Texas birds...

I enjoyed seeing LOTS of birds in Texas. By far, the most common bird seen there were the vultures I have been showing in previous posts, the black vulture. We saw 100's of them...in large groups fighting over roadkill, circling high overhead and down close to us everytime we stopped. We kept daring each other to lay down and see if they would land but after close up views of them on roadkill we weren't quite that stupid ;) There were also lots of turkey vultures, red heads vs gray heads.
I was thrilled that the next bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher, was also so common.
We saw many of them along electric wires and fence lines.
Their long tail was just so fun and when they flew over you, their salmon colored underside was beautiful. These guys were "lifers" for me.
We visited many state parks and Pedernales Falls State Park has several nesting pairs of the endangered golden-cheeked warblers. The lady at the park office told us that many were seeing them on this trail...
so on an 86 degree afternoon we climbed and descended...
and climbed again. We heard lots of singing and saw lots of other little warblers and songbirds but never did see the golden-cheeked so check out the link for photos of the beauty.
This park also had a bird blind set up where they feed the birds so you can get up close and watch them. There were so many beautiful birds feeding, I think I could have sat there all day...the only thing stopping me was this sign on the hike back into the blind area.
In the feeding area there were many cardinals,

western scrub jays,
and unknown birds. I couldn't recognize this one...
or this one. It looked a little like a goldfinch but definitely wasn't one.
The following were all "lifers" for me as well, the black-crested titmouse...
the lark sparrow,
the lesser goldfinches,

the northern bobwhite,
and the ladderback woodpecker. (He/she is on the tree branch above the birdbath on the right)
Another bird the park hosts each year but they don't arrive until mid to late April is the painted buntings. The lady told me last year they had six brightly colored males at the feeders and a really successful breeding year so they expected many more back. If they would have been present I think I would have sat with the snakes all day and told Jeff to ride by himself for a day. There were many more birds I enjoyed seeing on this trip but no photos...when your husband rides a bike with screamin eagle pipes there isn't time to grab a camera before he scares them off ;) Sorry, this post got so LONG...but you know me and birds!