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Along the Natchez Trace

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Mostly Birds....

It was cooler this morning than it has been so we didn't head out for our walk until nearly 9 am...
We decided to take the "Monday Morning" walk...  the one across the river, through the jungle and on to the beach...  the one that Memo takes all who want to go on Monday mornings.
This morning the field (that's actually an airfield...  where the ultra-light takes off and lands) is covered with dew.  It's still a bit hazy at this time.

We walked the path alongside the banana and pineapple plantations...  and saw a few avocado trees as well.  I keep thinking how great it would be to have one's own avocado trees...  then Bill reminds me that all 500 (or however many) avocados would come ripe at the same time and I'd be thinking of all those things to do with guacamole.  Nice thought, though....

We did walk a short way along the river before heading into the jungle...  Saw this flock of Grackles all taking a bath.  They were quite a distance away so we didn't disturb them...  but they sure could make the water fly!

And a new bird for us today...
Grayish Saltator
Fairly large bird with a very heavy beak...  It appeared to be eating the leaves (not the berries) on this tree.  First one we've ever seen.

And...  hoovering around a banana tree was this Broad-billed Hummingbird
It's the only shot I got of him, it's a bit of a blur, but I'll take what I can get!
I did see the sun shine on his lovely turquoise blue body...  so beautiful!

This is the path as you emerge from the jungle onto the beach...  the "soil" gets sandy, the trees not so close together, and the density of the jungle opens up...

Looky Here!
Holidays are over!
That's a view of the beach looking down towards town...

And...  looking up the other way...
Even the sea was calmer today than it has been...
Of course weekends will bring folks back, but the main holidays are over until Semana Santa (the week before Easter).  Very nice!

But the beach really isn't deserted...  this Magnificent Frigatebird was flying overhead...  with some of his friends and dozens of pelicans.

We have a particular route we like to walk...  and we turn to go back along the river before getting to the restaurants and bungalows towards town.
I just liked this photo..
This Black-necked stilt had speared something from the water, creating all those concentric rings...  perfect circles...  he's quite an artist, huh?

And in a shallow part of the river, we saw this Greater Yellowlegs...  just hanging out.

On towards town...  but still along the river, we saw a congregation of about 8 Magpie Jays...
Being as noisy as a "murder of crows"...  we watched them flit in and around the tree branches...  squawking and carrying on.  One finally settled down enough for me to snap this...  
And yes, he sure does look like a cross between a Bluejay and a Magpie!

We stopped for an orange juice and a few things from the grocery...  then headed home for lunch.  We did not buy a Three Kings Cake, but I did spend the afternoon making tamales.  Yep!  But more about that later.

That's All For Today!

4 comments:

  1. Such beautiful scenery there and so many unique birds. Enjoying the weather you are.

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  2. Last night on highway 20 near the airport, nearly dark, very very foggy, I see an ultra light up in the air going over the freeway, in and out of view due to the heavy fog. I thought to myself guy must be nuts in the fog in an ultra light near the heavily used airport. And freezing up there. I used to want to be a hang glider, jump off a cliff strapped in a harness to those V shaped wings. But those aren't used so much anymore, I don't think. Now it's the powered ultra lights, more popular. What a beautiful and empty beach, all to yourselves and the birds. Your bird photos are spectacular. Always been interested in the Frigate birds.

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  3. Can't wait. I sure do want to know what goes in a tamale.

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  4. Lovely birds, lovely scenery. Lovely afternoon nap, too, I'll bet.

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