Uploads from Hard-Rain, tagged anahuacnationalwildliferefuge

Bobcat with Prey

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Sun, 19 May 2013 07:34:47 -0700

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas.

I arrived before dawn and just as the sun was coming up I noticed a flurry of activity to my side. I saw this bobcat come up with prey and start running off. I slapped my shoulder to get its attention. I got the two second stare before it ran off again. I think the prey is a pocket gopher of some type - have not identified the species yet. Any ideas?

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Whimbrel Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge Texas

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 17:16:58 -0700

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Whimbrel Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge Texas

Least Bittern - Anahuac NWR

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 08:39:12 -0700

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

Lost a pair of shoes and socks to a fire ant swarm to get this shot. Lesson learned - don't just look through the view finder...

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Common Nighthawk

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Mon, 28 May 2012 09:26:53 -0700

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. Sun touching the horizon...

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Reflection - The Black Rail

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 08:28:05 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Black Rail Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

The story behind this encounter is here.

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Reddish Egret

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:51:32 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

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Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:38:13 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Some "firsts" from my trip to Texas. Firsts are becoming more difficult...third year in a row I ended up at the Rio Grande. Did the usual...live out of the car, sleep at rest stations or Walmarts.

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American Bittern Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:14:29 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Bitterns are known for their perfect camo and ability to elongate and mimic the grasses and reeds. But this one might want to reconsider that strategy...

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Serendipity - The Black Rail

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:28:03 -0700

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

The Black Rail is described as extremely secretive, mouselike, elusive, sparrow sized, weighs one ounce, endangered, threatened, active only at night, the lifelist nemesis bird, the lifelist "heard but not seen" bird, etc. This is the bird that has frustrated serious birders for years as they have scoured the marshes hoping for just a glimpse. It is described as a bird that will respond to a call, but will not show itself. Photo searches on flickr and google reflect this difficulty. There are very few photos. Some are at night and some appear to be fleeting glimpses of a darting bird.

So at 10:00 am at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, while hoping to find a Clapper Rail, a Black Rail was the last thing I expected to see crawl out of the marsh grass to take a bath.

Looking at the EXIF data, I had four minutes and four seconds with this bird. In this time he came out three times for quick baths. I took 130 photos with the shutter basically held down while the bird was in view.

Researching this bird was very interesting. There are quite a few stories out there about searching for and/or finding this elusive bird. I would be interested in hearing any from the flickr world.

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Northern Harrier Anahuac NWR, Texas

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:00:05 -0700

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Texas is a nice place to watch Northern Harriers.

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Snowy Egret with prey

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:19:58 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Snowy Egret. Anahuac NWR, Texas.

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Reddish Egret

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:20:38 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Some herons and egrets we don't see in Chicagoland. Anahuac, Texas. This young Reddish Egret was on top of a wire container full of clam shells. Do not know the purpose of these containers.

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Black-necked Stilt

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:04:39 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Sunrise at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas.

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Loggerhead Shrike

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:06:44 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas.

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American Avocet

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:13:02 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Sunrise at Anahuac NWR, Texas.

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Snowy Egret with prey

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:01:51 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Snowy Egret with fish. Anahuac NWR, Texas. He fought off a Great Egret trying to steal this fish. After a few attempts at swallowing he gave up and left it on the shore. Anybody know what kind of fish?

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Cattle Egret with prey

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:53:31 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Cattle Egret with Grasshopper Anahuac NWR, Texas.

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King Rail

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:34:15 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Anahuac NWR, Texas. This secretive rail was slinking around the water's edge. I got just a couple unobstructed shots. The bottom photo is a suspected Clapper Rail. I put it on an ID forum and that was the consensus. But the ID is complicated by the fact that they share the same range, look and sound nearly identical, and hybridize with King Rails. It seems that the gray (rather than brown) edges of the feathers is a good indicator for Clapper. Anyone have an opinion?

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American Alligator

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:39:44 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

An attempt at a Matt Hansen. I have some more work to do, but it's a start. Anahuac NWR, Texas. He gave me just a few seconds to grab a photo and then he slowly submerged out of view.

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Great Egret with Prey

nobody@flickr.com (Hard-Rain) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:34:04 -0800

Hard-Rain posted a photo:

Anahuac NWR, Texas. Straight from camera except for slight crop from top and right. 300mm, f5.0, 1/2500, ISO 250. Tacked on a couple documention photos...Vermillion Flycatcher and River Otter. Both firsts.

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