Male Painted Bunting at the bird blind in Guadalupe River State Park, on the morning of July 6, 2021.

A Quick Trip to Guadalupe River State Park

Toward the end of June, 2021, I hurt my back while disposing of a large limb that had fallen from one of the Pecan trees in my yard that adjoins Lake McQueeney.  So as the Fourth of July 2021 rolled around, I was still far from 100%, but itching to go bird watching.  Our daughter Liz and her husband David invited us to spend a couple of days after the Fourth with them at their home in Fair Oaks Ranch to help babysit our grandson J.D.  While I had visited and hiked the Guadalupe River State Park (GRSP) on a number of occasions, I did not know there was a bird blind located there until I began using the eBird site.  So I decided to try to slip off and spend a little time at the bird blind in GRSP while staying at my daughter’s house, which is a fairly short drive from the park.  Tuesday morning, July 6, 2021, I managed to take a break from my baby sitting duties drive over to the park from Fair Oaks, where it had been raining heavily all morning.  I was a little hesitant because of the rain, but the radio weather forecast predicted a window of clearing skies late that morning so I headed over there a little before 10 a.m.  I ended up spending about an hour in the blind, and a few minutes walking down to the Guadalupe River to see how high it was after all the rain.  I was very impressed with the bird blind in the park.  It is a spacious, nicely constructed blind and the two feeders were full while the water feature was adequate and in good working order.  I had hoped to see Painted Buntings and I was not disappointed as I saw a number of them while at the blind.  While I didn’t encounter any new species, I had a pleasant time watching birds that morning.  For my eBird checklist from my visit to GRSP that morning, look here.  Here are a few photos from my morning–  first, a few photos of the bird blind at GRSP…

The bird blind at GRSP is a short walk from the parking area near the Kayak Launch, identified by one small sign.
The bird blind at GRSP as seen from the approaching trail. An inviting place!
The inside of the blind is roomy and comfortable and affords good views of all the feeders and the water feature.
What a great project-- thank you Robert Baird!
I was not familiar with this organization or this program, so I looked it up and joined!

And now, a few photos of the birds I watched at GRSP that morning.  The first seven photos are of Painted Buntings, which were the stars of the show that morning.  I saw males, females, and juvenile males.  I also saw one male that had two bands, one on each leg.  It was the first time I had ever seen bands on a Bunting.

Male Painted Bunting at GRSP. Buntings love millet!
Something caught this guys' attention!
Another shot of a male Painted Bunting enjoying his millet at GRSP.
A juvenile male Painted Bunting at GRSP. If you look closely you can see the bright blue on the head and the bright red on the chest beginning to show.
Female Painted Bunting at GRSP. Not even a hint of the bright colors which grace the male of the species.
Male Painted Bunting at GRSP. Note that this bird has banding on each leg.
Painted Bunting and Northern Cardinal at GRSP. I included this shot to illustrate the disparity in size of these two species.

I saw a number of birds besides the Painted Buntings.  Here are a few more pictures of birds I watched that morning.

I saw a number of Black-crested Titmouses-- here is one, at the feeder.
The bird blind at GRSP got quite busy at times. Here we have two Northern Cardinals patiently waiting on a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds.
The hummingbird feeder at the GRSP blind had a steady stream of Black-chinned Hummingbirds.
Ma and Pa Northern Cardinals at GRSP.
Black-chinned Hummingbird taking a break at GRSP.
Brown-headed Cowbird at GRSP.

And one final photo from my morning at GRSP, just for grins!

As I was leaving GRSP, I ran across this old porcupine!