Crops & Clips:Texas Panhandle birds

These natural rock formations in Palo Duro Canyon resemble ancient edifices:



I have supplemented my heavy Canon 80D DSLR and its 420 mm lens system (300mm L/4 with 1.4x extender) with a mirrorless Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II and an Olympic M.ZUIKO MSC ED-M 75-300mm II (f/ 4.8-6.7) zoom lens. It weighs only 2.05 pounds (0.97 Kg) compared to the  5.16 pounds (2.34 Kg) of my big rig. After experimenting with the rather complicated settings, I felt confident enough to leave the DSLR behind for a 10-day trip to Texas.

Here is a comparison of the two cameras, with lens hoods extended and then stowed:





For landscapes I switched to a tiny electronic zoom Olympus M.ZUKIO ED 14-42mm (f/3.5-5.6) EZ lens:



This was not a wildlife expedition. Indeed it was a wonderful family affair on the occasion of the marriage of our youngest grandson. The wedding took place in the Texas Panhandle south of Amarillo. They left the serious photography to a professional photographer, though I did take several hundred photos of the pre-wedding shower as well as the rehearsal and wedding ceremony.



The chapel at West Texas A&M  University:


 
The groom with his bride, his parents and four siblings:



The reception was held at a good old country restaurant:



During the 5 days surrounding the wedding we went sightseeing in the nearby and very impressive Palo Duro Canyon. Flash floods the night before (when 15 members of our family attended the famous open-air Texas Musical which is held in the depths of the Canyon) caused all the trails to be closed. Even the paved road had to detour around an area of deep mud. We were rained out only about 10 minutes into the show and returned home soaked to the skin!

At the visitor center we saw this lizard:



Barn Swallows nested under the porch roof:



It was sunny and very hot. Photographic conditions were not favorable because of the glare and deep shadows. A wildlife blind was located near bird feeders and a small water source.  House Finches outnumbered the other avian visitors. This male appears to have an eye infection:



Golden-fronted Woodpecker:



Watching a Lark Sparrow as it fed a fledgling was a treat:





Later in the day we moved on to Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge. We have visited this refuge many times over more than twenty years that our son has worked as a meteorologist in Amarillo. 

The lake has gradually dried up because of the combined effects of prolonged drought and the dramatic drop of the water table due to greatly increased agricultural demand. The last time I saw significant water  was around 1998. Waterfowl and migratory wading birds abounded, and during the winter Bald Eagles gathered there to fish. In 2008 it was nearly dry but a small section recovered a bit in 2009. Now the entire lake is bone dry. 

A small herd of "buffaloes" (American Bison) wallowed in the mud in a pasture near the entrance to the refuge:





I enjoy photographing small birds, so they were a test for my new camera. Given the conditions, the images were fairly good. This is a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher which is growing a new tail after molting:



Against the bright sky, this photo required a full stop of exposure compensation:



Even at some distance, the camera obtained fairly decent resolution of this back-lit immature Red-headed Woodpecker:



A female oriole posed nicely. I believe it is an Orchard Oriole:



A Swainson's Hawk wheeled overhead. Because of shutter lag I only had one opportunity to capture this image. I still need to learn more about how to obtain rapid bursts:



As I write this, a storm with the potential to bring heavy rains and possible hurricane-force winds is bearing down on Corpus Christi, where we vacationed until just four days ago. More about this in a future post, but here is a sunrise on our first morning on the beach at North Padre Island:



Back home in Florida the rain has kept us inside, but this photo of a back yard Tricolored Heron satisfied my desire to include a reflection of a neighbor's fence:


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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to FENCES AROUND THE WORLD by Gosia

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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South Dakota Black Hills and Wildlife Loop

Following five nights celebrating our family reunion in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, we joined our younger daughter's family on a road trip back to Illinois. We entered South Dakota by way of Wyoming en route to Blue Bell in the Black Hills of Custer State Park. 

We occupied adjacent cabins in a Ponderosa woodland at Blue Bell Lodge, just off the famous Wildlife Loop:



Anxious to tour the Loop before dark, we made 6:00 PM dinner reservations at the restaurant but waited over an hour before being served. The food was wonderful despite the terrible service. There was no time to drive the Loop's entire 18 miles, but the wildlife viewing was spectacular.

Hundreds of American Bison wandered freely along the road. Fences and cattle guards control their rotation between huge grazing grounds:







Pronghorn Antelopes abounded:





As dusk approached, White-tailed Deer became more numerous. Many of the does had fawns:







Ten-point buck in velvet:



Feral Donkeys, descendants of Wild Asses released by early settlers, approached our auto, apparently looking for treats offered by tourists despite prohibitions against feeding the wildlife:





All too soon, darkness descended and we made our way back to the cabins. This was the scene a little after sunset, under a waxing Strawberry Moon. This is the Algonquin Indian name for the full Moon in June. This year it coincided with the Summer Solstice, a "once-in-a-lifetime" event. (Better make that "twice in my lifetime" as the last time this happened was in 1967 but the next will not occur until 2062):



Birding was not a main pursuit, but during a brief walk around the cabins I found Red-breasted Nuthatches:





Early the nex morning, A Wild Turkey with five poults walked next to a neighboring cabin...







...and a Cottontail Rabbit huddled near the road, perhaps thinking I could not see it:



While I was taking in the beauty of a mountain stream which ran by the Lodge, a deer suddenly crossed the water towards me:



On the way to our next destination, we drove the length of Needles Highway, a winding road through magnificent rock formations and narrow tunnels:







We visited Crazy Horse Memorial, an ambitious granite statue being carved out of a mountain, billed to become  world's largest sculpture, once it is completed. It honors the legendary war hero of the Lakota tribe, whose most famous victory against US troops was the Battle of the Little Bighorn (General Custer's Last Stand -click for more information. )

The carving was started in 1948 but has made slow progress. Only the warrior's face has been completed so far. His head will be 87 feet (27 m) high:







The smaller (60 ft/18 m high) faces of four US presidents are carved on Mount Rushmore, only 17 miles away.  It is an awe-inspiring sight:





On our way to our next stop, Mount Rushmore could be seen in the distance:



Our last glimpse of Mount Rushmore through a gap in the trees as we headed east towards the Badlands:



For the "reflection" meme I must hearken back to a photo I took before we flew to Colorado. A few doors from our daughter's home in Illinois, this silo cast its image on a small pond:



Pale Coneflowers bloomed on the Illinois prairie:



= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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