Our Keeshond has lots of fur, so I try to brush her often. While camped at South Llano State Park a few days ago, I got our her brushes.
After I was finished brushing Skye, I placed several clumps of her fur in the surrounding trees near our RV site. It is almost spring and I noticed the birds were starting to gather materials for nest building. What better nest material than thick, soft doggie fur?
It didn’t take long for the birds to find Skye’s present. With amusement, I sat back and watched this Carolina Chickadee pull apart a ball of fur and fly off with it toward a distant tree. Perfect!
Well, it has been eleven months since we have traveled in our RV. We arrived home at the end of March, 2016 and haven’t been out on the road since. We elected to stay home with Kloudy, because of her illness and we have no regrets with that decision.
A week ago we decided a change of scenery was needed, so we hit the road. Our first night we stayed in Lamar, Colorado, second night we stayed at Amarillo Ranch, in Amarillo, Texas, the third night, Lake Colorado City State Park, in Colorado City, Texas.
OoO Lake Colorado City State Park:
Site 46 at Lake Colorado City State Park. Quiet, nice sites, not crowded, beautiful sunsets.A great place to spend a couple quiet nights. Lots of space between sites.
For four nights we stayed at South Llano State Park in Junction, Texas. This state park is a birders paradise and one of my favorites. The weather has been wonderful, not too cool and not too warm, and no rain! The park is still experiencing late winter, but if you look closely you can see spring trying hard to grab hold. Also, the male birds are dressed in breading plumage and chasing the ladies around. I wish it was April, because I believe we would have seen a lot more birds.
OoO South Llano State Park, Junction, Texas
Site 33. Huge sites, plenty of birds and deer, lots of hiking trails.
We have seen twenty-five species of birds, including Wild Turkeys, which this park is known for. We enjoyed a few fun walks and a few trips into town to eat at some of the local restaurants. Junction has some excellent BBQ places. And, we met lots of wonderful, nice people. Why is it that we find the people down south so darn friendly?
OoO We are headed somewhere we have never stayed before. Waco, Texas here we come!
I want to walk around The Silos, eat at some of the food trucks located there, and of course eat a cupcake at Joanna’s Bakery. I have fallen in love with the Gaines family from Fixer Upper and thought, what the heck, lets go visit Waco.
Hoping to tour downtown Waco and find a few neat shops to browse. And, maybe tour a few antique stores, if I can convince Howard what fun that might be!
It is amazing how many people are staying in Waco, just to visit The Silos. We arrived today at Riverview RV Park, Waco, Texas, after trying several other parks (all full). A neighbor told us that he felt there were at least four hundred people at The Silos on Thursday! Wow!
Our ride here from South Llano State Park, at first was most enjoyable, traveling the back roads of Texas (which we love to do) on highways 377 and 29. Beautiful, rustic towns along the route, especially Mason, with Bluebonnets blooming almost the entire way.
Bluebonnets along the side of a Texas highway. Taken from a pull-off, when we stopped for a short break.
We wanted to get on I-35 at Georgetown, which we did without any trouble. But, further north driving through Tempe it was awful, lots of construction, which had traffic backed up for miles. There were two accidents within a mile of each other, one going south bound and one going north bound. Horrible!
OoO Anyway, I have several photos of the birds I saw at South Llano State Park, which I will be posting. It will be to get back to blogging, it has been awhile.
Vermilion Flycatcher. Check out the new growth.
Has anyone been to Waco, Texas to visit The Silos?
We have never seen so many Cedar Waxwings in one location. It was fun watching them come in for a drink. In all the photos I captured of them drinking, there was always one Cedar preforming the task of “lookout”. Photos taken in April 2014 in South Llano State Park, Junction, Texas. I was using my Canon 70D with Canon EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 lens.
What a beautiful little bird measuring only 5 1/4 to 5 3/4 inches
Today’s Feathered Friend:
Indigo Bunting
Male:
`deep-colored bright blue overall (breeding plumage)
`only North American small finch to appear blue all over
`blue-purple head
`dark blue to black lores
`blue edging to blackish wings and tail
`dark gray conical bill
Female:
`plain, but beautiful brown
`two tawny buff wing bars
`short, gray, conical bill
`blue-edged feathers on wings and tail
Facts:
`populations are expanding with the creation of disturbed habitat after logging, highway and power line construction and from farmland abandonment (yeah to expanding)
`likes forest edges, roadsides, hedges, dry brush lands, orchards, open woods, creeks and rivers
`eats grasshoppers, beetles, weevils, aphids, cicadas, cankerworms, span worms, flies, dandelion seeds, aster, thistle, grasses, grains, berries and more
`nests in raspberry and other shrubs
`song is a sweet-sweet, where-where, here-here, see-it/see-it (pretty melody)
`many are killed, while migrating at night, striking power lines and tall buildings (wind farms next?)
`neotropical migrant, flight speed measured at 20 m.p.h
`common hosts to cowbird parasitism 😦
Deep blue with purple sheen on head
“Splish-Splash I’am taking a bath”
**If you want to learn more about the Indigo Bunting, please go to The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds, Smithsonian Handbooks, Birds of North America and Stokes Field Guide to Birds. I used these sources for my information.
Artsy background highlighting a beautiful Indigo Bunting (I played with the background in this photo.)
Added to my Birding Life List
on o7/12/88
Sky Rocket Road, Loveland, Colorado
(with my amazing birding mentor- Ann Means)
Photos taken at South Llano River State Park in April of 2014 while sitting in a bird blind. I was using my Canon 70D with Canon EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 lens (no stabilization).
Wolf Song Blog 