Josey Ranch – January 2023

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The birds on the water at Josey Ranch in Carrollton, TX changed from when I was there in December. The Northern Shovelers were not there in January! The American Wigeon were there the first day I went in January but not on the second. It seems a little early for them to be migrating; maybe they have moved to a bigger pond. On my first visit – I saw American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup, American Coot, Great Egret, Ruddy Ducks, and gulls.

The surprise birds of the day were a pair of Buffleheads. They were busy diving for food! I’ve seen them occasionally at Josey Ranch before but they are not in the ‘regular’ birds there.

On the second day I visited, there were gulls lined up on the walkway near the parking lot. The Lesser Scaup, American Coot, and Great Egret were still around. The mallards seemed more numerous than on the first day (seemingly skewed toward males). There was a Great Blue Heron almost hidden in the reeds. The Ruddy Ducks were still there but sleeping just as they were on the first day.

I walked around to the native plants in a terraced area between the Library and Senior Center. It was almost too windy for macro pictures…but I tried anyway. Some berries were the only color….but the shapes of the dried remains of the plants from last summer are interesting enough.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – December 2022

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Back in November, I stopped at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge on my way down to Carrollton, TX. It is just outside Sherman, TX…a little over an hour away from my destination. The refuge was active in the early afternoon…with some migrants still around (link to November post).

In December, I opted to do a quick drive through on my way home so it was in the morning about an hour after sunrise; it was not a great time for seeing large numbers of birds. It was too late to see birds that had roosted in the ponds…and it was too cold and windy to linger very long with the windows open (I was using my car as a mobile blind).

I enjoyed seeing a flock of male red-winged blackbirds in stubble near the road….rise up as a group then coming back down like a wave crashing on beach to feed again…repeat. Their red and yellow markings were flashing every time they started up out of the dried vegetation and when they landed again.

A heron stood in the shallows with its feathers ruffled by the wind. The day was still new enough for the water to be morning blue.

I also saw a Harrier Hawk – hunting…circling over the stubble and water’s edge. I didn’t get a picture, unfortunately, but I spent a few minutes watching the awesome grace of the bird dealing with the wind and looking for breakfast.

The clouds began to cover the sun periodically and I took some refuge landscape shots – complete with oil pump jacks (it is Texas).

The pintails, mallards, and shovelers were around….enjoying the bounty of the refuge.

Gulls were mostly staying put in the shallows.

My plan is to stop at the refuge as I continue to make monthly treks to Carrollton…see the changes at the refuge as the winter progresses….and then the spring migration and flowers.

Josey Ranch – December 2022

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When I visited Josey Ranch Lake on a cold winter afternoon, there was a father with 2 children feeding the birds. I took a bird group picture that included most of the species on the water; it’s not a great picture with the shade/sun challenge but is probably good enough for some id. Can you find American Wigeons, American Coot, Mallards, Northern Shoveler, and Lesser Scaups?

Here are some better views of American Wigeons. It was challenging to see the green sheen on the male’s head.

There seem to be more male Mallards than females.

The Northern Shovelers were very active. They even climbed up on the bank to scarf up breadcrumbs after the children left.

Lesser Scaups have beautiful markings and rich color even in winter. They are smaller than the mallards.

A Great Egret was stoic in the regrowing reeds and cattails on the other side of the lake.

Gulls (immature ring-billed?) dive bombed for bread while it was being tossed…then gathered toward the middle of the lake…sometimes making a lot of noise.

The swans had participated in the bread eating frenzy, then regained their composure when it was over and calmly left the scene together. A male and female scaup looked on.

Overall – not a bad visit to the lake, but it was cold; I didn’t dawdle…took my pictures and headed back to the warmth of the car.

Trek to and in Druid Hill Park – Part I

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Last weekend we drove into Baltimore for an Audubon sponsored birding walk at Druid Hill Park. It was our first birding event since before the pandemic – outdoors for 1.5 hours in a park with less than an hour to commute into the city and the back home afterward. It was a cool, cloudy morning – cold enough to wear a mask comfortably which we both did once the group started the walk and it was hard to maintain distance.

The walk started at 8 AM and the clouds occasionally parted enough for good lighting. I saw more birds that I was able to photograph. Canada Geese flew overhead and there were ruddy ducks, buffleheads, grebe, and gulls on the lake in the park. They were too far away for great pictures…but I like the light around the gulls. There were also a lot of smaller birds – cardinals, Carolina wrens, down woodpecker, gold finches, house finches, etc.. The only one I photographed was a norther flicker what perched almost right overhead!

There was still some great fall color. The rose bushes (red leaves) were enjoying the cooler weather.

There were some areas of the forest that still had lots of leaves on the trees…like our backyard was several weeks ago. I also saw a small tulip poplar tree; I hadn’t realized that there leaves get much larger when they are young; this one still had green leaves while the big trees around it were already bare showing off their many seed pods.

More tomorrow about our trek to the park…and then home again…through Baltimore.

Conowingo Dam

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Back in December we made a trek to Conowingo Dam. The dam was generating electricity and the spillways were open. The water was high and moving fast. A rainbow formed where the mist kicked up from the spillway flow. Almost all the rocks where the eagles and herons normally perch were under water!

The bridge abutment where bald eagles perched during previous visits only has a few gulls and gulls were the only birds we saw in the river too. The river was so strong that the fish were probably not making it close to the dam (when they do – when the water is not as swift – they attract all the fish-eating birds like eagles and herons and cormorants).

There was debris on the few rocks that were not covered by water and on the spit of the island containing the big electrical towers.

The lower part of the fishing park was closed because of high water.

I satisfied my self with some pictures of sycamores – seeds just above where we were standing and the white bark tracery on the other side of the river.

2018 was a record year for rain where we live and that is evidently true for much of the Susquehanna watershed as well. We’ll have to wait to go again when it hasn’t rained for a few weeks and the fishing will be good for the eagles at the dam.

Josey Ranch Birds – Part I

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After the sadness of seeing the dead crow, I headed over to the Josey Ranch Lake to see the birds that were still very much alive. The day was still cloudy…but the birds didn’t seem to care.

There were Lesser Scaup – which I had seen during precious visits to Carrolton during the winter and early spring (February 2015, January 2017, and March 2017).

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The Northern Shovelers are there for the winter as well.

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The Great Egret is there all through the year.

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As are the Mute Swans.

Canadian geese are not as common. I had not seen them before this year at this small lake in Texas.

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American Coots and pigeons were plentiful and sometimes were in mixed groups on the shore.

The sea gulls – far from any sea – seem happier on the water.