Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge Texas

For any birder,coming here will not be a disappointment.It is large and full of wonderful walking trails and photo blinds.To do it justice,would take several days,maybe weeks.

First a little background.

Yesterday unfortunately was my first cool day here in the valley,as the weather for the past week has been quite warm and sometimes humid,with temps getting into the 80’s.But as a cold storm passed north of us the temperature dropped into the 40’s overnight with a blustery wind.

So setting off early yesterday for the NWR with a windy temperature of 46 degrees wasn’t exactly my cup of tea.With over 12 miles of woodland trails to possibly explore,I would soon warm up.

My first stop was the visitor centre,and like all of them so far here in the valley,it wasn’t a disappointment.Like the others,full of interesting displays and nice helpful staff.I paid my small entry fee and set out,finding that the thick woodland trails were well protected from the wind.

Below are a few photo’s of the lay of the land,so that you get the picture.(A little play on words)

 

The shots above were taken from one of the observation towers,taken in two directions.On the left,the Rio Grande river and Mexico are near the top of the shot.

And below are two of the three towers.The two lower ones are linked by a suspended walkway.Much fun away up there as it swings and sways.

And of course I must take a photo of myself,don’t I ?…I was a little worried about setting the camera on that narrow ledge,not even as wide as the camera,and a big drop that would have left it unidentifiable.

The pathways were wide and an easy walk as I chose the trail around the lake.More like a pond as the level was very low.I should have taken a picture of the beautiful photo blind along the shoreline,where you can really get some good close ups of the water fowl.

 

I wanted to show the beautiful Spanish Moss that I found along my almost 2 mile walk.

Now you may be wondering……What birds did I see,well…..lots of them….and in particular I finally got to see my Green Jays,up close and personal…..What a treat.  And an Altamira Oriole too.They are presently trying to attract them to this protected area.

So tomorrow I’ll show some of the birds I saw and photographed.Here’s my Green Jay below.

By request and a great idea I might add,on the top of the blog under the header picture is a (Search my blog)so if I mention other places and things,this will give a quick link to them.