On recent trips to Laguna Atascosa, I hadn’t seen the Aplomado Falcons as often as I usually do. Finally, after going missing for nine days, I spotted the male Aplomado Falcon at the same place where I had last seen it. I wasn’t particularly worried about the falcon, nevertheless, was glad to see it again. The photo was taken after the falcon dropped to the ground and just missed catching a rodent.
Male Aplomado Falcon
It might have been going after a Mexican Ground Squirrel, a common, attractive rodent of southern Texas.
Mexican Ground Squirrel taking a drink.
This past Sunday, one of the animals that I didn’t get a picture of was a Bobcat. It accidentally walked up on me and I don’t know who was more surprised, me or the Bobcat. Unfotunately, I didn’t react fast enough to get a photo. However, I was able to get a nice picture of a Javelina.
A Javelina in southern Texas.
I also got pictures of several resident bird species including:
A smart looking Black-crested Titmouse.
Northern Cardinals are truly stunning birds. We are so lucky to have such a beautiful, common backyard bird.
The Eastern Phoebe is our hardiest flycatcher species.
The Green Jay has to be one of the most colorful species in the country.
The Long-billed Thrasher is a south Texas specialty.
The Greater Roadrunner feeds on everything from insects to lizards and snakes.
Orange-crowned Warblers are a common wintering species in southern Texas.
I expect to start seeing a trickle of migratory birds in early March and, hopefully, we’ll get lots of Painted Buntings and Indigo Buntings. Last year’s migration was a little short on numbers, but big on quality (Black-throated Blue Warbler, multiple Cape May Warblers, Western Tanager, and more). In the meantime, there are plenty of beautiful resident species to watch!