Yukon Trip - Days 4-7: BC Arrival!

May 29, 2013 - Day 4

This was to be the day - the first time on this trip that I would venture outside Ontario. When looking at maps, I marvel in pride at Canada's immense size, and in the magnitude of Ontario in particular. It's one thing to see it on maps; it's completely different to actually drive through it!

For some reason, I rose before my alarm at 5:53 AM (yes, I keep track of these things!). I packed up my campsite at Sandbar Lake Provincial Park and was in its picnic area for breakfast by 6:22 AM. I spent twenty minutes wandering the lake shore while enjoying my standard on-the-road-and-doesn't-need-a-cooler breakfast of hot chocolate and oatmeal. I didn't come up with much - some starlings, a flock of common mergansers, and a great blue heron. Oh well, I packed away what little cutlery and dishes I had dirtied and was on my way to Manitoba by 7:00.

I crossed the border around 10:30 and picked up some glossy pamphlets at the welcome center. I decided that my next stop would be the Oak Hammock Marsh north of Winnipeg for lunch. With a retrospective pat on the back I can say that was a great decision!

I walked on the trails and saw tons of birds - teals, swallows, red-winged and yellow-headed blackbirds, geese, warblers, ducks, shorebirds, sparrows, even pelicans!

Savannah Sparrow, Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/2500s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Blackpoll Warbler, Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/800s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Clay-colored Sparrow, Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/2500s @ f/8, ISO 1600

There was a killdeer performing its typical "my wing is broken" dance to attract attention away from its offspring:

Killdeer, Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/1250s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Aside from the avian variety, there was a ground squirrel colony. It was fun trying to capture these guys as they alternated between ducking for cover and devouring food.

Richardson's Ground Squirrel, Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/1000s @ f/8, ISO 1600

After about three hours at the marsh, it threatened to rain so I headed for the parking lot. I didn't have a plan but after checking the weather, I opted to avoid Riding Mountain National Park. They were calling for more than 50mm of rain there!

I weighed my options and decided to head west, get as far as I could, and stay in a hotel if the rain got too heavy. I made it to Minnedosa, Manitoba at 6:40 PM (it's Manitoba's Valley Paradise!), gassed up, and decided to look for a nearby campground. I luckily stumbled upon the Minnedosa Beach Campground but that's when my luck ended. For the life of me, I could not find the campground manager. I was prepared to give up and either pay in the morning or "camp and dash" when I finally found the manager. I got a campsite, set up my tent, had my dinner, and went to sleep to an ominous-looking dark sky.

May 30, 2013 - Day 5

I must have been nervous about the potential for rain because I awoke at 5:55 AM. There was only very light rain, so I hurriedly took my tent down and packed it away in my car. Semi-dry was a lot better than other alternatives!

I left the campground at 6:30 and headed west. Early on I sensed a problem on the roof of my car. There were very strong cross winds hammering my kayak and the three-year old tie downs just weren't getting it done. After one particularly noticeable kayak shift, I decided that it was too risky to continue without reinforcements. I first stopped in Russell, Manitoba but its hardware store didn't open for more than an hour. Onward (but slowly)! Next up was Langenberg, Saskatchewan but its hardware store also wasn't open yet. Continue! Finally, the Yorkton Walmart didn't let me down. I added a second set of tie downs and now my kayak didn't budge even with highway speed and the 50+ km/h crosswinds.

I explored Foam Lake Heritage Marsh and the Wedena Wetland but the rest of the day was spent in the oddly appealing monotony of a long drive. I started looking for a campground around 4:00 and settled on the Glenburn Regional Campground around 5:00. It was a pretty dry and bleak place, with large mud ruts in the campground roads. Another downfall - there were actually mosquitoes!

I explored the local prairie area by car but didn't come up with much. Coyotes howled nearby as I fell asleep in my tent.

May 31, 2013 - Day 6

Time for another province! I got up at 6:25 AM, packed up my campsite, ate breakfast and left by 6:50. I stopped in Maymont to check my email and finally saw a canvasback in a little pond across the road. This duck species had somehow eluded my life list to that point:

Canvasback, Maymont, Saskatchewan, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/3200s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Notice the characteristic "ski jump" profile of its head and bill.

Nothing else noteworthy happened this day. As on the previous day, I just drove. I had decided before my trip that I would stay in a hotel in Grande Prairie, Alberta and I did just that. However, in retrospect it wasn't necessary. I had thought that I would want to regroup and get everything together before I headed into the truer wilderness of the Alaska Highway. Instead, I hit on the negatives of hotel life. It's expensive (more costly than all of the other places I stayed at for the entire week!) and more importantly, you sleep far away from your car. I lugged all my camera gear into my hotel room to avoid theft. Worrying about thieves is a surefire recipe for me to catch insomnia!

June 1, 2013 - Day 7

I got up at 6:35 AM ready for some pre-packing nature. I got to the park and realized I had left my binoculars in my hotel room. Doh! They wouldn't have made much difference. All I saw was a deer and it was easily recognizable without visual aids. Oh well, back to the hotel to prepare for the Alaska Highway!

One perk of hotels is not having to prepare breakfast. I mowed down some mini-danishes, gulped more than my share of juice, packed up my car and was on my way, bound for British Columbia.

My first stop was at the Saskatoon Mountain Natural Area (which is obviously not in Saskatchewan; it's in Alberta) and it proved fruitful. There was an adult fox with a pup right beside the road. I'm not sure why I've always loved foxes but there's something special about them. They're sleek and always seem calm. These were the darkest red foxes I had ever seen:

Red Fox, Saskatoon Mountain Natural Area, Alberta, Canon 7D with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 300mm, 1/2500s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Red Fox, Saskatoon Mountain Natural Area, Alberta, Canon 7D with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 300mm, 1/5000s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Red Fox, Saskatoon Mountain Natural Area, Alberta, Canon 7D with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 300mm, 1/3200s @ f/8, ISO 1600

I took the first pictures from my car and then got out to take more from the road. Eventually, the pair ambled easily into the forest and did not return. What a great start to the day!

I got to mile zero of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia around noon and noticed a time change sign, which reminded me that I probably missed one in Alberta. Oh well, what's time anyway? My next appointment wasn't for weeks!

My first detour from the Alaska Highway was to an interesting relic - a curved wooden bridge over the Kiskatinaw River that still works:

Curved Wooden Bridge near Kiskatinaw Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canon 7D with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 28mm, 1/1600s @ f/8, ISO 1600

It was unnerving to drive across such a flimsy-looking artifact but I had to - three times!

A short time after the bridge I stopped for lunch at the visitor center in Taylor. When I told the very informative woman there about my travel plans, she urged me to make a change. I had to drive through the Peace River Valley! It was simply too gorgeous to pass up. Okay, then. I'm in! Instead of bypassing that part of BC and heading straight for the Yukon, I drove around Highway 29 through Hudson's Hope, Chetwynd, and Tumbler Ridge. What a great detour!

Peace River Valley, British Columbia, Canon 7D with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 28mm, 1/200s @ f/16, ISO 100

I got a campsite at the Tumbler Ridge Lion's Campground for $15, made some couscous and beans for dinner, had a juicy nectarine for dessert, and went to sleep thankful that I had listened to the suggestions of the lady at the Taylor visitor center.

Yukon Trip - Days 1-3: Belleville to Manitoba

May 26, 2013 - Day 1

It was really happening. I always get excited when I start a trip but this time it was different. I wasn’t just going on a trip - I was driving to the Yukon!

I had loaded my vehicle the night before, filling it with too many clothes, too much camping gear, and enough peanut butter and canned food to keep me fueled until at least Alberta. I was astute enough not to bring a cooler. It’s just too easy for the affliction known as “ice worry” to harshly interrupt the perfect serenity of a solo camping trip.

I left Belleville at 6:42 AM and according to Google Maps the drive to the Rabbit Blanket Lake campground in Lake Superior Provincial Park was going to take 11 hours and 12 minutes. That gave me lots of time before dark! My overhead kayak cast a strong shadow on Highway 401 as it guided me westward. I adroitly dodged a couple of deer carcasses near the shoulder and continued. My journey into the unknown radio stations of central Ontario was underway!

I stopped for gas and a break south of Parry Sound and ate lunch at a rest stop on the Spanish River east of McKerrow, Ontario. My first recorded birds greeted me warmly at the rest area - a robin, ring-billed gull, and chipping sparrow. I was hopeful that the north would yield more unusual species than that!

I had my iPhone hooked up to my car’s speakers as I searched for a gas station and according to the bubbly voice on the Google Maps app, I was approaching “Salt Saint Mary”. I’m not sure who pronounces Sault Ste. Marie that way, but okay. I’ll go with it. I gassed up in the Saint Mary and was anxious to get to the campground as I departed.

I knew I was in northern Ontario when I saw a moose south of Pancake Bay. A young male casually strolled across the highway right in front of me, a good reminder to pay attention and not run into anything, especially something bigger than a Smart car. I arrived at the Agawa Bay Visitor Center at 5:30, only to find the parking lot empty and the center closed. No problem, I didn’t really need anything there anyway. On the bright side, the deserted surroundings allowed me to add chickadee, white-crowned sparrow, junco, and hermit thrush to my bird list. I finally arrived at the campground at 6:17, selected a site on the water, and enjoyed a fine dinner of beans, chicken noodle soup, and fruit. It was exciting to realize that I was more than 1000 kilometers from home and was only going to get further away!

May 27, 2013 - Day 2

My excitement carried over to the morning and allowed me to get up with my alarm at 5:00 AM. However, excitement was replaced with a stark realization that it was darn cold. I suspect the overnight temperature was around -3 degrees Celsius, cold enough to make early morning metal-touching a no-no. I took some pictures of the lake, put on my kayaking gloves, and launched my kayak directly from my site.

Rabbit Blanket Lake, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canon 7D with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 28mm, 1/13s @ f/8, ISO 1600

I quietly followed a pair of loons as they toured the lake searching for breakfast:

Common Loons on Rabbit Blanket Lake, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canon 7D with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 135mm, 1/400s @ f/8, ISO 1600

My hopes for a “moose in the mist” shot were dashed but I was thankful to notice an American bittern on the shore. It scurried away but not before I got some photos. The darkness required ISO 6400 but I was still pleased:

American Bittern, Rabbit Blanket Lake, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canon 7D with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 300mm, 1/5000s @ f/5.6, ISO 6400

I had decided not to drive anywhere on my second day so that I could take sunset photos at Gargantua Bay. Instead of driving, I opted to explore the Wawa Sewage Lagoon. Sounds like fun, right? It was a great spot! I added two life birds (Wilson’s warbler and mourning warbler) but the rarest species was a marbled godwit, which should have been further west. Can’t it read a map?

Marbled Godwit, Wawa Sewage Lagoons, Ontario, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/5000s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Marbled Godwit, Wawa Sewage Lagoons, Ontario, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/2500s @ f/8, ISO 1600

I returned to my site for dinner and headed out afterwards for Gargantua Bay. On the way, I noticed that there were still snow piles near the park office!

The road to Gargantua Bay is a about 16 kilometers of winding and bumpy gravel but it’s usually worth the drive. I wasn’t especially pleased with my sunset photos at the time, but they ended up being fine:

Gargantua Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canon 7D with Canon EF-S 10-22mm @ 10mm, 1/8s @ f/22, ISO 100

May 28, 2013 - Day 3

I awoke at 6:22, ready to start my second day of extensive driving. My goal was to get somewhere near Dryden and my only planned stop was at the Terry Fox Memorial in Thunder Bay. I’m a huge Terry Fox fan. He selflessly ran 5373 kilometers over 143 days, basically a marathon a day! Best Canadian. Ever!

Terry Fox Memorial, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canon 7D with Canon EF-S 18-200mm @ 24mm, 1/8000s @ f/11, ISO 1600

I ended up making it to Sandbar Lake Provincial Park by dinner and decided to camp there. Among the singing redstarts, I noticed an interesting sight in the campground:

Bear Trap, Sandbar Lake Provincial Park, Ontario, Canon 7D with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 28mm, 1/400s @ f/8, ISO 1600

I didn’t think much of the bear trap until I watched the sunset on the empty park beach. There were bear tracks everywhere! Later on my trip I learned that a man had been attacked by a bear at the park. I guess the trap was there for a reason!

There was a pair of barred owls in the campground. I went to sleep and prepared for Manitoba as the owls called their familiar “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?”.

Videos from Yukon and Alaska

I recently returned from a fantastic camping trip from Belleville, Ontario to Yukon, Alaska, and British Columbia. I normally like to write a report for an entire trip, but in this case, there is simply too much to say in a single one. Instead, I will start with the videos I took in Yukon and Alaska.

The first video shows the view from the end of the Sheep Creek Trail in Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory, Canada. The trail is 10 km return and provides 427 metres of elevation gain.

I liked this trail a lot. It provides spectacular views of mountains in every direction and the potential to see grizzly bears and rare Dall Sheep. I was thankful not to encounter any grizzlies but unhappy not to see any sheep while hiking. The best part was the solitude - I started hiking around 10 AM and did not encounter another person until the afternoon when I was within five minutes of the parking lot.

The next video shows the view from the cirque at the end of the King’s Throne Trail in Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory, Canada. The trail is 10 km return and offers 548 metres of elevation gain.

I mention in the video that the trail is “very strenuous”. While it’s true that the trail is strenuous, the most strenuous part for me was when I mistakenly went off trail and was scurrying up scree that at times seemed near vertical. I don’t recommend that you do the same!

The next video shows the view from the Tatshenshini River viewpoint on Haines Road in Yukon Territory, Canada, 162 km (101 miles) north of Haines, Alaska.

The next video shows a flock of surf and white-winged scoters diving as if choreographed in Haines, Alaska. Have you ever seen anything like this?

The final video shows the view from the end of the Salmon Glacier Road in Hyder, Alaska. The Salmon Glacier is the largest glacier in the world that you can drive to.

The sister cities of Hyder, Alaska and Stewart, British Columbia were among my favourites in all of Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia. Note that you don’t need to pass through United States Customs to get from Stewart to Hyder but you do need to pass through Canada Customs when you return!

YouTube Tutorials: How I Keep My Images Organized With Adobe Lightroom

I have posted two tutorials to YouTube that demonstrate how I keep my images organized. The first tutorial demonstrates in Windows Explorer the folders and files that I use:

The second tutorial demonstrates the settings I use when I import images into Adobe Lightroom to keep the folder and file structure:

Texas Gulf Coast - Birds, Birds, and more Birds!

I have a lot of free time this year and I’m lucky enough to be able to fill it with travel. (It’s not accurate to call my trips vacations when I’m not really taking a break from anything!) I tend to shun more popular vacation spots. I base my travel on nature and try to visit places that allow me to see and photograph natural and beautiful things that I’ve never seen before. My trip to Texas in April was no different except that it focused on one particular aspect of nature… birds!

I appreciate that birding is not for everyone but the Texas Gulf coast in April is a birder’s paradise. Several flyways converge as birds migrate north across the Gulf of Mexico. If weather conditions are right, you can even experience a “fallout”, where birds drop out of the sky due to exhaustion. We didn’t get to experience a fallout but we still saw lots of birds, many from species not seen close to Ontario. The trip was a week long and we got up every day before 7 AM and were out looking for birds all day until the sun went down around 8 PM. It was tiring at times but we survived. We survived the Rio Grande Valley even when it was 37 degrees Celsius and the Weather Network said it felt like 47. (Of course, that was the day we smartly decided to do most of our hiking. Shrewd.). My camera and big lens survived being dropped (twice!). And finally, our psyches survived a large cockroach scurrying along the floor of our Houston hotel room.

Texas has tried to capitalize on the increased tourism due to birding. They have dedicated certain places to be stops on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. There are three maps, one for the upper coast near Galveston, one for the central coast near Rockport-Fulton, and one for the lower coast near Brownsville. They were even nice enough to mail me (for free!) all three maps. However, the maps are old (a couple from when George W. Bush was governor… it was great seeing that mug every day) and many of the birding locations are outdated.

Our first day began with a flight into Houston. We picked up our rental SUV and headed right for High Island. We started out at Boy Scout Woods and were underwhelmed. The best we could do was a Brown Thrasher living up to its name and thrashing about in some dead leaves.

Then we headed to the nearby Rookery at Smith Oaks. It was much better! There was a short walk in to a small lake that had dozens of Great Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills nesting in trees right across from the trail. It was very bright, so at ISO 1600 and f/8, I was able to use very fast shutter speeds of 1/5000s or faster to really freeze the action:

Great Egret, Rookery at Smith Oaks, High Island, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/8000s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Roseate Spoonbill, Rookery at Smith Oaks, High Island, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/5000s @ f/8, ISO 1600

After High Island, we drove down to the Bolivar Peninsula. We saw lots of gulls, terns (including Sandwich Terns that are so named because their yellow-tipped bills make it look like they just ate a mustard sandwich), plovers, and sandpipers.

Willet, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/3200s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Finally, it was back to our hotel in Winnie. On our second day, we headed back to Boy Scout Woods and had more success. We saw Inca Doves on the telephone wires as soon as we got out of our vehicle, and some orioles and another thrasher in the woods. However, the best birds of the day were seen from the tower across the road. The tower is a rickety three-story wood structure and it didn’t give me much confidence. There were loose nails sticking out in various places and the railing wasn’t entirely intact. The walkway was not wide enough to accommodate my tripod so I had to collapse the legs together and use it as a monopod. Thankfully, the tower held together long enough to get us at eye level with some very colourful birds. There was a flock of Indigo Buntings, a Painted Bunting, Baltimore Orioles, but the highlight for me was a male Blackburnian Warbler. It stayed in view at eye level for a brief moment but my first shot had one small problem:

Blackburnian Warbler (obscured), Boy Scout Woods, High Island, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/3200s @ f/8, ISO 1600

It’s amazing how much one thing can lessen a photo… damn you tree! Luckily, the bird moved ever so slightly that its head was no longer obscured:

Blackburnian Warbler, Boy Scout Woods, High Island, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/5000s @ f/8, ISO 1600

After Boy Scout Woods, we headed over to the smallest part of the High Island Sanctuary - Hooks Woods. It’s so small it doesn’t even get mentioned on the High Island website! Despite that, it proved fruitful for us. We saw a resting Black-chinned Hummingbird and a Blue Grosbeak on the ground amongst a flock of cowbirds.

Then it was on to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. We drove on the Shoveler Pond Auto-Tour loop and the highlights were an American Bittern, Black-necked Stilts, and Mottled Ducks. On the drive just outside the refuge we saw our first Crested Caracara.

We decided not to book any hotels beforehand on this trip and that decision hurt us on this day. We knew that we wanted to start our next day near Rockport. That was a long drive from Anahuac so we decided to head in the general direction of Rockport and stop when we felt like it. My old GPS indicated there was a single place to stay in Tivoli but when the helpful voice said “you have reached your destination”, we were on a country road in complete darkness in the middle of nowhere. Darn. We had no choice but to continue all the way to Rockport. We stopped at the first place we could and had a very late dinner at Whataburger. Very classy. What’s up with drink sizes in the US? I know I don’t exactly have the physique of “The Rock”, but I could hardly carry my beverage out of the restaurant!

Our first stop the next day was the Rockport Demo Bird Garden & Wetlands Pond. Highlights were a Black-crested Titmouse, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, and a Carolina Wren loudly singing from the treetops. Then it was on to Joan & Scott Holt Paradise Pond in Port Aransas. Paradise Pond has a short boardwalk in an area that usually has water. The drought has left it completely devoid of water but there were still thrushes, tanagers, grosbeaks, vireos, and Prothonotary Warblers and Black-and-white Warblers present. We also spotted Yellow-crowned Night-Herons relaxing in the trees on our way out. And just to prove that the trip wasn’t entirely about the birds, here’s a butterfly that was right beside the parking lot.

Butterfly, Joan & Scott Holt Paradise Pond, Port Aransas, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/8000s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Our last stop in Port Aransas was the Leonabelle Turnbell Birding Center. The main attraction there is a boardwalk but even before that we saw lots of warblers, vireos, and hummingbirds in the trees and garden. As a bonus, a Sora walked around and stayed in view for much longer than usual, even allowing me to get some photos. The boardwalk allowed very close views of American Avocets, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers, and my favourite, Cinnamon Teals:

Cinnamon Teal, Leonabelle Turnbell Birding Center, Port Aransas, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/640s @ f/11, ISO 800

After Port Aransas, we were finally on our way to the Rio Grande Valley! We stopped at Mustang Island State Park (Eared Grebes and Least Terns up close… so cute!), the Packery Channel in Corpus Christi (Gull-billed Tern, Black-bellied Plover, Hooded Warbler, Summer Tanager) and the courthouse in Sarita. No, we didn’t get caught speeding. Rather, the courthouse is mentioned on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail maps as a place to look for Hooded Orioles. We initially didn’t see any (although we were entertained by some seemingly devil-eyed Bronzed Cowbirds) but on our way out there they were in the trees:

Hooded Oriole, Sarita Courthouse, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/3200s @ f/8, ISO 1600

We finally got to the Rio Grande Valley later that day and set up shop in the Harlingen hotel that would be our home for the next four days.

The next day we drove to South Padre Island. Side by side there is the South Padre Island Birding & Nature Center and a convention center. Which one do you think is preferred by the locals for birding? Of course, it’s the convention center! Each has a boardwalk and it’s funny to see the competing boardwalks right beside each other. You have to pay to use the birding center’s boardwalk but not the one at the convention center.

It was our first time in South Padre Island so we didn’t know the protocol yet. We started at the birding center and saw lots of rails (including Clapper Rails), dowitchers, herons, egrets, ducks, kingfishers, and my favourite, Black-necked Stilts:

Black-necked Stilt, South Padre Island Birding & Nature Center, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/6400s @ f/8, ISO 1600

They just look so awkward on their long legs, like they would topple over if a brisk wind picked up.

We went next door to the convention center and were shocked at the size of the woods - they were barely larger than my house! However, there was a man-made fake creek running through them so the birds congregated. There were waterthrushes, orioles, tanagers, warblers (Kentucky, Black-and-white, Prothonotary, Nashville, Tennessee, Yellow-rumped, Worm-eating, and Northern Parula), kinglets, doves, and Lincoln’s and Clay-colored Sparrows. What a two hour stretch of birds! I like the face pattern on Kentucky Warblers:

Kentucky Warbler, South Padre Island Convention Center, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/320s @ f/8, ISO 1600

The next day we aimed for some true Texas specialties. We were not disappointed! We started at Estero Llano Grande and nabbed a Clay-coloured Thrush, Great Kiskadee, Least Grebe (so tiny!), and an Altamira Oriole. The latter was interesting because it fought itself in the rear view mirror of a park vehicle and it wasn’t giving an inch. It landed on the mirror, aggressively pursued its own reflection and then headed back to a tree. This process repeated a number of times. I hope it doesn’t tire itself out!

Altamira Oriole, Estero Llano Grande State Park, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/250s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Another location noted for south Texas birds was next - Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley. Its roads were closed but there were so few people there that we got chauffeured around by park staff in a golf cart. They dropped us off at a photo blind and came back some time later to pick us up and take us to the next location. It was pretty sweet! A photo blind also served as the landing spot for my first camera drop. I thought my big lens was attached to my tripod, but evidently that was false. Apparently it was just lightly resting on my tripod. When I moved my tripod, down came my camera and lens, hitting the wooden floor of the photo blind with a thud. Not to worry! I picked it up and all was good. Let’s blame that one on the heat.

The next day was our final full day in the Rio Grande Valley and we started at Sabal Palm Sanctuary. They have a live webcam showing the birds at their feeders so we sort of knew what to expect. They also have had a Crimson-collared Grosbeak showing up at least daily since February. That species isn’t normally seen in the US or Canada so we were hoping to catch a glimpse. Before the grosbeak showed up, we saw more Black-crested Titmice, a Buff-bellied Hummingbird, and more Hooded and Altamira Orioles. Then it was time for the show! The grosbeak showed up at its customary spot and picked away at the apples put out by staff each morning:

Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/100s @ f/8, ISO 1600

I tried to get a photo showing the bird without obvious human interaction but that was not to be. Note how dark it was - even at ISO 1600 I still needed a shutter speed of 1/100s.

We took Old Port Isabel Road after Sabal Palm as it is noted for sightings of Aplomado Falcon. We didn’t see a falcon, but we did see disgusting reminders of human activity. Garbage was everywhere - piles of tires, mattresses, old TVs, and car seats. If it can be discarded, it was in the ditch on Old Port Isabel Road… an interesting combination of nature and human activity:

Ever heard of a tire fence?, Old Port Isabel Road, north of Brownsville, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/3200s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Old Port Isabel Road headed us in the direction of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge so we popped in for a visit. Laguna Atascosa is probably the only place in the US where one can legitimately see the following sign:

Highly unlikely but possible!, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, iPhone, 1/1100s @ f/2.8, ISO 80

Wild ocelots still exist in the park, but there are few (they have tagged only three females) and they are extremely secretive (only two reported sightings in the last five years). We went on the 15-mile long auto tour and when we got out to see some shorebirds, we were surprised to see a cat off in the distance. Were we lucky enough to actually see a wild ocelot? Um, no:

Bobcat, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/2000s @ f/8, ISO 1600

It turned out to be a bobcat. Very cool, but no ocelot.

Laguna Atascosa was also where I experimented with dropping my camera and lens on a new surface - asphalt! This time a plastic piece of my camera flew off but it was only the door for the battery compartment. I tell you, I appreciate my camera’s hardiness!

Strong northerly winds and a coming cold front had many predicting a fallout at South Padre Island for our final day. We started early and got to the convention center before sunrise. However, we weren’t allowed in the parking lot because it was reserved for attendees of the motorcycle show. Another interesting combination of nature and human activity!

Nothing says nature like a motorcycle show!, South Padre Island Convention Center, Texas, Canon Xsi with Canon EF 28-300mm @ 60mm, 1/4000s @ f/5.6, ISO 1600

Alas, there was no fallout so birds weren’t actually falling from the sky, but there were still a ton of birds kicking around, including my best viewings of a Painted Bunting:

Painted Bunting, South Padre Island Convention Center, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/400s @ f/8, ISO 1600

We had a long drive from South Padre Island to our airport hotel in Houston, so we left around 2:00 and got on the road. Our only real stop was in Refugio, at Lion’s/Shelly Park. It proved quite a good stop and, just as advertised in the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail map, there was a Green Kingfisher:

Green Kingfisher, Lions/Shelley Park, Refugio, Texas, Canon 7D with Canon EF 500mm, 1/400s @ f/8, ISO 1600

Even better, it was in good light and didn’t move! I tried to get a shot of it in flight as it took off, but it was too fast. We also added three more species to our Texas list - Solitary Sandpiper, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, and finally, a Carolina Chickadee! We made it to Houston only to see a giant cockroach on the floor of our hotel room. Cue the room change (as far away from the infestation as possible, please). Our whirlwind tour of coastal Texas was over and it was a blast!

Our trip home was more eventful than expected. Weather was perfect in Houston but our flight to Detroit was delayed so we would have missed our connection. The earliest they could get us to Syracuse was 10:30 PM via Minneapolis so our final day involved five hours of waiting at the Houston airport, a short flight to Minneapolis, a four-hour wait there for our short flight to Syracuse, and then a three-hour drive home in the dark. Oh well, it all worked out for the best and the delays actually helped me get some of my photo editing done earlier than it otherwise would have.