Tag: Texas 2024

2025 Comes to an End

I sit here alone at the Intrigued HQ. The staff is home enjoying the holidays with their families, there is a warm glow from the single light above my desk, a completed stack of performance reviews sit in the outbox, a nice cup of peppermint white hot chocolate steams by my open laptop and the pad of paper with the end of year to-do list only has one item left unchecked – a final post for the year. Looking back, this has been quite a year. So many bright spots along with some struggles I would just soon forget. On the positive side, I am once again very proud of our posting efforts this year. A quick count shows 77 total posts for 2025 (including this one) with Brad bringing you 23 of those from his (and Jan’s) work in the field. Each of those take a significant amount of time from the captures in the field, image processing, storyline, editor review, legal review and the general administration to get them out to you – a heartfelt thank you to everyone that gets this Intrigued gear to rotate.

Then there are the tougher aspects of this year. Although the ankle break technically happened in 2024, the surgery and recovery (ongoing) took up a bulk of this year. Duration wise, this is the worst injury I’ve had to deal with in my lifetime – which is saying a lot as I have had my share of mishaps. As an update to this saga, my surgeon gave me the green light to start running on flat surfaces. He tapped the brakes on the trail running and wants me to hold off 6 weeks before that level of stress. Bittersweet on that as I already had my trail shoes sitting by the door for when I came home. Swapped those out for the pavement shoes and now have a few sloooow runs under my belt. Pain..some…endurance base..atrophied…a huge smile on my face – DEFINITELY. Still a long way to go, but it is a hard to put into words the feeling of freedom that was felt.

And that feeling of freedom is exactly what led me to pick this particular series for the last post of the year.

Red-Crowned Parrots found flying over Estero Llano Grande State Park, Weslaco, TX in March 2024

Hit the jump to learn more about these tropical sounding residents of south Texas.

Continue reading 2025 Comes to an End

Rip It, Roll It and Punch it

Good news everybody…and much to my surprise… we had a fairly non-eventful staff party for a change, well at least by Intrigued standards. No police, no ambulances, no fire trucks and the always present neighborhood complaints in the inbox were minimal – clearly we are starting to show our age around here. I am sure Brad’s idea to warn our legal department that they were on double secret probation for previous year’s stunts was a tremendous help in keeping things somewhat under control. Note, the clever individual who managed to pick the lock on our copier room will be found, forced to write bad checks and required to disinfect the copier glass.

Needless to say, things are quickly coming to close around here. There are only a few in the office these days mainly working on year end expense reports and finishing up their proposals for next year’s field assignments. I should be working on performance reviews, but I find that is NOT advantageous to the staff this soon after the party sooooo……let’s feature another find at the Port Aransas Jetty.

Sea Turtle found on Port Aransas South Jetty, TX in March 2024

“Let go…and see where the current, ” I mean jump “takes you“.

Continue reading Rip It, Roll It and Punch it

Fish Guzzling

We are winding down here at Intrigued as the last of the 2025 events are slowly coming to a close. Yesterday I finished up the last of the crown work which ended up being far more painful than expected thanks to the temporary cap somehow welding to my tooth – have I mentioned before how much I absolutely abhor dental work – just point to a dental drill bit and I’ll give up my mother in an interrogation. Fingers crossed later today I get released by the ankle surgeon, so I can fully enjoy tonight’s Intrigued staff gathering – trust me, you want to be fully healthy before attending one of those parties – the weak are culled ha. That just leaves Linda’s family Christmas gathering and then ours before the trek to warmer weather. Hopefully we will be able to make a few more posts before we stop the presses and turn the lights out on this injury riddled year.

Before I get into the real reason you are here, thought I would pat ourselves on the back and note that last post from Brad marked our 1,000th post here on our wildlife sister site (the Intrigued mothership is currently at 1,533 – even a few of those were lost as we transitioned to the WP service from our own servers). A big thanks to all the staff that got us to this point!

Okay, since we are winding “down”, decided it would be appropriate to go with another “down” of sorts…this one being down the hatch.

Double-Crested Cormorant swallowing fish found at Port Aransas South Jetty, TX in March 2024

I think you already know where this is going, but hit the jump to confirm!

Continue reading Fish Guzzling

Great Baby Blue

We are working hard as we make the final push to the end of the year. You will be happy to know I have just started processing the spoils of our Texas trip back in January …of this year .. I know you were immediately wondering that based on my usual backlog ha. Not sure I will be able to get through the 700 gigs worth of those shots before he head back down there at the beginning of the year, but I will do my best. Then I can move on to the 600 gigs from Arizona in March/April followed by the latest Florida trip – once again I will be putting “An Intern” at the top of my wish list for Santa. Based on how successful that is, I might be able to remove “Take less pictures” from my 2026 goal list. Surely typical of all wildlife photographers out there..well, let’s generalize to just all photographers, taking the shot(s) is relatively quick in the process – reviewing, culling, processing, uploading to storage and then picking the few out of those worthy of your time…now that is the ten-fold time drag. My note on the HQ bulletin board looking for staff with free time still has all the tabs at the bottom. Word from our HR head says the employees think it is a ruse to get them to self-reveal the slackers. We would do no such thing hehehe.

So I soldier on. Feel sorry for me!?! Don’t, I kid, this is my thing and I truly enjoy our time in the field and ecstatic there are those, like yourselves, that like seeing the results. With that, time to get to the next installment of Baby Month!

Nesting Great Egrets found at High Island Rookery, Texas in April 2024

Hmmm, I might be a little premature on this entry. Hit the jump to see why this Great Egret is giving me a cautious look.

Continue reading Great Baby Blue

Why So Pink?

I have to say, this has been quite an odd year on the birding front. First half of the year was absolutely incredible thanks to a very productive January spent in our adopted state of Texas and then later in March/April out to new locations in southeast Arizona. If you are looking for recommendations to get into or looking to expand your birding horizons, those two states would be my go to recommendations – not to discourage or disparage other locations, but if you want to fill your counts and have a good chance of seeing rarities, then to the southern border you shall go. That first half netted me around 391 checks for the year, then the legs were kicked out – literally. You are not going to get a lot of birds staring out your den window month after month. Although already at a record for me with the 391 mark, the incredible 400 threshold has been so close…for so long. Well, we are going to try and correct that over the Thanksgiving holiday and head back out into the field. To increase our options, we are heading to the southeast where there are currently 27 potential checks. All I need is a third of those- wish us luck! Before I forget, we did release our latest Halloween prop tutorial – I’ll put that at the end in case you are interested.

Okay, we know why you are here, let’s get to it. Today I thought I would feature a feathered friend that has traditionally been a difficult find – not show much on the rarity front, rather the identification front.

Franklin's Gull found at Texas City Dike in April 2024

Now you know why the issue is in the “identification” phase. The Gull family is an absolute nightmare thanks to their nearly impossible plumage variations during the early years and then the mature feathering that can look very similar from species to species. Hit the jump if you want to try your hand at this particular specimen.

Continue reading Why So Pink?

I’m Waiting

Apparently my state forgot to pay its heat bill this weekend as we are experiencing well below cold temps since late Friday night. This even came with some of the white fluffy stuff we here about so often when we return from our winter retreat. Nothing stuck which is unfortunate as one of our wells is incredibly stressed and we could have used that to help re-saturate the ground. Last week decided to haul water and top it off just to insure we stay off the new well as much as possible. Beyond that, things are definitely looking up. They are ramping me up in physical therapy and the ankle (and the rest of the body) is taking well to the work. Surgeon even released me to go without the brace for routine outings – a break the chains moment for me as I’ve been in either a boot, surgery bandages or a brace every day since January. Now I start shifting my sights from recovery to training and that is where my mindset needs to be to keep the crazies at bay. Beyond that, the only other thing to mention is the 2025 Halloween season is officially over. Today I got the last of the props back in storage and the RV back in the out building – luck would have it I had to finish it off in the freezing temps. Definitely looking forward to shifting our event back to its usual time at the end of September as my hands were constantly reminded me I wasn’t a Polar Bear. Probably should get to what brought you here today, another featured feathered friend to enjoy!

Great Blue Heron with a fish found at Texas Dike, Texas City in April 2024

Hit the jump, but warning, wildlife was harmed in the lead up to this post.

Continue reading I’m Waiting

Now that is One Pretty Butt!

We are inching closer and closer to the official date of my favorite holiday of the year. Although our huge 2-day celebration of the black and orange comes earlier (typically a month earlier), we still enjoy the national day of spook. Being rural we do not get any trick-or-treaters as the effort to go door to door far outweighs the reward. The traditional candy stalkers have gotten soft choosing to drop into the nice neighborhoods with full bar handouts or the drive through trick-or-trunk options at the local malls. Halloween is the night we jump into the car and seek out all the local displays to assess and get ideas for next year’s haunted trail. Fills our hearts to see so many houses still resisting the encroachment of corporate Christmas and keeping the scare tradition alive and well. In honor of October’s special day, thought I would feature a feathered friend that sports a touch of those traditional Halloween colors.

Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher found on Estero Llano Grande State Park levee, Weslaco, TX in March 2024

Hit the jump to see a few more images of this flamboyantly tailed Flycatcher.

Continue reading Now that is One Pretty Butt!

A South Texas Specialty

I have to say, getting a couple of really good night’s of sleep in these last few days has felt really good. Two days of 8+ hours of sleep each when you have been living on 4 to 5 for close to a month feels like a vacation in paradise ha. Best of all, the ankle swelling is definitely subsiding which will please my therapist. Still some work to do to get all the haunt items put away and autumn always brings with it an annual list of homestead work (living in the woods is wonderful until the trees start shedding leaves and nuts), but there is some time while the props finish drying and no sense getting started too early on the leaves when there are plenty more to fall. That means I have some time to get some posts out before November comes calling. Continuing from the last post, we are back in southern Texas with a perennial favorite.

Audubon's Oriole found at National Butterfly Center in Mission Texas in March 2024

Hit the jump to see a few more shots of rather colorful Oriole

Continue reading A South Texas Specialty

Look, a Crested Scare-a-Scara

Probably one of the hardest elements of putting on our annual haunted trail is the aftermath. During the prep and build out I am full of energy and excitement. A whirlwind of ideas, tasks and problem solving all rolled up into a giant orange and black ball. Then the party is just pure fun..well, after dealing with all the late hour gremlins that always find a way to test my wits. On the second night, the last of the guests leave, we power down the haunt and at some point my tired body is reacquainted with the bed. A day of rest usually follows thanks to a mysterious magnetic pull embedded in the very fibers of the pillow – someone should really figure out how to harness that power! Then the post party hangover kicks in. Gone is the pre-event excitement – it is grind time as everything has to be hauled back up into the out-building for drying and then the masterclass sessions of packing and organizing. Fortunately, “grinding” is my superpower which has served me well over the years, work, ultras and the draining work of unplugging everything, disassembling the props and hauling them out of the valley. That part of the work is done now and just waiting out the drying phase (you do NOT want moisture in your storage bins). While that is happening, jumping back into the blog work with today’s featured feathered friend.

Crested Caracara found at Anahuac NWR in Anahuac, TX March 2024

Hit the jump to learn more about this interesting Falcon sporting the orange and black colors of the season.

Continue reading Look, a Crested Scare-a-Scara

Owww….l

Last day of the month and we are officially in the “bonus” round. Thanks to the additional time being sequestered in the den, this has been a highly productive blogging month. Believe this is the 8th post of the month which includes the two browser cache burning recollections from last year’s 2024 Haunted Trail Event (link here). I am incredibly shocked we are only a month and half away from the 2025 extravaganza. Note, we had to push it three weeks this year due to the ankle mishap. Might as well update you on that front as well. Thursday I was officially released from the 6 week no-weight sentencing. According to the doctor, everything is progressing as prescribed which is really good news. Apparently the massive swelling that occurs in the foot soon after releasing it from the air-cast is normal (quite the surprise). The original expectations of being released for “walking” fell a bit short though as he wants me to continue to use both crutches to assist the walking effort for a week or so then take away one of the crutches for a period of time before unassisted walking. Honestly, that seemed like a good plan based on the “owwww” that escaped my lips the first time I put the unprotected foot down on the floor. Physical therapy also started that day which brought some additional mutterings, but those came with a smile – that I can handle, suffering is kind of my game and honestly, what got me into this mess ha. I am looking forward to the pool work that starts soon. Only 4 more weeks and I am graduated to a brace and minutes after getting into that I’ll be out on the trail getting it ready to entertain our guests.

Probably not a secret, but my life is driven by goals. As much as I hated putting them together while in the grind, they are a cornerstone on the personal side. Life with purpose as they say. Before you ask, this commitment continues in the retirement years. One big goal to complete while laid up was to tackle the massive backlog of photos. Managed to get through the Texas March 2024 tins (560G) and over half of my Colorado September snaps. That trip just needs a few more hours of work and I will be current to 2025 (assuredly my long-term readers will be flabbergasted). Just to give you a taste of the newly processed Texas folder, thought I’d go with a fitting featured feathered friend immortalizing that rarely uttered word “Owwww”l.

Elf Owl found at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in Misson Texas, March 2024

Well, we will get to the Owl part in just a sec – right now you are basically staring at a hole in a telephone pole at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. Linda, myself and about 30 other hardcore birders spent a good hour plus staring at that hole in hopes of getting a glimpse of what was to be a +1 lifer for me. Hit the jump to find out if we managed to get something in the tin!

Continue reading Owww….l