I have a passion for the outdoors and I am most happy enjoying what nature has to offer. Hobbies include photography, birding, Pickleball, astronomy, biking, and hiking. I have been happily married, for 50 years, to an amazing person.
Hello, my name is Eugene. That is me in the photo above. In case you donât recognize me I am a Great Egret. I am currently staying at the Smith Oaks Rookery in High Island, Texas.
Handsome, aren’t I
My mate, Louise, is in the photo below. Some people believe her name is Jeez Louise, because that is what I yell at her all the time.
Louise? You’re not Louise!
Louise, is always complaining about how I do things and when she starts nagging, I yell Jeez Louise, give me a break!
Louise, there you are, Jeez!
You see, Louise, complains about the sticks I find and bring her to build our nest; she complains about how I take off; how I land on the nest; what foods I bring her and the list goes on and on.
“I found one”I’am working hard LouiseHere Honey, I brought you another stickA beautiful landing if I say so myself“I’ll be back, going to find another stick”Whoa, lookout below!“I’am coming in backwards”
I am hoping it wonât be long, the chicks will be born and out of the nest and Louise will once again be a happy bird.
Aren’t we a lovely coupleThanks Eugene, for everything
While you are here, I would like you to meet some of my friends here at The Rookery.
This is Captain, a Neotropical Cormorant. We should call him Shorty, because he has a very short tail, but that would be rude.
Meet The CaptainDon’t say anything about his short tail
Meet Showoff, a very handsome Snowy Egret who is always showing off his Yellow Slippers! The female Snowies are always after him. Iâam jealous.
Meet ShowoffA Common Moorhen; get a load of the red shield!
Our next door neighbors, here at the Rookery, are Samuel and Rose! They are called Roseate Spoonbills. Can you guess why? They are a lovely couple and they never yell at each other.
Meet Samuel and Rose
More, gossip, on them later.
“Some days, I just can’t get a grip on things”
Sheila here: Aren’t my friends lovely?
It was a thrill to visit the Smith Oaks Rookery in High Island, Texas. To see the number of nesting birds was incredible;Â I will never forget this day.
For information of this area please visit this web-site:
The rhythm of the coach tires rolling across the highway, through dry west Texas landscape, is a pleasing sound. The wheels on our faithful coach keep turing, bringing us closer to home and further away from family and our southern friends. For now it is a pattern of life we have chosen and one we are extremely happy living. Leaving is the natural way of things; this is how it is suppose to be, but still sad.
As I look out my side window at the stark beauty of the areas we pass, I canât help thinking how fortunate we are to be able to travel. It is with happiness that we roll along talking about past experiences and planning new adventures.
Caught in Flight
We feel excitement when preparing to leave home, knowing we will see family and friends. We anticipate meeting new people along our route. We know we will feel delight in the discovery of different and beautiful places. We know fun times will be shared and fond memories created. Â
We also know our 2013/2014 winter trip is almost over. Â
At the end of October, 2013 we rolled out of Colorado, leaving home and friends behind. It is with excitement that early next week we will roll into our home town with friends to see, a stationary life to enjoy, projects to complete and of course new travels to plan.Â
On Friday, as we rolled along, we passed a sign. The sign made us both shout with joy. What did the sign say: You are entering Mountain Time Zone! Yes, our beloved Mountain Time Zone. Our bodies are once again in rhythm with our minds!! {grins}. Thank goodness for that! I asked Howard if he thought it would work if we just kept our clocks set to Mountain Time. What do you think?
A Pretty Face
Recent Travels:
As planned we left Beaumont, Texas on a Sunday, knowing that we would have to drive through Houston. We donât like driving through Houston and choosing to drive this route at mid-mourning on a Sunday works best for us. Straight through driving on I-10, no problem! Another reason from leaving on a Sunday – it is the only way we can get reservations at Stephen F. Austin State Park. This park is located close to Houston and Katy and is a popular destination for local nature lovers, especially on the weekends.Â
We had a wonderful four days there and moved on to Kerrville, Texas staying at the Buckhorn Lake Resort. While there we ate some locally made Catfish Gumbo (always wonderful) and had the coach washed and waxed, which is the main reason for stopping in Kerrville.
Leaving Kerrville, we traveled less than sixty miles to South Llano State Park in Junction, Texas. As I have stated before, this is one of my favorite state parks. We met a lot of birders from all across the US and Canada. It is amazing how many people travel to Texas during this time of year to bird.
We also met some very interesting amateur and professional photographers and some astronomers. I am looking for a new lens to go on my Canon 70D so I spoke with some of these photographers to get their opinion on which lens to purchase.
After four wonderful days, it was sad leaving South Llano, because I enjoy the birding so much. We drove to Balmorhea and spent one night at Balmorhea State Park and then headed to Brantley Lake State Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico.Â
This is where we are through the Easter weekend, leaving tomorrow. We drove this route last year on our way home and enjoyed the area, so we decided to take this route again. A few flowers are blooming, but for the most part spring hasnât fully arrived in this part of the west. We had hoped to walk around The Living Desert Wildlife Museum, but the weather is not cooperating, another time perhaps.
As I sit here, in my comfortable home on wheels, looking out across the prairie, I hear rain hitting on the roof, I see dark grey storm clouds rolling across the sky, driven by spring winds and I feel content.
The Rambling Rose, our home on wheels, keeps us happy and safe!
The Pileated Woodpecker – red crest extending from forehead to nape, large black bill, scarlet mustache, white chin, white line from base of bill crosses face to back of neck and extends down neck to side and has a solid black back.
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Added to my Birding Life List on 09/21/98
(Beach Number Four, Washington)
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Pileated Woodpecker (listening to me as I try to get closer to him)
Pileated Woodpeckers:
drum on trees and logs to claim territory and attract a mate
the male roosts in the nesting cavity before the eggs are laid and afterward, incubates them there at night
bore deep into trees, dig on the ground and on fallen logs for food
eat ants, beetles and a variety of other insects, acorns, beechnuts, seeds of tree cones, other nuts and various fruits
are common to fairly common in the Southeast
vulnerable to habitat loss and forest fragmentation
have adapted to habitat changes
compete for excavated nesting cavities with European Starlings
**information above taken from Smithsonian handbooks, Birds of North America**
“Now you see me, now you don’t!” (This is how I saw him most of the time.)
He stopped pounding on the log for a second.
Stephen F. Austin State Park
The photo above shows our backyard from April 6th to April 10th. This is a beautiful Texas State Park located in San Felipe, which is about 20 miles west of Katy, Texas and it is a terrific place to see birds.
While there we saw the Tufted Titmouse, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, Carolina Chickadee, Black Vulture, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Common Ground Dove, Wood Duck, Red-winged Blackbird, Chipping Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Mourning Dove, American Crow, Northern Cardinal and Indigo Bunting.
Our lovely and very green backyard for a few days. (Look close and you can see a few Northern Cardinals.)
Notice the felled trees in the background on the right of the photo above;  this is where the Pileated was when we pulled into our site. It was a nice welcome!
Just as I am! Every Friday you may participate in Feathers on Friday at Prairie Birder.
The Boat-tailed Grackle – brown or dull yellow eyes, long keel-shaped tail, black overall, iridescent purple on head and back, black legs and black bill.
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Added to my Birding Life List on 04/10/93
(West Palm Beach, Florida)
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The Boat-tailed Grackle is a very large, glossy black bird.
The Boat-tailed Grackle’s common name refers to its long tail, often held in a V-shape to form a “keel.”
Found along the coast from Texas to Long Island, this songbird prefers salt and brackish marshes, where it breeds in colonies and socializes in noisy flocks.
The Boat-tailed Grackle has been expanding its range northward since the 1940’s, probably due to milder winters north of the Carolinas.
The female is a light, warm brown with dark brown wings and tail. The femaleâs âearâ is darker brown under a pale eyebrow. The eyes of both sexes are yellowish.
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Boat-tailed Grackle
I photographed this beautiful bird while visiting the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge this past week.
What a beautiful black bird
Just as I am! Every Friday you may participate in Feathers on Friday at Prairie Birder.
We rolled into Beaumont, Texas last Thursday with the expectation of visiting a few birding areas located along the gulf.Â
Friday morning we headed toward the little Texas town of Winnie. I had read **(see special note later in this post) that this area offered fabulous birding opportunities. Â So, with our binoculars and cameras packed in the car, we set out.
High Island or Anahuac, which one to visit first?
We didnât know which area(s) to visit first; the birding sanctuaries and rookeries around High Island, Texas or the Anahauc National Wildlife Refuge outside of Winnie.
We knew our time was limited and we only had two full days to fit in all in. Silly us, we should have scheduled more days in this location.
We turned off the interstate and headed south toward Winnie and High Island, and as we approached the turn-off to ANWF, we decided to head over to the High Island sanctuaries and rookeries first.Â
We didnât know if we could run by these rookeries, see what was there, and then zoom over to ANWF or what.Silly us!
Birders Welcome! Of course they are!
Once we reached the town of High Island and drove around for a few minutes, we realized we needed to ask for information. I guess it was just dumb luck that we were passing a motel and saw a sign stating âBirders Welcomeâ.Â
We pulled into the motel and I ran in to ask the question, âwhere are the rookeries?â. The people were not only extremely friendly, they were also generous. Getting back into the car, with a map in hand, we set out to find the rookery.
After a few wrong turns we managed to find the Smith Oaks birding parking lot. When we pulled into the lot we were stunned, âlook at all these carsâ. We should have known we were not the only folks that wanted to visit the rookeries at the peak of breeding season.Silly us!
I will remember this event, with pure joy, for the rest of my life.
Okay, we will look around, hop back into the car and head to the next place. Not a chance, I could have stayed right there for days.Silly us!
Other than the rookery at Avery Island, I had never seen such a place. Hundreds of Egrets, Spoonbills and Cormorants flying, fighting, mating, snoozing and nesting. What a sight to behold!
Reluctantly, we finally got back into the car, in total amazement and me with lens envy, and headed over to another birding area called Boy Scout Woods.Â
Wow, even more cars and people.
Unbeknown to us it turns out the Audubon Society of Houstonâs annual spring birding event was in full swing. People from all over the United States and perhaps from outside the US attend this event each year.
We registered with the HAS, met some wonderful people, walked around in the woods and added one new bird to my life list! Number 360 the Louisiana Waterthrush. What a beautiful bird.
Be sure, if interested, to read the High Island history page.
What a wonderful day!
We drove back to our coach in Beaumont tired, but extremely happy for this experience. It would have been nice to go back to High Island, but we knew we had to see Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.
**Gay, a blogger friend from http://www.good-times-rollin.blogspot.com visited Aunahauc National Wildlife Refuge and wrote about the visit on her blog. Go take a look at her beautiful blog.
Judy is a volunteer at the refuge and writes about her experiences on her fabulous blog.
After reading both of these blogs about Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, I knew we needed to stop there. Also, Judy had visited the Smith Oaks Rookery and posted her gorgeous photos on her blog.Â
The next morning, following our visit to High Island, we pulled into the refuge.
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. Their new Welcome Center
As I entered the brand new Welcome Center, I was met by a person with a friendly face and kind eyes. As I glanced at her name tag, conformation was made, but I already knew that I was about to meet Judy!
Howard and I were lucky that she was there that day; it made our visit to ANWF even more special!
It was a thrill to meet a fellow blogger, birder and nature lover. She showed us the ANWF maps, told us what we might see and gave us a few suggestions on where to go. So off we went to explore!
Other, than the day being cloudy and very windy, hubby and I had a wonderful time! The refuge is beautiful!Â
Thank you Judy, it was a great pleasure to meet you.Â
Perhaps, one day down the line we will meet again.
Next year, we know where to stay.
No more Silly Us! Next year we will stay a lot closer and a lot longer in order to experience these areas of Texas.
Until next year!
Here are some of the 37 species of birds we saw at ANWF. I will post, in a separate blog, the photos from High Island.
“Pay attention Sally” I am not sure what these are: American Black Duck or Mottled Duck“Do they have handicap access here at ANWR?” Eastern KingbirdSavannah Sparrow I am not 100% sure of this ID
In full view – Green HeronWhite-tailed Hawk Far away and being chased by a blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird (female)Maybe the White-tailed Hawk is being harassed by the ducks
Greater Yellow Legs I am not sure about this IDLaughing Gull
Wolf Song Blog 