By Karen Gleason
On Saturday morning, I visited Blue Hole Park, where I hadn’t been for more than a year.
I don’t come here often. There are usually too many people, and the constant flow of traffic makes it difficult to put oneself in the frame of mind of being “out in the field.”
I noticed after I arrived there is a lot of trash floating in the creek, caught in the vegetation growing in the water near the banks.
I also saw two dogs running loose and several dog owners walking their dog off-leash, which I don’t appreciate. It’s the main reason I always carry a strong pepper spray.
Despite its drawbacks, Blue Hole Park is a magical place, especially early in the morning before it is inundated by visitors.
On Saturday morning, the air above the Blue Hole was filled with the twittering of a large flock of Cave Swallows.
The swallows, one of several swallow species to be found in Del Rio during the spring and summer months, build their cup-shaped mud nests under the Highway 90 Bridge and spend their days hunting flying insects above the creek.
Cave Swallows fly into our area as the weather warms, and they can be found throughout south Texas and into southern Arizona. These swallows, as their name implies, usually build their nests on the walls of cave entrances, but they have also learned to make use of human infrastructure like bridges.
These birds are swift and agile fliers and so very difficult for me to photograph. I made a few attempts, but will have to make a more concerted effort at some later date.
The lone male Lesser Scaup I found north of the Highway 90 Bridge last weekend is still present, and I spent many long minutes watching him attend to his morning toilet, carefully pulling individual feathers through his beak and redistributing essential oils through his plumage.
A loud chattering drew my attention, and I watched a large Ringed Kingfisher chasing a smaller Belted Kingfisher down the creek. They flew off down the creek.
Walking over the Blue Hole’s iconic suspension bridge and along the creek on the far bank, I found a lovely little patch of Pink Evening Primroses growing in the shadow of a mesquite stretching its limbs out over the water.
Blue Hole Park was a perfect place to spend a few hours in the cool early morning.
