Raptor Downtown!

Briefly this morning there was a large raptor perching near the top of the microwave tower in downtown Lubbock. 

It soared off at 11:07 a.m. Broad wings.

I first saw it when adjusting my 10X42 Prostaffs (I often use that tower to adjust the diopter to fit my right [bad] eye), then ran to get the 12X50 Aculons and confirmed it was a bird and not a piece of trash that had lodged on the tower. Took a couple of photos then went for my 16X50 Bushnell binoculars. 

As I got the 16s focused, the bird soared off the tower.  Thought for a minute it was an eagle the wings looked so broad, but I am not sure of the size of the bird.   

Mourning Dove

First sighting of a mourning dove at my feeding places since I started ID'ing what came to eat in late summer 2015. 

Was on the ground,  pecking at seeds in the short grass.  Aggressive, chased away larger white wing doves, bristled but did not chase away a very large eurasian collared dove.

Female Ladderback

Female Ladderback Woodpecker. Males have red on the head, this one is black & white.

Was on my front porch before noon today watching a cardinal approach for a feed, then heard a chirp high up on the side of the house, and searched the trees and saw this little bird.

The only positive ID for a woodpecker on my premises was of a male Ladderback back in 2015, and photos were posted in this blog.

Couple of times in past years I heard tapping. Once I circled the trees (which were in leaf it being summer) and never saw the woodpecker. Another time near this location I saw the bird after hearing the tapping but it flew before I got my camera. Easiest to see woodpeckers in winter.   I did not hear a loud tapping today, likely because this bird was pecking on new soft growth.   

Yesterday as I was soaking my bones in a tub of hot water, minerals added, I thought I heard the cackling of geese.    Have the geese returned to Captistr ... er, Lubbock?   Need to visit the playa lakes to see.

Interspecies ruckus...

Ruckus this a.m. Put out seed in the swinging feeder at 11 p.m. but the sparrows cleaned it out early. Put out more this morning with a salting of sunflower seeds and the curve billed thrasher showed up and commenced to get a drink at the watering pan. Minute later the cardinal lit nearby. Thrasher charged, cardinal flew off, thrasher had a feather in its beak.

Them thrashers are dangerous with that long beak. Which they use to dig holes in the dirt looking for grubs. Thrashers are top bird, and even the white wing doves defer.     

Genius Birds...

We've been hearing about the linguistic skills of African Gray Parrots for years, and how a budgie had a vocabulary of 800 or so words.     Now comes news about some experiments with ravens  that pertain to memory and to ability to associate different things and make connections with them.   http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/raven-intelligence-memory-1.4204396

Humans are looking less unique all the time.

Wildlife Versus Trump Wall

Texas is fortunate to have a string of wildlife refuges along the border that are vastly popular for bird and wildlife observation. Among these is the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, nearly 2100 acres along the meanders of the Rio Grande, where the river habitat adjoins other distinct habitats, including desert, coastal plain, and wetlands. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/santa_ana/ 

The richest birding is along the river, and presumably ocelot and jagurundi are free to move across the river and thus across the border. 

This will be changing, as the first segment of the Trump Wall is due to be constructed in the wildlife refuge, bringing a road parallel to the wall, nighttime lights, and noise as well as the 18 foot wall. https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-...fuge-breaking/ 

It remains to be seen how state parks and refuges along the river will be impacted by the border wall. http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wildl...ife-trails/ltc 

Many of us had assumed that Big Bend National Park would be spared a border wall, but I'm not so sure now.