The green kingfisher is the smallest kingfisher we have in North America. He has a green back and a very dark green head and if you ask me, is really cute. Chuck and I have been searching for him ever since we got to Texas in all the places he is supposed to be. We "dipped" on a similar kingfisher last spring in England.

We had heard that you can see him along the Rio Grande River. Since we're been here we have checked boat ramps and regulations for canoeing on the Rio Grande. We found out that the basic regulation is "STAY AWAY FROM THE OTHER SIDE AND DON'T EVEN CONSIDER GETTING CLOSE". In reality there are hardly any boat ramps or access for the public. We did find one in Anzaldusa County Park, a shabby but bird friendly spot, and today put the boat in and went up river about 2-3 miles. The US Border patrol boat passed us several times in the two hours we were out, but didn't approach us closely. The River was high and the current stronger than usual since water was being released from the reservoirs of both countries to irrigate farmland.

We arrived at Mission, 75 miles west of Port Isabel, yesterday afternoon. Stopped at Camping World to have motor home serviced and enjoyed a lunch of enchiladas at Danny's restaurant while we waited. The private RV park is in an old citrus grove. We may pick grapefruit as we please. Our neighbor reports a campground roadrunner, but we haven't met it yet.

Today's dawn found us at the Santa Anna National Wildlife Refuge at the Rio Grande. We found only one new life bird, the tropical parula, a small blue and yellow warbler. Otherwise we found many of the other Texas specialties we first encountered last week. We visited a spring hawk watch that was having its first day at the refuge. It was led by a George Wilhelm, a former Pennsylvanian. He told us that it would probably be another week before a significant migration begins.

The wind blows frequently and strongly in south Texas and it is both damp and arid here on the coast. Chuck had to hold on firmly to the steering wheel to take us from north Padre Island (near Corpus Christi) to this town across the Laguna Madre from South Padre Island.

With gusts forcast to hit 50 mph the next day, we took care of chores and relaxed for a day, only visiting the famous marsh "boardwalk" at the South Padre Island Convention Center in search of rails and bitterns. We have now had great looks at three there, the clapper, sora, and Virginia. We even saw a clapper clapping.

So far Texas has been very rewarding from the scenery to the birding. We did see whooping cranes 2 days in a row, once from land and the other from a boat. With the boat ride we were able to get much closer and could see their behavior better. They are amazing birds and are almost 5 feet tall. Apparently there were only 15 wild birds left in the world 30 years ago. Now the flock that winters in Aransas, Tx is about 200 strong and is the only migrating flock in the world.

We are currently camped at Padre Island National Seashore. Lovely barren landscape of praire and dunes. The Gulf has been rough and we listen to the surf through the night. We glance at it over breakfast. The surf is bringing in sargasso weed and the gulls and sanpipers love it. God has blessed the sanderling clan and they have been fruitful, but even piping plovers are regular here. The grand white-tailed hawks make life dangerous for rodents and reptiles in the grassland.

Today we practiced unhooking and Anne got her first chance to drive the Birdmobile. Chuck is giving her an 'A' so far. It is a challenge to hook up and unhook utilities, because there are so many steps. We're working on a check list.
Yesterday we found another life bird for Anne. It was Bachman's sparrow and was a challenge because it was not singing. We were just travelling in the dirt roads through Apalachicola National Forest, stopping periodically to check for birds, when Chuck spotted it and we identified it. It was right where the books say it should be: in pine woods with thick understory.

Definition - twitch - to seek out a rare bird based on a telephone or internet message (hotline) system.

We twitched successfully this cool and foggy morning in Apalachicola, Florida. A fellow birdbrain, no birder, reported a current sighting of a tropical kingbird at Water and I Streets on January 20. We saw the message on the 21st, but had other plans for yesterday. Chuck reviewed the literature and decided that while it was possible we might find this bird in south Texas, it was by no means certain. So, we decided to make the forty mile trek this morning. The weather forecast was poor. Fog, cloudy, and a chance of showers. We might as well be in the car, and the coastal road looked interesting.

When does a nemesis bird cease to be? When it is spotted! The red-cockaded woodpecker was a nemesis bird for Anne. Chuck had seen it as a youth. For the past five years we have increasingly tried to find this bird when we were within its range. We failed in N. and S. Carolina and south Florida. We were in luck last evening in the Apalachicola National Forest which supposedly has more of these birds than anyother place. Hurrah.

Of course once a nemisis bird is defeated it is no more. We found another pair this morning in the Ochlocknee State Park where we are staying.

We got our exercise this morning, first jogging, then hiking and birding all morning, and then paddling the lovely Wakula River this afternoon. This 75 million gallon per day stream is fed by a large spring and is clear and a constant 72 degrees F. We saw mostly the usual critters, osprey, egrets, alligators, and turtles. This morning's walk was more rewarding with, besides the woodpecker, a great horned owl and a group of pileated woodpeckers.

February 20, 2006
Ochlockonee State Park, Sopchoppy, Florida

Arrived here last evening. Lovely park in pine flatwoods on the shore of a river of the same name “Ok-LOK-nee”. It is situate between the large St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to the east and the Appalachicola National Forest to the West. The Gulf of Mexico is nearby to the south and Tallahassee is 25 miles north. We are in that part of Florida where the state runs east and west. We are about 35 miles from the Central Time Zone which crosses Florida (really).

As with Cedar Key, the coast line here is a bit indefinite. The land is largely swamp and marsh with pine islands and oak hammocks. The rivers wind and branch as they approach the Gulf and make all of the coastal area islands. Eventually ponds are scattered across the land and finally the land is scattered across the bays and Gulf waters. Beaches are rare and much of the “coastline” submerges at low tide. There is no shortage of wetlands here, it is the drylands that are precious and being lost to development!

This will be short, because the only access here is in the library. Cedar Key is a delightful old time fishing village, that is now starting to be developed. Many of the properties are >$500,000 now and I'm afraid the character of the town will change. With the help of friendly neighbors at the Sunset Isle RV Resort we got parked and hooked up to all utilities for the first time:water, electric sewer and cable(a luxury for Anne who loves the Olympics). We've been to all the state and national wildlife preserves in the area and have been birding daily. We 'dipped' (did not find) the Red Cockated Woodpecker which we have searched for in all the right places for 5+years.

February 10, 2006
Siesta Bay Resort, Lee County, Florida

We are coming close to the end of our time in south Florida. We spent one week here, then one week in the Everglades, and finally another week here with Mom & Dad Woods. Our first week here provided relief from the preparations and travel required to make the transition from our former life. We relaxed and enjoyed the company of our hosts. Last week we took our little Ford Focus and tent and headed southeast. We had heard of hurricane damage at the Park, but didn’t realize that Flamingo was closed. It was a struggle getting our backcountry permit, but we got it and spent three days exploring the Hells Bay land and water area of mangrove, mahogany, and weakly brackish lakes and channels. We looked for birds along the Trail, in the Park, and in the Miami area. We saw crocodiles at Flamingo that had survived the storm and the gray salt and marl residue left by it. We returned to the Ft. Myers area tired and bug bitten, but happy having enjoyed the magnificence of the sawgrass glades, hardwood hammocks, and the stately winterbare cypress strands of south Florida that remain in between the traffic clogged roads and uncontrolled development of the coasts and even the more northern interior areas.