First night out, Choke Canyon State Park.
An odd sight in the evening light
Vultures.
Circling.
Then all going to a glide off the same direction into the distance.
It’s not really an odd sight this time of year to see a hundred turkey vultures migrating. What’s odd is that, this evening, they were all flying north instead of south!
And one of those birds was not like the others.
A crested caracara got caught up in the excitement and kettled up with them.
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
I’ve mentioned before what a favorite this is at restaurants down here at, or across, the border. Well, Judy made them for us right here.
About 10 freshly cooked and chilled shrimp each, swimming in homemade salsa picante. Onion, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, jalapeno, all chopped up, with salt, pepper, fresh squeezed lime, clamato juice, ketchup, tabasco, and sliced avocado. Not a shrimp cocktail appetizer at our house. That’s a hearty dinner!
This morning’s yard
Grackle.
Collared Dove.
Green Jay.
Curve Billed-Thrasher.
Kiskadee.
And the back end of a Loggerhead Shrike.
Monk parakeets
Native to Argentina, traded as cagebirds, escapees have established breeding populations in cities around the globe. There is a flock in the small town of Hidalgo, near the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse, south of us. They fan out during the day to feed (and get photographed by me) returning to the large communal stick-nest to socialize and spend the night.
They build their nests on and around power transformers.
Each nesting pair gets their own entrance. The heat from the transformers helps keep them warm in winter.