Posted on

We haven’t gone back to Port Aransas since the Hurricane

 We know the survivors have to deal with the destruction every day, and our hearts go out to them.  We contribute to the recovery, but not by going there and seeing it first-hand.  It’s just not something we want to do. A few weeks ago we were in Corpus and drove out the beach to see a particular gull (lesser black-backed) that was there.  We went as far as that decaying billboard I send out pictures of occasionally over the years. It’s still there!  I thought for sure the hurricane would blow down the last of it.  I suppose it doesn’t provide much wind resistance anymore though.  I guess the rust will have to get it in the end. Countdown:Birds:              1CPE hours:      6 I’m giving myself tomorrow off for my birthday!  There has been a tropical parula in the neighborhood and we need that bird for the year.  We still don’t know which countdown number will go to zero first. 
Posted on

Brandt’s Cormorants

 Have a blue throat patch under their bill.  You can kind-of tell by looking at them. Unless they’re displaying. Then it *really* shows up.  There aren’t any Brandt’s Cormorants here in South Texas though.  They’re all in California. Countdown:Birds:              1CPE hours:      14 
Posted on

The weather cooled

 In California the weather was comfortable for us every day.  While we were gone though, there was a weather front in South Texas that produced light snow.  *Any* snow in South Texas is a big deal, as illustrated by this FaceBook post: It’s still cool and rainy.  It’s not expected to be back to 80 degrees until Monday!  Oh what weather we have to bear…. Birding is still on the back burner.  Here’s a white pelican from last week: Making progress on work and education. Countdown:Birds:  1CPE:     26 
Posted on

As my brother Tom pointed out

 The other great horned owl standing on the wire in the foliage is also visible… When we were picking up our rental car in California, we got to walk down the row and select any one we wanted.  We got the Kia Soul. It carried all our stuff and got us off the beaten path when we needed, but also was small enough to get around the tight streets of Belmont Shore, without feeling like it was the size of a bowling ball.  We liked it a lot. Also, while we were in the neighborhood, we stopped by the Seal Beach house, 222 13th Street. It is still there and holding up well.  We moved from there when I was eight.  As I recall, the living room is the first room on the right, the dining room, then the kitchen and back door are behind that.  Mom and Dad’s bedroom is the first room on the left, with the bathroom and David and my’s room behind that.  Bill and Tom’s room was between the rear bedroom and the kitchen. As we were driving down the Pacific Coast Highway past Seal Beach, I also recalled when it was only developed on one side of the road.  To get across to the undeveloped side, and the “Trees”, required waiting for a break in traffic, then running across the road.  I remember being surprised by how soon the distant approaching traffic got there and how fast I had to run to make it across.  It was not like crossing a little city street at all!  I can’t imagine Mom or Dad being pleased if they knew that at eight years old, I was crossing that highway by myself.  Countdown:Birds:  1CPE:     31