Linda Moss's photo - Masked Duck, Santa Ana, 11-23-2011

Here's Linda Moss's photo of a female plumaged Masked Duck at Willow Lakes of Santa Ana NWR 11-23-2011. The bird has been looked for and not seen through 11-27-2011.

American Woodcock at Casa Santa Ana, Alamo Texas

I spent a delightful evening tonight (November 22, 2011) on the patio of Casa Santa Ana watching this American Woodcock probing the soil. It seemed to be finding food in this green spot in the middle of the drought. American Woodcock are rare birds in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Woodcocks have their eyes widely separated on either side of their head, allowing for binocular vision both in front and behind the bird. This bird is watching John McClung and I stalk it - but it's relatively unconcerned.

Golden-crowned Warbler in Mission at National Butterfly Center

Here's a couple of quick pictures of the Golden-crowned Warbler from the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas this morning. The NBC (or NABA) park is located about 1 miles east of Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park on old Military Hwy. The bird is on the woodland or dike trail between feeders D and F, but it could be anywhere on this wooded trail. This species tends to be a real skulker but will come out in the open if you are lucky. NBC is closed on Thanksgiving, and mosquitos are present on the woodland (aka dike) trail.