New oasis species

In April I had reported a Hutton's Vireo for the oasis, and a couple of people have reported them here before, but today I got photos to document it, even though they're not sharp photos. Probably a young bird. So that was fun! Once again I sat by the drip all afternoon instead of taking even a short nap. Hope I don't get another two-day headache. There was a breeze so it didn't feel like the 105° that it was.

There are lots of deer coming in to water. I think this doe is pregnant.

And a visitor today photographed a big herd of at least 25 Aoudad near the big hill when he was coming in. 😧 I never see them come to drink. I presume they come after dark. I'll eventually get a copy of his photo and share it here.

It's hard to resist taking endless photos of Painted Buntings. They're so spectacular!

Another species I take too many photos of is Western Giant Swallowtail. This one is pretty worn looking.

At my happy place

Even the 109° temperature that greeted me when I arrived at the oasis this afternoon couldn't stifle my spirits. There was a slight breeze and it wasn't bad sitting in the shade watching the drip. So much activity I couldn't tear myself away. Here are a few of the many photos I snapped.

Northern Harrier

Willow Flycatcher

Rufous Hummingbird

Yellow Warbler

Hummingbirds flock to the drip and drink from it but I didn't see any bathe. I think it's because they're so busy harassing one another.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to start watering, ready or not.

Another sweltering Alpine day

Very few hummers at the feeders. I don't remember a year with fewer. Has to be they're bypassing the hotter regions of the Big Bend due to the record temperatures.

I wanted to show some visitors to our ponds a Plateau Dragonlet but couldn't locate one, other than this female or juvenile. At least I think that's what it is. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Here's another shot of it that might show it better, even though it's not a sharp shot.

That was about the high point of my day. Will probably go to the oasis tomorrow sometime. Not sure I'm up to the heat and work that greets me when I get there. It's wearing me down. I don't know how I endured the drought of 2011 when the heat was as bad and I had to buy and haul water just to keep the oasis alive. At least now I can keep it lush looking...  if I have the stamina. So I can't complain.

I took another photo of the Curve-billed Thrasher that has only one leg. He hops around the yard and into the trees just fine.

Shrimp

I'm fascinated by the tiny shrimp that appear in my sister's waterhole after a rain. Had no idea such a thing existed, and now we discover there are two species there, the Tadpole Shrimp and the Fairy Shrimp. I wonder if they were a delicacy to prehistoric peoples.

Tadpole Shrimp (and Spade-foot tadpoles)

Fairy Shrimp (and Spade-foot tadpoles)

Another good oasis day

Here's a short clip of a bear enjoying my sister's waterhole. Captured on her critter cam August 3.

Yesterday and today the oasis has been dripping with birds. I suspect the only water for miles around. Visitors said they counted 25 deer drinking yesterday. Here are a few photos I took while watering trees today before I had to come to town. The first one is a better shot of the Townsend's Warbler.

Next is a Yellow-headed Blackbird that dropped by for a drink. My hand is so unsteady that I often can't hold the camera still when I zoom way in and I end up cutting off part of the bird.

And I think this Dickcissel is a young one.

Good birding at the oasis lately, but I'd prefer the area was all an oasis. Not sure if we'll even get monsoons this summer or fall. I read online that we may be going into a La Niña pattern as the ocean water is too cold. Go figure! But surely I'll get one more rain this year, even if not a monsoonal one.

Here's that nasty worm that's doing all the damage again this year.

ODing on CMO

My plan was to arrive fairly early this morning, water until I got hungry and hot, then eat and nap. The rest I was going to play by ear, as long as the watering got finished mid-morning tomorrow so I could arrive in town before my son leaves for Austin. But life is what happens when you're making plans.

What happened, you ask? Well, the oasis was awesome and everywhere I turned something exciting was happening. I couldn't tear myself away. Finally, at 2:30 PM and 104° I forced myself to take a break.  By then the damage was done. After a nap I was still drained and head-achy. Pretty much done for the day. The temperature eventually stopped climbing when it reached 107.°

At one point during all the chaos I heard an unfamiliar bird calling incessantly. I followed the sound into the arroyo behind the oasis and immediately saw a coachwhip snake slithering away. I soon realized it was less than two feet away from the source of the calling. A nestling (Varied Bunting, I believe) was on the ground and a broken nest nearby. I theorize that the snake had destroyed the nest, probably already eaten a nestling or two and was coming for the last one before I accidentally startled it away. Nothing I could do though, so I left the nestling to its fate.

In between moving hoses, I occasionally paused to sit and watch the water drip. Soon migrants would come to drink and bathe. The best ones were a Townsend's Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Warbling Vireo. 

 

Nearby I discovered a fresh Black-chinned Hummingbird nest. So many feathers filled it that I couldn't see how many eggs it contained. I didn't want to disturb it. And I couldn't focus the camera and put my hand up there for a size comparison at the same time. My camera is a two-hand operation. So not a sharp photo. I didn't touch the nest. My hand is just behind it. Otherwise you couldn't tell the size. I stood on a short ladder.

And I saw a leucistic Black-chinned hummer at the feeders but wasn't fast enough to get a good photo. This is all I got. It looked really white.

I don't get many Broad-tailed Hummingbirds at the oasis, but today there were at least a couple.

And this little selasphorus had such a short tail that I wanted a photo of the tail spread to be sure it wasn't an Allen's. It obliged. Definitely a Rufous.

Alpine days

I've been in Alpine for a few days, but heading back to the oasis tomorrow. YAY!

While stuck in town I've been photographing whatever I can find of interest. Since Plateau Dragonlets are common here in the summer I didn't realize they're not common everywhere, but apparently they aren't, so I try to better appreciate having them.

Comanche Skimmers are more common but I really think they're lovely.

Mostly things in Alpine are boring but I tell myself my body needs the rest.

Persistence paid off

On July 15, I saw a damselfly that I was sure was a California Spreadwing, which is rare in Texas. But it was way across the tank where I couldn't get a close shot of it. (See posts of July 17, 19 & 23) Since then, I kept taking unsatisfactory shots. A couple of photographers with big lenses (Mike Gfeller & Orlando Fonseca) got good diagnostic photos of it, but what I wanted was to see it close up and get good photos myself. Finally, today it perched near where I was passing by and I got my photos. Made me really happy, for some weird reason. LOL (It is without a doubt a California Spreadwing.)

I had to water today and service feeders before coming to town so didn't have time to bird watch. But a bird photographer visiting got a nice photo of a male Calliope Hummingbird, so some migrants are coming through. Based on how much sugar water solution they're consuming, quite a few are coming through.

Happy to be back at the oasis

In spite of the work and heat, I'm happy when I'm at the oasis. The heat doesn't bother me personally, but I hate how it affects vegetation. I just spray myself with water if need be, and keep on going. I know soon enough the weather will get cold, so I'm enjoying summer while I can. As for the drought, that would devastate me if I didn't have all my wonderful water. And I know eventually it'll rain again. September and October will likely be very rainy.

I painted the ladder I leave at the drip tank. It doesn't look bad at all. Here's how it looks up close.

And from back a little ways you can hardly see it.

I left a pretty strong drip going three days ago and when I arrived today it was barely dripping. At least it lasted 3 days. I"m seldom gone more than 3 days. Hopefully, I can improve on it. Here's an example of why the drip is so important to me. Just sat down a few minutes and birds arrived.

Numbers of odes and butterflies are low for this time of year. Not as many hummers as normal for August either. I'm thinking they're bypassing the Big Bend in their fall migration this year, but maybe they're postponing migration until it rains here. This Willow Flycatcher has been hanging around.

Worms are devouring some bushes, but haven't gotten to this volunteer mulberry tree yet. It gets ravaged every year though. I thought I'd take a photo of it while it's still looking good. Only since that June rain, of course.

Depressing heat

You can see the next 9 days are forecast to be over 100°

My husband said this endless heat is depressing him. I'm not depressed. Just counting the hours until I can go to the oasis and look for odes. Trying to coordinate with my son's schedule here but likely will go sometime tomorrow.