By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Before I start with this week’s adventure, let me tell you all that I celebrated my 60th birthday on Friday, and I want to thank all of the family members, friends and acquaintances who took a little time to call, text and post their well-wishes. I love you all.
The first birthday I celebrated here was in December 1980. I had just turned 19 when I got on a Greyhound bus in downtown Fargo, N.D., and made my first trip to Del Rio. I’ve never lived anywhere since and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
Of course, one of the reasons I love living in Del Rio so much is the incredible wealth and beauty of the natural world here. Don’t get me wrong; Fargo and the rest of the Dakotas and Minnesota are lovely as well, but I just can’t deal with six months of winter.
Just as we see the signs of the season everywhere we look, from holiday decorations to constant reminders to buy, buy, buy on every device we own, there are also signs of the coming winter along the San Felipe Creek.
On Saturday morning, I visited the San Felipe Lions Memorial Park at the Tardy Dam. I’m supposed to take some people birding in this area next Saturday, and I wanted to scout the area to see what could be seen.
The big pecans and ash trees along the creek have lost a lot of their leaves, and the rest of them are turning gold. The sycamore’s big leaves have gone an uninspiring hue of brown, and they drop from the trees into the creek, making little elf boats as the current ferries them downstream.
The first bird I noticed when I arrived was a female Belted Kingfisher perched on top of the Tardy Dam.
Kingfishers are one of Del Rio’s birding treasures. There are three species of kingfishers considered residents of the United States – the Belted, the Ringed and the Green. All of them can be seen with relatively little effort along our creek.
The Belted is the most common across the rest of the United States, and it is the medium-sized member of the kingfisher trio. The Green is small, and the Ringed is large.
Happily, as I walked upstream from the Tardy Dam on Saturday morning, I also found a Ringed Kingfisher, and its loud, rattling call rang out over the water as it flew off.
On the water itself, more signs that the year has turned: our small contingent of winter ducks, mostly Ring-necked Ducks with an occasional Lesser Scaup, are back and settling in for a few months’ stay.
There were plenty of other birds as well, and I know that my birding trip next weekend will be a success.
—
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
