Steve and Judy's Travels!

But the orange on their faces is striking as well.

A little bit of South Texas History.

Mexican independence from Spain in 1821.  Mexican land grants in 1834.  (Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and joined the Union as a state in 1845.)

An old standing posts fence made of Texas Ebony.

Friends and families laid to rest as recently as 1926.

All the new modern equipment is so neat and clean.  A super-light laptop.  A high tech keyboard.  A large monitor.  A wireless mouse.  Wireless printer connection.  And still I’ve got this snarl of wires under my desk.  That’s just not right.  I could separate them and route them along legs and supports for the desk and zip tie everything together, but it’s still going to be a mess of wires.  Am I missing something here or does everyone have this same snarl?

The results are in!

Half a million participants from all over the world.   7,500 species of birds recorded (out of a world population of about 10,000 species).  That’s pretty cool.  Three quarters of all bird species located and observed over a single long weekend!

What an incredible year. We broke new records with half a million people participating! Take a look at final results from GBBC 2023.

Dear Steve,  We’ve been crunching numbers from the 2023 Great Backyard Bird Count. It was a record-breaking year with half a million bird enthusiasts sharing sightings from almost every corner of the world. Thank you for the time you took to join us for this inspiring event. GBBC 2023 in a Snapshot:7,538 species of birds identified202 participating countries390,652 eBird checklists372,905 Merlin Bird IDs151,479 photos added to Macaulay Library555,291 estimated global participantsFor a more in-depth analysis, click on the Peregrine Falcon below to review the final report. Check out summary data from the weekend including information on how to search your local community for results. Peregrine Falcon by Marky Mutchler/Macaulay Library.Why stop now? If you enjoyed counting birds and don’t want to stop just yet, there are plenty of interesting year-round projects you can be part of. The Cornell Lab, Audubon, and Birds Canada have a variety of projects you can participate in! Find one just right for you.Vidhya Sundar in the United States/GBBC.Mark your calendars! Next year’s GBBC is February 16–19, 2024. Until then, we wish you a fantastic year filled with the bright colors and sweet sounds of birds. Thank you for being a part of the annual Great Backyard Bird Count! – All of us at the Cornell Lab, Audubon, and Birds CanadaMany thanks to GBBC founding sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited. They’re ready to help you with all your backyard bird needs via their stores and podcast. Common Redpoll by David Turgeon/Macaulay Library. Special Offer from Project FeederWatchIf you live in the United States and Canada and enjoy watching birds in the colder months—consider joining Project FeederWatch. Sign up now for the 2023-24 season, which starts November 1, and you can count birds for the rest of the 2022-23 season, which runs through April 30, for FREE.Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850Unsubscribe Manage preferences

A small finch.  Fairly common here in the Valley year-round.

A western bird.