Met a friend for a bird walk yesterday. We started with a wander around Felts Audubon Preserve. It’s a nicely rehabbed property that was once part of a cattle ranch but is now surrounded by housing developments. A Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) kept an eye on us as we admired the recent habitat improvements. The preserve hosts both Indigo and Painted Buntings during the winter but alas, I was unable to capture decent photos of them.

After parting ways, I drove over to nearby Perico Preserve, that overlooks Perico Bayou. A bold Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) came out to greet me but the dryland scrub was otherwise quiet. The action was all in the water. I caught a short-lived mating attempt by two Spider Crabs (Libinia emarginata) and was amused by the hunting antics of a Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) but the stars of the show were the two foraging Roseate Spoonbills (Platalea ajaja).