In this image, you see five Wilson’s Phalaropes. Four of them are females. Normally in the bird world, the male plumage is much more flashy than the females. In Wilson’s Phalaropes, the females wear the fancy feathers and the males are more bland. Notice the female in the upper left of the image who is splashing, the top of her head is gray. Also, compare the 4 females and see that each has a jet black band of feathers that begin at the back of the eye and run down the sides of the neck. The ladies also have various amounts of cinnamon color on the sides and fronts of their necks. These wading birds are standing in water that is about hip deep.

In the middle of the group, is the male. He lacks the black neck stripe and the cinnamon on the neck. Much less flashy than the girls.

In this image, you can see a female coming in for a landing. Notice the base of her tail and most of her tail feathers are white. This is another useful field mark. Also, you can see part of her long legs and her webbed feet. Can you see the white stripe down the back of her neck? This is also a useful field character.

I like watching these birds in flight, they are fast and they make sharp turns as a flock which is like an aerial ballet. Can you identify these as Wilson’s Phalarope? How many males do you see?

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On 3-2-2017, I experienced a real treat. I was able to approach a large collection of Sandhill Cranes that were roosting in the bottom of a drying playa not too far from where I live.

Sandhill Cranes, Antigone canadensis belong to the Gruidae or crane family. They are found in Texas during the winter and migrate to breeding grounds all over Canada and parts of Alaska. They also occur in China, Japan, Korea, and the Russian Federation. They prefer wetland habitats in these areas where they consume grains and various insects and other invertebrates.

In the second picture, you can see a Canadian Goose in the foreground which should give you an idea how large these birds are. They prefer to roost in standing water at night for protection against predators. This playa is one of the few in my area that still have water. It has been a drier fall and winter than last year and most of the playas have dried out.

In the third picture, shows a small flock of Sandhills in flight. They fly with their necks straight which distinguishes them from Great Blue Herons who fly with their long necks bent into a U shape. Sandhills are slate gray birds for the most part but there are individuals whose underparts can be tinged with a rusty color. If you are lucky enough to see them up close, they have a featherless, red forehead. This character, their size, and the way they hold their neck in flight will distinguish these birds from all others.

In the last photo, you can see several flocks in flight in the vicinity of Wind Turbine generators. Cranes and other migratory birds have no problems navigating around these devices.

Sandhill Cranes fly very high during migration. Their calls can be heard as they fly over. Until I took these pictures, that was about as close as I was able to get to these beautiful birds. The large flocks flying over with their faintly audible krrruuuuk krrrruuuk was a sure sign that winter is coming to an end.

I learned during my photo session with this large collection of sandhills that they make a lot of sound as they “visit” on their layover. It’s a sound I will remember for the rest of my life.

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The Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus, in family Recurvirostridae is a strikingly marked shore bird that is found as a migrant in west Texas as they move to summer breeding grounds in the Western United States. In this picture it is the black and white bird with red legs. The other three birds are White-face Ibises who are sharing the playa.

In the second picture, our subject is hunting insects in a puddle that remains in the drying playa. Take note of the white “eyebrows”. Their long red legs, long bill, black feathers above and white below make these birds easy to tell from all others.

No other bird has longer legs in proportion to their size except the flamingos. In this picture, you can see the long but sharply narrow bills they have for catching the insects, other arthropods, and fish upon which they feed.

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