A whole lotta...

I received an email from a birder who visited the oasis today and she indicated that the feeders were basically empty. Knowing I'd worry and not sleep, I headed to the oasis, arriving around 8 PM. There were a whole lotta hummers swarming the feeders. I was planning on coming down early in the morning anyway, but glad I came down. I don't like them to have to fight over the last feeder or two with anything in it. I put up double the feeders.

Since the ocotillo is starting to bloom, I had expected they'd diminish at the feeders, not increase, but I think it'll still be a week or so before there's enough ocotillo to divert them.

Before I rushed away from Alpine, I saw the two Inca Doves that are nesting in the grape arbor cuddling together after the female apparently had left the nest for a spell. They appeared to be grooming one another. Very touching!

Whole lotta lovin'

Fun hour at Musquiz Lake

Frequently I run up to check out the bird activity at Musquiz Lake about 15 minutes north of Alpine. Today I saw an Elk swim across the lake. Really cool!

Other than that, I saw 25 bird species, including dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers, an Osprey and a Common Black Hawk. The latter were too far away to get decent photos. Best I could do.

Bustling oasis

Watering trees today didn't feel nearly as onerous as it has during the last six months or so. Not only are things slowly, finally, starting to green up, but birds are starting to arrive. While watering I tallied 33 species and I'm sure there were more. Two of the species I couldn't identify, so that's fun. Got them identified by an expert.

 

Gray Flycatcher

Orange-crowned Warbler

Here are some deer coming to water.

A nest-building Curve-billed Thrasher. Things are definitely lively!

A busy Ash-throated Flycatcher

And a very old Lucifer female.

Picnic table day

I worked really hard all morning to replace the old top boards on a picnic table. The worst part was all the times I had to get down under the table and back up again. Like about 50 times.  A killer for my knees and back. I ended up taking an aspirin, something I only do in dire circumstances.

Before

After

                     

Now the canopy needs more sotol so the picnic tables will have more shade. That's a project I once did, but it would be too hard on me to attempt it again. Either my son will do it eventually or some volunteers will..... or it won't get done.

I thought I saw the female Cardinal today that's been hanging around all winter, but upon closer examination, I believe it's a Pyrrhuloxia with a berry-stained beak. Tricky!

No idea what berries. Vegetation is still pretty dead at the oasis. Ocotillo is starting to bloom. Maybe they eat the buds on that.

When I arrived at the oasis this morning Lucifers came right up to me. One poked its beak at a brown button at the top of my knit shirt, right at my throat. It didn't take me but a second to realize the feeders must all be empty and they're desperate. Sure enough. I literally ran to my pickup and tore up to my cabin for sugar solution. I had left plenty in five feeders. I think the wind tilted the feeders and emptied them. It can happen, although that's rare. One male Lucifer started drinking from a feeder before I even got it hung.

I came across an old, almost empty roll of  toilet paper that I had purchased in the 1980s. For some reason, I had saved it, maybe because it was the last of the blue toilet paper. They quit making it. I remember how fat those Scott rolls were. Today's rolls are pathetic by comparison.

It makes sense to reduce portion size in food products since so many Americans are obese, but they're also larger, so it doesn't make sense to make the toilet paper roles smaller. Of course, they cost more, not less. All about profits. I guess the pandemic proved how indispensable toilet paper is. People would have hoarded it no matter the cost.

Candelaria wetlands

I've been wanting to go to the Candelaria wetlands ever since birders have posted tons of great birds from there in the past month or so. Finally went yesterday. Probably wouldn't have if I had known it was nearly 50 miles beyond Presidio. I used to go there frequently and didn't remember it being so far. But I'm glad I went. Awesome birding! In the years before ebird I kept county lists, but no locations and dates. So I'm trying to get better documentation for my old sightings. I think I still have over 90 species to go for Presidio County. I'm sure I won't ever get that many, but I did add 7 species to my list plus got documentation on almost 20 species I already had.

I was dismayed to see a feral hog (Russian Boar) in the wetlands. If they come to the oasis, it'll be the end of it, I fear.

I saw hundreds of pelicans, cormorants, swallows, ducks, etc. there. Certainly the birdiest I've ever seen it, and maybe anywhere. Hadn't had photos of Common Gallinules before yesterday either.

These next photos will give you an idea of how packed it was with birds. The wetland extends for miles along the road too.

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."