Lake Mineral Wells State Park

Went to Plateau area campground of this wonderful state park for a couple hours today as the temperature has continued to climb daily, reaching a high of about 76 today. The first sighting was of a Nine-banded Armadillo. I followed him around for 5 to 10 minutes taking pictures and watched him go underground into tunnels and come up a few feet away. Armadillos sound like a much bigger animal as they push their way through leaves looking for insects. Groups of American Coots were in two areas of the lake on both sides of Plateau. I saw a pair of Northern Shovelers, my first time ever. They took flight when they saw me on the shore. There is sizeable patch of reeds in a place where water sometimes comes in when the lake is high that was a hiding place for several birds. The only one I caught in photos was the Song Sparrow. While initially it had been very quiet at this campsite, as we sat quietly the birds began to gather in the trees around us, Northern Cardinals and Black Crested Titmice in particular. The Plateau Campground was essentially empty of campers, only a park host was there. Hated to have to leave.

Posted on 24 January, 2013 03:56 by taogirl