Juvenile black-crowned night heron at Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center

Whooping Cranes at ANWR (Part 3)

Male and Female whooping cranes

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Whooping Cranes at ANWR (Part 2)

Male, female, and juvenile whooping cranes:
The female whooping crane was catching food and passing it to the juvenile.

Male whooping crane:
This male whooping crane got upset that there was another pair of whooping cranes in his territory so we got to hear and see him bluster at them.

Whooping Cranes at ANWR (Part 1)

We chartered a birding guide/boat to take us through ANWR this year. The weather was horrible -- low 40s (°F), rainy, and windy -- but we saw a lot of birds, including ~20 whooping cranes. It was honestly one of the best experiences I've had. Totally worth it.

Female and juvenile whooping crane:
The female was catching crabs and eating berries while the juvenile was trying to figure out what to do.

Female:
The female was annoyed by our presence at first but calmed down after a short bit.

Juvenile whooping crane (and great blue heron):
While the female whooping crane was hunting for food, a great blue heron showed up. It was non-chalantly edging around the scene, looking for an easy snack. I always think of great blue herons as being large birds (and they are!) but the whooping cranes are a lot bigger...

Gulls and Terns at Aransas NWR

Royal terns, laughing gulls, and forester's terns:

Herring gull:

Juvenile laughing gull:
unintentional action shot!

Adult laughing gull (non-breeding):

Neotropic cormorants at Hagerman NWR (Oct 2022)

White tail deer at Hagerman NWR (Sept 2022)

Great Blue Heron at Hagerman NWR (Oct 2022)

Snowy egret at Hagerman NWR (Oct 2022)

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk in Frisco, TX (Nov 2022)

This juvenile Cooper's hawk was sitting on the fence in the rain. I chased it off because I don't like to encourage birds of prey hanging around my chickens, but the hens were completely unworried about its presence.

Nine-banded armadillo at Hagerman NWR (Sept 2022)

This armadillo was much more interested in digging for insects than posing for photos