The weather improves daily here in south Texas. Today, the best so far, is sunny but cool with manageable humidity and a brilliant blue sky dotted with small puffy clouds. It explains the increasing numbers of what the locals refer to as “Winter Texans” - northerners migrating south to enjoy a temperate winter here on the gulf coast.
We continue to work 3 days/week at the Laguna Atascosa FWR and Sunday mornings at the Texas World Birding Center on South Padre Island. In addition to the wonderful variety of birds and wildlife, I have been introduced to butterflies in infinite variety as they also migrate south. If you think birders are a specialized lot, you must meet butterfly enthusiasts!
Today I’ll add photos of whistling ducks, butterflies, and an armadillo.
The Black-bellied Whistling- Duck is a subtropical species slowly spreading northward. Unlike most ducks, they mate for life and males are actively involved in egg incubation and chick rearing. The male here stood vigil as his family napped then gathered the sleepy-eyed chicks and their mom for a swim and relocation to more distant quarters. They are also unusual (like wood ducks) for roosting in trees, webbed feet not withstanding.
Butterflies include the slightly iridescent White Peacock, the Queen (a bit similar in appearance to the Monarch) who demonstrates some of the perils of long migration, and the American Snout whose schnoz explains the name! I’m beginning to admire these beautiful, interesting creatures more and more as I follow them with my lense.
The armadillo is a fascinating mammal with thick leathery plate armor and great digging ability which it uses to forage for grubs and other edibles and for digging burrows for home base or escape. Poor vision; great sense of smell. How wonderfully odd that we share the world with such a creature!

Laguna Atascosa NWR - Texas Gulf Coast

Although I may perspire a bit or causally rub an itch, I don’t usually “sweat” or vigorously scratch in public. Both, however, are now part of my persona thanks to the chiggers and high humidity here in south Texas. Erv and I were looking for a warm winter spot but, arriving in early October, we got more than we bargained for with 90+ degrees and 90% humidity… OK, I’m exaggerating a bit but that’s what it feels like. On the other hand, we know the weather will improve and the birds and wildlife are great.
In the last day we’ve seen coyote, Javalina (a small wild pig in appearance but actually a collared peccary), deer, raccoon and armadillo within 20 yards of our motor home. Fortunately snakes and alligators have been seen at a greater distance. And the birds – amazing in variety and quantity! In one tiny wetland pond we saw lovely roseate spoonbills (pink like flamingos), wood stork, egrets, heron, avocet and curlew. Nearby were a variety of other shorebirds and ducks (including Black-bellied Whistling ducks with bright red bills and pink feet and American Wigeons sporting buff “Mohawks” atop a grey head with green cheek patches). Children’s art mimics nature at her most colorful!
Coming to the feeders at the visitor’s center are brilliant green jays and orioles and noisy chachalacas ( large rather prehistoric looking birds resembling a hybrid of turkey and roadrunner) and other neo tropic birds. Guess you have to bear tropical weather for tropical flora and fauna! We’re like kids in a candy store enjoying the abundance and variety of life here at the Laguna Atascosa Fish and Wildlife Refuge.
Less than a half hour away is South Padre Island, part of the Gulf’s barrier island system. It’s a lovely strip of land with long beaches bordering the gulf on one side and Laguna Madre on the other. Dolphins and pelicans are frequently seen, fishermen abound and the large fresh shrimp are a treat. Best of all, South Padre is a mecca for migrating and overwintering birds. We’ve begun volunteering Sunday mornings at the Texas World Birding Center (“ask me” guides along the boardwalk) for the opportunity to regularly see and photograph the birds. We’ll be here through the end of the year and anticipate a good three months.

Moving On:

In this, our last week, we prepare to get “on the road again” with anticipation flavored by nostalgia for the Aplomado Falcons and the dynamic open spaces they now consider home. (OK, the anticipation is mostly Erv’s and the wistful nostalgia mine.)
The falcons have become increasingly self sufficient and this week are fed on an every-other-day schedule. We use “off” days to work on photographs and reports for the Peregrine Fund summarizing our experiences and the falcon’s development. We’ve also taken time to pamper ourselves with a restorative soak in one of Truth or Consequences’ hot springs and to explore more of the ranch delighting in a “find” of petrified wood and checking out the “big house,” Ted Turner’s understated ranch house which blends well into the environment. I was particularly drawn to a Spanish-era door there.
Next week we return to Socorro where Erv will tend to his Tracker (sorely abused by multiple trips on ranch roads) while I reconnect with family in Albuquerque, then drive to Big Bear Lake, CA to savor mountains and present our Bald Eagle and Sandhill Crane programs. We’ll start up the blog again in October from our volunteer post at Laguna Atascosa NWR in southeast Texas near the gulf coast. Please join us there!
I’ve enjoyed being “blogmaster” from the Armendaris and hope to have given you a taste of the challenges and pleasures we’ve experienced here. Please share your feedback and comments via email: sjnoll@msn.com.