Hubby got tired of pretending our living room was the Caribbean on sunny days with his eyes closed. Because Son1 was also pressing for a trip to south Texas to see birds and tree species that are found nowhere else in the U.S., we took a some-what unplanned, spur-of-the-moment trip down to Big Bend National Park and back.
We actually took a whole bunch of pictures (anyone who knows us would be shocked), about .4% of them included us (that's less than 1%; notice the decimal). :) Click on the photos to view a larger version.
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| In LA, but still cold! |
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| Ah, there we go...warm enough to go without a jacket at last (in TX). |
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| Common Gallinules among the American Coots. |
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| Tricolored Heron |
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| It's not as lonely with two. (Black-necked Stilts) |
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| Quoth the Boat-tailed Grackle, "nevermore." |
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| One of these things (Northern Shoveler) is not like the others (Lesser Yellowlegs). |
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| Killdeer always look so worried about something. I think I'm a Killdeer in disguise. |
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| Birds not of a feather also flock together. (Roseate Spoonbill with a Snowy Egret) |
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| Loggerhead Shrike |
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| All by myself...Pied-billed Grebe. |
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| Definitely not a bird. |
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| I just love saying "Crested Caracara." It makes me giggle. |
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| Vermilion Flycatchers are as pretty as Northern Cardinals and more fun to watch. |
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| Black-chinned Hummingbird |
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| Javelina on the run. |
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| Common Black-hawks aren't all that common. |
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| Canyon Wren |
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| Hooded Oriole (stalked by a Black-throated Sparrow in the back) |
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| Eastern Curve-billed Thrasher |
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| Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are now hubby's favorite bird...sorry, Shrikes. |
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| Harris's Hawk |
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| Green Jay |
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| Altimira Orioles (the immature one is on the left) |
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| Long-billed Thrasher |
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| Great Kiskadee, looking...great. |
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| Plain Chachalaca, dinosaur in disguise (with a fun-to-say name too). |
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| Ruddy Turnstones are masters of disguise. |
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| Black-bellied Plover |
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| American Avocets...you're unique, just like everyone else. |
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| White Ibis, big honker |
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| Sunshine in San Antonio. |
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| At Seminole Canyon State Historic Park |
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| Mesa Grande at Big Bend National Park |
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| Claret Cup Cacti in bloom |
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| Hiking the trails at Big Bend National Park. |
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| Agave |
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| More hiking at Big Bend |
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| Boquillas Canyon at Big Bend...Mexico is just a stone's throw away! |
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| We liked Seminole Canyon so much, we stopped by again on the way back from Big Bend. |
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| From the petroglyphs overhang at Seminole Canyon |
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| Prickly Pear Cactus, or nopal |
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| Laughing Gulls, all in a row, more of less. |
Hope you're feeling the warmth with us and that all the snow some of you got last week is gone!
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams
