Birds

Reddish Egret flying over the Sterling Ridge pond.

Reddish Egret flying over the pond - click to enlarge

The containment pond in Sterling Ridge Village is a haven for all sorts of wading birds and it is not uncommon to see over a dozen types of egret and heron harmoniously fishing along the edges of the pond. This gorgeous bird is a Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) and is classified as 'near threatened'. They are found in south Texas year round but usually inhabit coastal mudflats. It was marvelous to see her gently flapping over the pond's surface.

Roadrunner on a sidewalk in Sterling Ridge.

A Greater Roadrunner - click to enlarge

It's not every day that you see a roadrunner on the sidewalk on the way to the local shops. This happy cousin of the cuckoo is a Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). As I walked along he kept a few paces in front and eventually picked up this twig as if to say if I give you this, will you stop following me! Roadrunners are not always around but it not unusual to see them nesting the trees close to shops and houses.

Red-tailed Hawk on a Pine branch - click to enlarge

We heard this young Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) before we saw her. She was yelling about who-knows-what from a tree in one of our neighbor's back yard. We see many raptors in the trees in our particular part of Texas. The most common seem to be the Red-tailed Hawks, but we frequently see Red-shouldered, Coopers and Sharp Shinned Hawks, Peregrine Falcons and even an occasional Bald Eagle.

Blue Jay on a bird bath in our backyard.

Blue Jay on our small Bird Bath - click to enlarge

We have to mention the pretty Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata). They can also be very noisy sometimes and are often too boisterous with the smaller birds, although we see that they are often accompanied by small 'gangs' of smaller birds like Cardinals, Wrens and Chickadees. They probably benefit from the Jay's inate ability to find food almost the instant it appears! These clever corvids have a distinct sound vocabulary, and with time can be persuaded to use their more mellifluous 'inside voices'.