Birding during a Denver > Pensacola Trip - Sept. 2017
/Betty and I arrived in Pensacola in the middle of September to decide which of our "FL stuff" will go to CO, arrange for a moving van, and dispose of the things we are not keeping. By the last week in September we had identified a lot of "don't trust to a moving company" things and, as part of our plan, I loaded them into the Subaru, drove back to CO and left them in the condo. The original plan included some serious birding time in SE Texas and LA on the drive back to Pensacola, but Hurricane Harvey damaged several of the planned birding spots. A modification of plans was necessary. Based on on-line birding/butterfly reports and weather predictions, I headed for the Rio Grande Valley of Texas instead.
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Dave's Denver > Pensacola Short Route
Despite the predictions the weather was not particularly conducive for photography. At a couple of potential birding spots in central Texas, the fog was so dense that only two of the three blades of the wind turbines were moving (see photo)! :-)
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I arrived in the Rio Grande Valley in mid-afternoon. After checking into the motel in Weslaco I headed for nearby Llano Grande State Park. Ominous dark clouds were moving toward the park when I arrived. All the photos from that afternoon were taken while I was standing under the roof of the large observation deck at the park headquarters.
Llano Grande State Park, TX - Sept. 2017
The downpours were intermittent at Llano Grande State Park.
Between downpours I spotted a Green Kingfisher, a Lifer (my first-ever sighting of this species).
Green Kingfisher
Some green color may be visible in the image above, but I expect the color would be more vivid under better lighting conditions.
Green Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher