Texas is freezing and wet, could be worse

Dear Peeps,

Day broke forcefully in Round Rock as the sun elbowed its way over the horizon, the promise of another fantastic Bird See'd filling the air. Or, possibly that was just the Mr. Coffee pumping out some weak-ass hotel room brew.

We were in Texas, on the second leg of our trip, and anything was possible. Texas is notable in Bird See'd Circles for hosting an amazing number of species of birds, due in part to a unique confluence of ecosystems (everything from desert and semi-arid grasslands to subtropical palm forest and ocean shore in a relatively small area) plus its location next to the Mexican border and on the migration pathway, and amazing barbeque (true fact--birds love BBQ, bird watchers eat it to make us more attractive to birds).

Unfortunately for us, the weather has been making being outside less than pleasant. In the past three days, we've had periods of sub-freezing temperatures, strong winds, and steady rainfall, fortunately not all at the same time. We staked out two places where rare birds had recently been reported--the Striped Sparrow outside Austin and the White-collared Seed Eaters in San Ygnacio--and spent hours at each place, but to no avail.

On the other hand, we have picked up a few very interesting species, and our count for the year is now well over 200. The Surprise Bird of the Trip occurred when we stopped at a random restaurant on our way outside of Austin, having given up on finding anything new there, and found 5 Monk Parakeets perched on the electrical wires above the road. This shows that you can plan all you want, but finding birds is really up to the birds.

The weather is expected to clear and warm up for the next few days, and we're planning to visit some amazing places here in the Rio Grande Valley. Send wishes of luck!

Best,
Me