit.

Still lots of ripening acorns on the tree, so I expect more broken limbs. 

In 2017 I had my husband clean out the big tank. That caused me to lose the pondweed from it. Ever since I've been trying to reestablish it. Finally got some established in it now, and wouldn't you know, I have to pump out the water to water the trees, so may very well end up losing it again. 

I could pump instead from the emergency reserve above ground tank, but that's risky. If we don't get any rain until next summer, I'll need it to keep the oasis alive, whereas the water in this open tank would just evaporate anyway. Can't risk it, as much as I love pondweed. Maybe we'll get some rain yet. It's not impossible.

It's rain or ration

Not far from the oasis coming down this morning

Today I watered a little less than I normally do. It's either going to rain soon, or I'll be rationing. While I watered a few nice birds showed up, but ever so briefly. It was the fog of war for a bit there. I flushed a bird when I went to move the water hose, but got a glimpse of its head when it landed not far away. I immediately said to myself, "Yellow-throated Vireo." A short while later it hopped around right in front of me, surely attracted to the running water at my feet. Almost too close to focus. I struggled to get a photo and snapped away, hoping I'd get something. Then, as I was looking through the viewfinder, I thought, "Oh, no, I'm photographing the wrong bird. This is a Townsend's Warbler. I would've sworn it was a vireo." So I began reviewing my photos, starting with the most recent I'd taken.... all "Townsend's" until the last one (the first one I'd taken) Yay, the vireo.

Later, I downloaded the photos to my computer where I could actually look at them and discovered the vireo was a White-eyed Vireo, and the warbler was a Hermit Warbler, not a Townsend's. A while later, I saw what I thought was a Townsend's again, but instead of taking a photo, I studied it with my binoculars to be sure. Yup, Townsend's. It departed before I could get a photo. Should've shot first and asked questions later. You'd think I'd learn. 

Hermit Warbler

While my son was here this past weekend the oasis had a bear visit, which I mentioned in my previous post. I located the scat and think there's very little birdseed in it, if any. Mostly persimmons, which is what I expected.

I'm sure acorns will be next on his menu.

Bear-proof oasis

Knock on wood, of course! A bear visited the oasis and left only footprints. No damage. However, I've no doubt he took notice of the oak trees filled with green acorns and will be back. My son discovered these prints while I'm in Alpine.

I'm sure the bears are gorging on persimmons these days. Hope they leave some for the birds.

I've been in Alpine the last several days where I've enjoyed having a Virginia Rail. Got my first photos of one.

This morning I birded at a small lake between Alpine and Fort Davis (Musquiz). It was fun. I enjoyed watching a Green Heron plunge into the water repeatedly for fish (I presume). Something I don't recall seeing before. As far as I could tell, without success.

In a day or two I'll need to go water the oasis trees again.