The Pond

It's been really quiet here...  we haven't had any traffic to speak of in over a week.  In fact,  in the past week we've had less than a dozen vehicles come through the gate.  So...  no dust, no noise....  and lots of birds.

We've identified 32 species so far.  There are a few more that we've seen but not made a positive ID.

There is a pond just up the road from our site.  It's about a 10 minute walk from our rig, but it takes me at least a half hour to get there because I'm always stopping to check out the wildflowers, the cactus, the birds or whatever I can see.

The pond is very low now...

It isn't a huge pond, but it has quite a diversity of wildlife that visit it frequently.  

The other day I saw a couple of deer drinking at the edge.  But most frequently I see...

 Green Heron

There are 2 that hang out here all the time.  One stays on one side of the pond while the other seems to prefer the other side.

 I see several frogs...  HUGE frogs!  They remind me of seeing just the eyes of alligators in the Louisiana bayous.

 Speaking of huge...  the turtles are about the size of small washtubs!  They are really hard to get a photo of because they sense my arrival before anyone else and slide quickly into the water.

This willet was a newcomer to me...  saw it for the first time yesterday.

The Great blue heron is also elusive...  he always flies off when I arrive on the scene.

One of my favorite evening birds is the Nighthawk...

I love watching their aerial displays each evening.  Sometimes they come in pairs or more....  sometimes alone.  But there are plenty of insects for them to snatch up.

 I usually walk up to the pond twice a day.  But no matter how often I go there is always something to see.

The End

That's All For Today!