Vagaries of the desert

Only in the Big Bend would I feel comfortable enough to lay down and take a nap in a strange and remote arroyo. I've done it many times. Yet this land can be infinitely brutal. Here I have a supposedly desert adapted pine (Elderica, or Afghan Pine), struggling to survive this record drought, and look what happened to it.

The outer surface of the trunk seems to have suddenly split. It looks to me like a hurricane force wind might be responsible, but I don't really know. Also have no idea if it'll survive. That trunk is at least a foot in diameter.

I heard there's a hurricane in the Pacific that likely will bring us rain this weekend. I'm really optimistic because I've always said I get my best rains when there are hurricanes in the Baja. So we'll see. I did a little research and found a site that says there has not been a single May tropical storm or hurricane within 250 miles of Baja California since 1951, but if I understand correctly, this one, Hurricane Bud, will be the first.

Here are a couple of interesting wasps. I'm not sure of the names but I think maybe Tarantula Wasp.

Up and hauling again

Was it Winston Churchill that said, "Never give up, never give up, never give up...."?

We're getting faster at installing new springs. Only took us two hours today, as opposed to twice that long last time. Not bad for a couple of 70+ year-olds.

The Diamond-backed was positioned in its most recent depression late this afternoon. (The old depression is beside that clump of grass in the background.)

I was hoping it would dine on cowbird again...

And not Varied Bunting...

But with me hovering around so close it didn't get to dine at all, unless it did after I left.

On my last leg

A couple of weeks ago two springs broke on the new water trailer, and today the other two broke. I had only used it for one of those two weeks because of a small shower (.2") I got. That same storm dumped 6 inches not far away, at Chalk Draw adjacent to Terlingua Ranch. If I had gotten one-tenth that amount my tanks would be full. My husband said this is the last time he's going to fix the trailer, so if it breaks again in a week or two, it better rain, or the oasis may be history. Meanwhile, I'm off to Ft. Stockton in the morning for new springs.

East and West Corazone peaks. (East Corazone is the jagged edges peaking out from behind the hills).

Hooded Oriole and others today

A male Hooded Oriole visited today. This species doesn't visit my oasis often; they're more likely to be seen closer to the Rio Grande River.

He foraged for a while in some Beebrush. Probably looking for insects. They have been known to visit hummingbird feeders, so maybe this colorful beauty will hang around. 

Another beautiful bird, that I don't appreciate enough because they're so common here, is the Blue Grosbeak. But he's a nice bird to practice photography on.

I was also practicing on a Lark Bunting in summer plumage, which is unusual for here. I was waiting for him to get turned in the light just right and when he did I triumphantly clicked the shutter. Nothing happened because my camera battery was dead. Bummer! So this rear view is all I have to show of him for my efforts.

The Green-tailed Towhees will be leaving any day now. I'll sure miss them until next winter.

My bird photography

I'm not mechanically inclined and really feel inept at bird photography. My son is a professional photographer, and I have many friends and acquaintances who are expert photographers. They've all been generous with advice and tips. It seems too much for me to absorb and remember. So I just sort of set my Canon Rebel  Xti on Programs (P) mode, and try different positions on the bar that goes plus or minus. That's it! I usually start at 2/3 plus, and adjust it according to how the pictures turn out. I then take dozens of pictures and post my favorite one or two.

Everyone tells me if I shoot in Aperture Priority (Av) mode I'll do better. But that's one more thing to remember and have to adjust and maybe miss a chance to document a rare bird, which is more important to me than taking perfect photos. However, I do get frustrated seeing everyone else's photos turn out much better than mine.

Recently, a lovely couple, Jim and BeaAnn Kelley visited. BeaAnn got enviable shots of the Lucifer Hummingbird courtship display. I've taken many but can't get the action sharp enough. She kindly and patiently helped and explained to me how to use Av mode. It occurred to me that it was about time I learned to do one more simple setting on my camera to improve my pictures. Surely, like everything else, it'll become automatic when I do it often enough. I made up my mind to commit, even though whenever I tried it before I ended up going back to P mode. But this time I'm not going back. I'll practice until it's a piece of cake.

So this afternoon I started with the 2/3 plus, the ISO at 800, which I always do, and had the f-stop set at 5.6 like BeaAnn showed me. I was going to take a bunch trying different settings, but the bird flew after the first shot, so tomorrow I'll practice again. Nevertheless, I'm satisfied and encouraged by that one photo. It's of a Yellow-breasted Chat, which are very secretive and hard to photograph. I think the colors turned out accurate, and I like how they're reflected in the water. Here's the picture...my first decent Av shot. Thanks BeaAnn (hope I'm spelling your name correctly)!

Christmas Mountains name

I often get asked how the Christmas Mountains got their name. While there are no shortage of theories, the one that I find most believable is the following:

The mountains were originally called the Corazones by the Spaniards and appear that way on old maps. Pictured above is West Corazone Peak, taken from my place to the west of it. Corazone means "heart" in Spanish, and it's unknown why they called them that. Maybe they loved them. Maybe they thought the peaks, East and West Corazone were heart-shaped. Anyway, the earliest rancher in the Big Bend area was named John T. Gano. His G4 ranch covered most of southwestern Brewster County and was headquartered below the Window in the Chisos Mountains. By 1891 Gano's herd was estimated at 30,000 head. From  the headquarters his ranch hands could see the Corazone Mountains to the north. They desired to explore them, but never got a day off in which to do it. Finally, on Christmas day they got their much coveted day off and set out to explore the mountains. Thereafter, they called them the Christmas Mountains, as a tribute to their treasured day off.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

A male Broad-tailed Hummingbird is here this afternoon. I love the sound their feathers make when they fly.

Here's an unusual looking Varied Bunting. I don't know if it's atypical, or molting, or what.

Update: Expert Kelly Bryan says it didn't finish its last year's molt and retained its old feathers. Interesting! Thanks, Kelly.

Madrone

The madrone that had the sunburned leaves last year is shedding them and replacing them with new leaves. Hopefully, the surrounding trees will give it enough shade this year that the new leaves won't burn.

Diamond-backed makes kill

(Warning: The content of this post may be disturbing to some people.)

My resident rattler went to his/her hunting blind at 6:30 PM this evening, about thirty minutes earlier than usual. Notice how well it blends in with the shadows, as well as when it's in the light.

It seemed agitated and soon left to prowl around, which made me extremely nervous, and more determined than ever to get it relocated sooner, rather than later.

After a little while it settled back into its blind. I held my breath as a couple of Scaled Quail investigated, surely within striking range.

When they departed I got distracted photographing a Black-headed Grosbeak.

Suddenly I became aware that the rattler had made a kill. I was so relieved to see the bird's identity... a Brown-headed Cowbird. Notice the cowbird is right on the spot the quail had occupied minutes earlier.

The snake held the struggling bird firmly, waiting for the venom to do its work. It took a while, but within 10 minutes the cowbird was gasping for breath, then dead.

Here is the last photo of the 138 I took.

Ibis in Alpine

New yard, or shall I say "pond," bird for Alpine. My husband spotted 3 White-faced Ibis as they landed and called to me. Of course, he had no idea what they were, except he hadn't seen them here before. I ran for my camera and got a couple shots through the fence. When I tried to creep closer, they departed, alas. Here's the only documentation I got.