New Camera and New Birds

One of the cool things about coming to South Texas is the wildlife. There are birds and other critters here that I don’t see anywhere else. That was part of the draw. I knew South Texas would be different from Hill Country and the Coastal Bend areas we have volunteered in past years. One of the big benefits is there are no Juniper Trees, a source of misery for me our first winter in Texas. The birds are exotic as are the Winter Texans, who are a whole different breed from the Winter Texans who migrate to central parts of Texas. The constant in our Texas experience are the people. We really like native Texans. The Rio Grande Valley has become a sort of melting pot of people we have met on the road. We are getting a chance to spend time with people we met previous winters, including people we met in Florida last winter who are here this winter. We will see Iowa relatives who are spending their first winter in Texas this year and of course we have spent lots of time with our good friends Will and Judy, who we work with at Saylorville in the summer time and are the reason we came to the RGV this winter.

I have had wonderful birding experiences here on my weekend morning walks along the levee and into the State Park that abuts the RV park. Last weekend was a big birding weekend for me in general. I saw my first Altamira Oriole and Tropical Kingbird as I walked along the levee last Saturday morning. I was lazy that morning and took my binoculars but didn’t feel like hauling my camera along. Figures, I’d see two new birds in perfect light and not have a camera to capture the moment.

Later that afternoon, we wandered in to McAllen on an entirely different mission and ended up at Best Buy where I bought a new camera. I’ve been and SLR snob for years. I have been whining about not having quite enough lens for some of the wildlife shots I take. The problem lies in that, when I go lens shopping, I am too cheap to pay the big bucks for the lens I want and don’t want to haul the weight around. At an average of 8lbs, about 14” long and around  $2k, it’s easy to be indicisive. For some reason a Canon point and shoot caught my eye that afternoon. I picked it up aimed it at a box on a top shelf in the far corner of the store and was able to read the label. It had my attention. I started looking closer at it and found it had 4k resolution and was WiFi enabled. I was totally in awe of the advancement of digital technology. Still, I was having trouble with the fact that it was a simple point and shoot. It was on sale for $500.00 and I had a big birding day planned for the next day. Champ was all for me buying it. It weighed all of 2 lbs. I decided I would test drive in the next morning and if I didn’t like it, I’d bring it back on Monday.

We set out early Sunday morning on John’s bird tour.  When I pulled it out to take a picture of a Crested Cara Cara sitting several hundred yards in the outfield, I was a little embarrassed as the serious photographers pulled out their 10-pound monsters. That faded quickly as I shot a decent picture ( despite the crappy light)  of the bird and had lens to spare!

Crested Cara Cara

 By the end of the day I was in love with my new camera and didn’t once complain that I wish I had a little more lens. I actually pulled it back several times. I saw and photographed several species that were new for me. Most I will not see anywhere else but South Texas. One, the Savanah Sparrow is a cute little bird that can see at Saylorville now that I know when and what to look for.

Greater Yellowlegs

Reddish Egret

Roseated Spoonbill

Savanah Sparrows

White Tailed Kite

Loggerhead Shrike

Loggerhead prey impaled and awaiting dinner time 

As my home state freezes 5 feet deep into the soil and air temperature struggles to get above freezing, I sit on my patio in my shorts and flip flops and watch beautiful birds in the trees around us. My favorite the Great Kiskadee and the Vermillion Fly Catchers call from the live oaks. A Kestral sits on the top of the dead Palm across the road every night. Harris’s Hawks sit on the wires and one never knows what one will see on a walk across the levee and into the State Park next door. My new compact camera will be on my hip every time. Good things do indeed come in small packages.  

Until next time…