Curve-billed Thrasher

 On our trip down to Texas last February we were fortunate to get some pictures of a curve-billed thrasher. We frequently see the long-billed thrasher when we are in Texas but the curved billed thrasher is usually more difficult to find.They live in scrub, mesquite and semi-desert in south Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico. Since this bird was photographed in southeastern Texas it would be a member of the eastern population. Birds found in the western portion of the range, like Arizona, would have a grayer breast, barely visible wingbars, and gray tis on the tail instead of white. When we are photographing in Texas we are always warned to make sure and drink plenty of water, it looks like this thrasher got the same message.

Brown Pelican

 Most people know how pelicans hunt. From an early age many of us have seen cartoons that feature pelicans whose bill can expand like a large pouch. This is fairly accurate at least when it comes to white pelicans.

 Brown pelicans however are a different matter. They usually fly low over the water scanning for fish and when they see one they dive head first into the water. Often there dive is so sudden that the rest of their body tumbles awkwardly into the water behind their diving head.

Like many predators hunting for prey there are many more failures then successes. But when a brown pelican fails it gets back up into the air and gets ready for another dive. These pelicans were photographed in south Texas near Brownsville.

American Oystercatcher

The American oystercatcher can be found around the coastal areas of North, South, and Central America as well as the Caribbean. They eat primarily shellfish, crustaceans, and other aquatic invertebrates. To catch their prey they typically stab their beak into a partially open shellfish before it can close its shell. Since they rarely travel very far inland their nest consists of a scrape located at a higher spot on the beach.