February 2

Back at work on the refuge...
Saturday tour to Bahia Grande, a couple from Baja California and 3 men from "New York City"...
Birds were hard to find due to winds gusting to 28 mph and numbers were low. We missed several of the usual species due to a wet road on the loma just inside the red gate. Highlights for some were the Long-billed Curlew.  We did manage to score on the Aplomado Falcon near the tower gate when 1 flushed off a fence post and hunkered down against the brisk south wind. The mate was soon located in the same grove.

Back at the visitor center after lunch we had a scheduled bird walk around the trails. Only 4 people joined us and they left right after the gator trough.

The little girl wanted to know why he didn't move, I tried to explain he didn't need to move very much because he just sat there to wait for something good to eat to come along. 

Then I checked the dry resaca for pauraque and located one sleeping between two downed trees...

perfectly camouflaged among the detritus. 

I also snagged a Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-eyed Vireo, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the same area. Too fast for my camera. 

Sunday morning we had our first tour of the Laguna Atascosa Unit. We tallied 51 species, although numbers were small except for ducks and coots. 

Sunday afternoon, we scrubbed the bird walk and took Cary and Leon around West Lake Road in prep for their birding tour later in the week. We picked up species not seen on the morning tour like Yellow-legs and many mammal species. 

We discussed if this was Gregory Peccary 

After counting the legs on this youngster

we opted for Olivia de Javelina 

A pair of feral hogs turned into a family unit when 2 piglets were discovered running after mama and papa. 

Feral hogs came into being after Russian Boars were introduced into the US for exotic hunting and they escaped and mated with domestic pics. 

Feral hogs can bear 3 litters a year with a maximum of 16 per litter, and they can reproduce at six months of age. 

Sandhill crane occupied the roadway crossing a coastal prairie usually home to Aplomado Falcon. As we approached they took to the air. 

Shortly after, the cold front arrived and cut our drive short, opting not to drive Gator Pond Road and arriving back at the maintenance building to park the van and prepare for tomorrow's tour to Bahia Grande.