Brazos Bend State Park

I visited Brazos Bend State Park for the first time about a month ago - mid afternoon on a hot summer day.  I went over to the deck at Elm Lake and thoroughly enjoyed watching the purple gallinules, common gallinules, whistling ducks, and all the other birds in the marsh.  I knew I needed to come back and bring my big lens over and sit a spell there.  

I had ordered this  Beach Rolly so that it would be easy to transport my heavy Sigma 300-800 and its sturdy tripod.  This was its first test and it passed handsomely!  It even carried my folding chair!

I got set up just after sunrise.  There were common gallinules in the distance.  But it wasn't long before the bird that I was hoping to photograph came into view - the purple gallinule!  I love this bird with its beautiful irridescent feathers and that beautiful light blue forehead.  I got several chances.  I loved hearing it call. 

There was a juvenile working its way around the lily pads as well.



On one of the snags was a yellow crowned night heron.

There were several little blue herons that posed for me.

I loved seeing this little blue heron with his freshly caught frog.  He worked in around in his mouth and swallowed it whole!

There were several juvenile little blues - notice the green legs and gray beak!

 

A green heron stopped by for a visit as well.

 

 

I don't want to forget the black bellied whistling ducks that kept coming in and perching on the trees around me.  

My bird list at Brazos Bend State Park for August 8, 2012:

Black-bellied whistling duck

Anhinga

Little Blue Heron

Cattle Egret

Green heron

Yellow-crowned night heron

White ibis

White-faced ibis

Turkey vulture

Purple gallinule

Common Gallinule

Red-bellied woodpecker

American crow

Red-winged blackbird

I need to come back in cooler weather and hike the trails. I know there are more birds to see!  

P.S.  Although I have yet to see alligators at Brazos Bend State Park - there are supposed to be 300 of them here. 

The Green Heron

I've been spending time on the dock behind Evelyn and Gene's house soaking in the serenity and remembering.

Bird watching is good down there. Two different evenings I've seen a turkey hen and a solitary chick. The first night they roosted in the tree just above where I was sitting. Last night I disturbed them and they moved on around the lake. The chick would linger and then run to catch up with the hen. They finally came back around and roosted in a different tree near the dock. I could also hear the big flock of turkeys across the road as they were settling in for the night.

I had been watching a green heron fly back and forth across the cove. It landed on some dead branches right over the water. Looking intently at the water for some time, it suddenly leaped into the water. Now I know for a fact that the water drops off steeply here. I think of herons as wading birds, not swimming birds. It flapped around for a few seconds in the water and then popped out of the water back onto the branch with a good sized perch (4 or 5 inches long) in its mouth. Even with the binoculars I could not tell if it had stabbed the fish or just had it tightly in its beak. Rather than trying to eat it where the fish could escape back into the water, it hopped back along the branches onto the grassy shore (out of my sight) to enjoy its catch.

While I always enjoy watching the hundreds of vultures settle in for the night, the heron's leap into the deep water was the highlight of the evening.