When I first got to Skillern the first creatures to greet me were the mosquitoes, big ones and lots of them.  Fortunately I brought the mosquito repellant so they didn’t overwhelm me.  As I walked along one of the trails there was this pretty little bird darting up and down from a tall tree.  It was a female Vermillion Flycatcher.  I love these little birds!

Female Vermillion Flycatcher Side View

Female Vermillion Flycatcher Front View

There were also lots of Northern Harriers and these birds are fun for me to photograph.  Since they float above their potential prey, it gave me a good opportunity to get some decent photographs.

Northern Harrier About To Land In Field

Northern Harrier Hovering Over A Possible Meal

At Skillern there were lots of open fields, and I’m sure I missed a tons of birds.  One bird that I’ve never photographed before was an Eastern Meadowlark hiding in the field.

Eastern Meadowlark In Field

In addition I saw lots of Savannah Sparrows.

Savannah Sparrow In Field Of Brown

Savannah Sparrow Resting On Branch In Field

A particular noisy little bird that I saw hiding in the woods was a Winter Wren.

Winter Wren Hiding In The Woods

These are just a few of the many, many birds I saw at Skillern.  I took alot of bad photographs, and missed many opportunities.

Birds weren’t the only creatures I saw.  There were lots of Gulf Fritillary Butterflies (that surprised me) and a few Monarch Butterflies.  I was really surprised by how bright the color was on the Gulf Fritillaries.

Very Bright Orange Gulf Fritillary At Skillern Tract

I called Leecy a few hours into my trip and she said she wanted to see a picture of an Alligator.  I was lucky enough to find one sunning on the shore.

Alligator At Skillern Tract In Anahuac

I really, really enjoyed Skillern Tract of the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge and plan on returning once they weather cools down a bit.  You absolutely have to bring mosquito repellant otherwise you will be eaten alive.  Even though I was well coated at the beginning, apparently the stuff wears off because I was attacked later on.  I re-coated myself and all was well.

We started off at dawn, and there was this Heron silhouetted against the water.

Heron Silhouette At Anahuac

I love taking (or trying to take) pictures of raptors, like Hawks and Harriers.  What I learned today is that if you take pictures of those type birds against a gray sky, it doesn’t make for a very appealing picture.

One of the first birds we saw was the Black Crowned Night Heron.  If I’m not mistaken, this one is a juvenile.

Black Crowned Night Heron At Anahuac

Then Leecy, with her eagle eyes (and a good pair of binoculars), spotted a family of Raccoons in the water.  It was rather entertaining watching them.  At first, it appeared as though they were washing their hands (okay, feet), then slowly but surely they all started crossing the water.  All except for one Raccoon (there were 4 total)..  It did not want to go across the water.

Family Of Raccoons In Water At Anahuac

Then we came across a Sedge Wren.

Sedge Wren In Trees At Anahuac

Next up was a Loggerhead Shrike.  Leecy helped care for one of these birds when she was volunteering at the Wildlife Rehabilitation place she worked at during the summer.

Loggerhead Shrike At Anahuac

Then we came across a Rail.  I believe this is a King Rail.  These birds are pretty secretive, preferring to hide among the reeds.

King Rail At Anahuac

As we drove further along in the Refuge we saw a group of White Ibises.

White Ibis Walking At Anahuac

Later on we crossed paths with another Wren, this one being a House Wren I believe.

House Wren At Anahuac

This next bird is difficult for me to identify.  Hopefully a bird expert out there can confirm or deny.  If I’m not mistaken, this is a Savannah Sparrow.

Savannah Sparrow On Fence At Anahuac

When we got to the back of the Refuge, we saw this Willet feeding along the shoreline.

Willet In Water At Anahuac

Like I said, there were tons of birds, and an Alligator, and a few Butterflies, but taking great photos of them requires great skill and good light, and today I probably wasn’t at my best.  I still had a great time, loved using that 500mm lens, and spending time with Leecy (she was a good scout).  Oh, I almost forgot, the most common flying thing we encountered at Anahuac?  Mosquitoes.  Some of them appeared to be as large as birds!

Now I need to figure out other places to visit this week.  If you have any ideas, I would sure love to hear your suggestions!

I started off seeing some gators swimming through the water.

Alligator Swimming

The gator below seemed content to warm up while in the water.

Gator Warming Up In Water

Then as I’m walking around 40 Acre Lake, I saw the biggest gator in the park.  I wonder how old this gator is?

Largest Gator At Brazos Bend

Walking around the corner I come upon yet another gator.  This one was resting on a log in the water.

Gator Resting On Log

Up until now, most of the gators were either in the water or a fair distance away.  Not so with this next gator.  He was only a few feet off the walking trail.

Gator Sleeping Covered In Duckweed

So much for the gators well off the trail.  This gator was laying on the grass and was absolutely huge!

Gator Closeup Shot

It’s over now.  Every gator was sleeping on the grass right next to the walking trails.

Two Gators Resting

I was reasonably comfortable walking on the trails despite the close proximity of the gators.  Not so with this guy.  All of the other gators had their head down and their eyes closed.  There was also a few feet between the gator and the trail.  This guy was head up, eyes open, and right next to the trail.  I was worried he was going to charge after me.  Thankfully he didn’t.

Young Gator Near Walking Trail

Last, but not least there was this big guy.

Gator Resting With Mouth Open

All in all it was a pretty good day.  I wish I would have seen more birds, but seeing so many gators was refreshing and new.

Probably one of the most common birds at Brazos Bend is the Black Bellied Whistling Duck.  These guys looked like they were pretty cold, as they didn’t move an inch despite how close I was.

Black Bellied Whistling Duck Brazos Bend State Park

Even some of the Vultures needed to take some time to warm up. Here’s two Black Vultures, one of them spreading their wings in full display.  The other vulture doesn’t seem that impressed:-).

In reading one of my books it mentions how Black Vultures have a less developed sense of smell compared to the Turkey Vultures (below) and instead rely on their eyesight.

Black Vulture Spreading Wings Brazos Bend State Park

The Turkey Vultures weren’t immune to the cold.  Almost in perfect synchronization, they spread their wings.  Notice how the Turkey Vulture with the red head has that gap between it’s nose?  I wonder if that helps with its sense of smell?

Turkey Vultures Spreading Wings Brazos Bend State Park

The birds weren’t the only ones warming up.  There was one American Alligator laying on a log soaking up the sun.  Brazos Bend is well known for the number of Alligators, but this is the only one we saw.

American Alligator Brazos Bend State Park

I have lots more bird pictures to post, but let me wind up tonight by sharing some photos of the Least Grebe.  One of the rangers at the park said these birds only recently started appearing.  In total, there was a group of three of these birds, all hunting for food.

Least Grebe Brazos Bend State Park

This is another one of the Least Grebes after emerging from under water.  It’s covered in a bunch of muck from the lake.

Least Grebe In Muck Brazos Bend State Park

I’ll continue posting more bird pictures from Brazos Bend over the next few days.  I’ve got many pictures to process, and some of the birds I can’t remember what their names are.

Feel free to leave any comments.

As I’m casting out my line, Leecy yells “There’s a gator!”

As I peer through my camera lens, sure enough, there was a huge Alligator just crawling out on the shore on the opposite side of the reservoir.

I’m not expert at judging things like this, but I’d say this guy was at least 7-8 feet long.

Gator At Sheldon Reservoir

Strangely enough, the birds didn’t seem the least bit afraid of him.

Gator And Bird Sheldon Reservoir