Last Day of Scouting

(October 19th) When I go to a new place like south Texas, I really don't know what the best spots in the area are. Sure, I've done some research and know where birders like to go, or have a list of state parks and national wildlife refuges in the area, but these locations aren't always the best photography spots. So I try and use the first portion of my trip to scout out locations - after all, if I run out of time, I can always come back :)

Today was my last scouting day in south Texas. I spent the morning in the birder hotspot Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park. State parks are a mixed bunch for wildlife - sometimes they are teeming, but sometimes they just have trees and lots of recreational users. After dropping off my entry fee in the dark, I headed into the park, not quite sure what it would hold. Like most places in south Texas, it was great. At the beginning of the morning it was teeming with birds - woodpeckers, chachalacas, jays, orioles, flycatchers, and of course the Great-tailed Grackles that are everywhere. I had an interesting run-in with a Javelina too (kind of looks like a big bristly pig). This Golden-fronted Woodpecker popped right into one of those magical beams of light shining through the trees.

The insects were abundant here too - butterflies, walking sticks, and grasshoppers everywhere. As I walked through some of the other areas of the park, I came across a hover-fly. You usually see these flies around flowers, but this individual was flying over the trail. There is a classic training scene in martial arts movies where the student practices their skills by catching flies with chopsticks. To photography a hovering hover fly (especially with a 200-400 lens) was a photographic equivalent for me. This was the best shot I was able to get from my effort - not bad, but I want to definitely want to try again. Maybe next time I'll be able to get a hummingbird.

I spent the afternoon at the Chihuahua Woods Preserve. This was the most arid place I had visited. Cacti were the name of the game here - in many forms and sizes. But unlike the movies, here the cacti were mixed in with lush trees and grasses. Here's an example of one of the cacti bearing fruit.

This was also a great spot for lizards. I saw several species, including my first wild horned toad. Unfortunately it stayed in the shadows for the brief while that I saw it. As I have to come to expect from south Texas, there were quite a few insects and spiders here. There's something about the eyes of a jumping spider that scream out other-worldly.

Lastly, the preserve did have some nice birds too. I had some nice looks at a Long-billed Thrasher, some Inca Doves, and a host of flycatchers. This Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is one of the smallest birds around, but with its inquisitive nature how could I not fire off some shots?