February | 2020 | Mary P Williams

Archive for February, 2020

Birds of the Rio Grande Valley

Posted in Birding, Texas Birds, tagged Salineno on February 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Michael Emenaker

Here is the merry face of Michael Emenaker … one of the volunteer caretakers of the birding site in Salineno. This site is on the bank of the Rio Grande river with Mexico on the other side. It is an ideal place to see the “specialty” birds of this humid, tropical region. Michael comes down from Colorado to fill bird feeders, monitor people, and insure the health and good will of humans and birds, alike.

Michael Filling Feeders

Let us all be thankful that he has assumed the mantle of previous caretakers so that we can enjoy the Green Jay, all the Orioles, the Kiskadee and Roadrunner etc, etc. Every day he spreads peanut-butter/corn meal glop on the tree trunks and awaits the influx of many hungry birds.

Green Jays

Cardinal and Hooded Oriole

Kiskadee

Road Runner

One of the most spectacular birds is the Golden-fronted Woodpecker who is seen only in Texas. Another bird seen only in southernmost Texas is the Olive Sparrow with his dull greenish tint on his back. He is shy and hard to see as he prefers dense underbrush as his home. Sharing his neighborhood is the tiny Black-crested Titmouse who darts in, grabs a sunflower seed and dashes away giving almost no time to take a photo …many blurry shots of him I have taken before I managed to get this one of him. Hopping slowly next to the Olive Sparrow is the Black-throated Sparrow in his crisp white and black tuxedo. They all delight the people grouped around Michael who patiently names them for the beginning birders. Thanks Michael!

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Black-crested Titmouse

Olive Sparrow

Black-throated Sparrow

The Cactus Wren ! A desert bird who is comfortably at home building his nest right in a towering cactus. No one will bother his nest tucked into the protective spines of a cactus. He is a medley of stripes and dots. What a visually spectacular bird!

Cactus Wren

Finally, the Pyrrhuloxia … took me a while to get his name right … he is gray with a vermillion face, a pointed topknot, and red scattered down his chest. Sitting on a blue feeder tray he is delightful.

Pyrrhuloxia

Come on down to the Rio Grande Valley to see all these resident birds.

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Butterflies in Panama

Posted in Birding, Butterflies, Panama on February 4, 2020| 1 Comment »

Here is a new wrinkle in the ongoing technology path of taking a picture. It is called “digi-scoping” or maybe “phonescoping”… it is using a digital camera phone with a telescope. In Panama our guide to finding amazing butterflies was looking thru his spotting scope at a dime-sized tiny butterfly sitting on a tree trunk 25 feet away from us. “Here is a Dirce butterfly” he said. I looked thru my binoculars and there was a patterned beauty, Tino gestured and said “Give me your Iphone”. I handed it over, he positioned it in front of the spotting scope, carefully moved it in minute increments to the perfect place, CLICK, and look at this wonderful photo.

Dirce Butterfly

The Dirce butterfly captured on my Ipnone. Marvellous!

Walking further down the deserted dirt road, Tino points to another tree 30 feet away and says “There is a Two Eye Eighty Eight butterfly on that trunk.” I squint, look thru my binoculars and see an itty-bitty blob. He again takes my Iphone and works his magic … an image of a butterfly with two black spots shows on my Iphone. “Can I try? ” I ask. He gives me the Ipnone and I move the lens close … closer … too close … back a bit. No luck … no image emerges … AND … the little guy flies away. This is much harder than it looks when watching Tino. A delicate touch, and lots of practice is required!

Two Eye Eighty Eight

Arriving at our lodge we are handed an empty plastic bottle and a man says “ Please fill this with your urine tonight to add to our ‘fermented brew’ which is sprayed on leaves along the trail. It attracts a lot of butterflies.” We are hot, tired, and fresh off our flight from the U.S., and it seems a strange request … but we comply and the next day, when we go out on the trail in the Panama jungle, we are rewarded with the Inca Metalmark butterfly sitting on the leaf sprayed with the brew. Phew! Who knew?

Inca Metalmark

Here is the Canopy Tower

Canopy Tower

It used to be a radar tower built by the U.S. and abandoned years ago. Then it was converted into a hotel where birders and butterfliers stay as they look down on the tops of the tropical trees where many creatures spend their days. The deck four floors up provides a place to view toucans, monkeys, and butterflies. Many happy hours are spent seeing a whole different world.