Dearest All,

It’s Sunday, April 2, and Harold and I arrived last Wednesday, March 29. We hit the ground running and had all the feeders in tip-top shape by late the next day. It really helped that Neal’s staff had already put some of the feeders out and filled them with seeds. We did a little re-arranging and added a few things here and there.

Birds AND birders have been all a-buzz since we got here. We’ve already had a group of 18 from “up East” led by Mark Garland. They were a delightful group
and seemed to have a really good time here. It was their first trip to Neal’s, and for some of them, their first trip to Texas. They are my kind of birders--laid back and relaxed. Many in the group got to see the rare Rufous-capped Warbler that has been here since at least March 22, when a birder from Dallas spotted it in front of Cabins 41 and 42. Although Harold and I still have not seen it, it has been seen almost daily since we got here. Mostly, it’s being seen behind Buchanan’s Cabin 61, and today some folks were sitting at the right place at the right time when it appeared at the water drip there. It’s also being seen on the west side of the river in the brush below Cabin 22. Is there a pair of them? We hope so. Maybe even two pairs?

We’ve also had five people from The Nature Conservancy here this weekend. One was from Santa Fe, NM; one from Australia; and three from WV. They are all on their way to an international gathering of those who work for The Nature Conservancy. They were a fun bunch and all top-knotch birders. Others were here from Manitoba, FL, N.J., NY, D.C., PA, WI, and of course, TX.

Last night our first three birders from the British Isles arrived. They found the Golden-cheeked Warbler at the top of the hill behind Cabin 61. Lots of other folks have seen it there, too.

The Yellow-breasted Chat arrived yesterday, so the Black-capped Vireo can’t be far behind. They almost always arrive a day or two apart. And this morning,
the first Summer Tanager was singing outside our cabin.

Dozens of hummers are busy around the sugar-water feeders. Most are Blackchins, but there are a few Rubythroats, too. The Blackchin females are gathering cotton that we “planted” near their feeders.

Hooded Orioles are regular visitors at the sugar water, too. They are so gorgeous in their velvety orange and black. The Black-throated Sparrows are
performing at the Cattle Guard feeders as are other sparrows. So far, we’ve seen 14 species of sparrows. We’ve discovered that the field next to the Pecan Grove is a sparrow paradise. Yesterday we had great views of Grasshopper Sparrows, and some people saw Cassin’s Sparrow, which is really a good find. And a Red-shouldered Hawk has been showing off in that field.

We think Eastern Bluebirds are attempting to nest in the box we put up on the Pecan Grove Trail. There’s a little dried grass in the box, and every time we
drive by there we see bluebirds on the telephone wires.

Monday, April 3, 2006
Weather was nice and pleasant this morning. First morning we’ve actually had sunshine early in the day. Harold and I (and twelve other birders) sat at
Cabin 61 almost all morning, hoping the Rufous-capped Warbler would show, but no luck. The three Brits saw the pair of Goldencheeks up the trail again before they discovered that they had locked the keys in their rental car. I drove over to the store to find someone to help them. A customer who was there at the moment told me she was good at jimmying locks; so we gave her a coat hanger, and she went over to help them out. By the time I got back over there they said they also needed something long to pry the door slightly open so she could get the coat hanger inside. I loaned them my great, long, strong screwdriver, and they had it open in no time. The Brits were eternally grateful. They left soon after to go to their next stop.

Gray Catbird was new at 61 this morning, and the Yellow-breasted Chat flew through a few times. White-eyed Vireos came and did their quick fly-through at the water drip. They are so funny when they take a bath. They flit down into the water and barely get wet, then hop up to a perch and shake, then back into the water again.

When we got to the cattle guard this morning, we found that SOMETHING had gnawed holes in our water drip jug. That’s the first time that’s happened. We may have to start taking it in at night, too, along with some of the feeders.

A couple from Austin, Ray and Roz Hodson, saw a Say’s Phoebe along the River Trail this morning.

We’ve decided to treat ourselves to dinner at Vinny’s in Leakey tonight. And since we still haven’t made it to HEB in Uvalde, we may stop at the grocery store there to pick up a few supplies. (Kathy and Mike from St. Louis just stopped by to invite us to go to Vinny’s, so we’re going to meet them there at 5:30.)

Later: The grocery store in Leakey was closed so we went to a small convenience store and picked up another 2.5 gallon jug of water for the Cattle Gurard.
BTW, we had chicken picatta at Vinny’s. Delicioso!

Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Before I forget to say it, several birders told us today they had eaten at Vinny’s and loved it! So my account of it in the new book is paying off.

Now for today: Got up at 7 instead of 7:30, and that worked out much better. I made peanut butter sandwiches and coffee for us to take on our rounds so we wouldn’t have to eat breakfast so late. At the Cattle Guard we found that the water bottle had been tampered with again by some night critter. We improvised and turned on the water faucet to a slow drip. Heard a Greater Roadrunner calling but didn’t see it. On the Pecan Grove Trail we saw a male Eastern Bluebird darting into the nestbox twice with nest material. Hooray!!!! Let’s hope no critters interfere with this nesting process.

After we finished our rounds we went to Neal’s Frio River Trail and set up folding chairs in the Rufous-capped Warbler’s territory to see if we could hear
or see the little rascal. Stayed there an hour with no success on that count. While Harold walked to the end of the road I stayed put, and a curious
Yellow-throated Warbler paid me a visit only 10 feet away from my face in a low-hanging limb. I looked up to see a number of vultures soaring overhead and saw a Zone-tailed Hawk among them. A new one for the list. Also, a Great Blue Heron did a fly-over. Another new one for the list. We finally gave up our search for the RCW and went to Cabin 61 and sat for a couple of hours. Several other birders were there, and we enjoyed their company while watching all the usuals at the seeds, peanuts, sugar water, and drip: Hooded Oriole, Olive Sparrow, Long-billed Thrasher, Gray Catbird, Spotted Towhee, and Rufous-crowned Sparrow being the most notable.

While at 61 I decided we needed to do a little re-arranging of the feeders and went back later when no one was there to move the tray feeder so more people could see it from their chairs and added another oriole feeder that everyone can see.

Went to the Diamond Shamrock for a sandwich “to go” and took it to our favorite picnic spot by the river at the end of Neal’s campground. Saw the Black
Phoebe but no Green Kingfisher. Someone else saw it later in the day.

Ron Sprouse was waiting for us when we got to the cabin. He brought us a huge plastic box filled with sunflower seed he had gathered when a truckload of
the seeds turned over on HWY 83 during the winter. That will be a huge help at all our feeders.

We finally went to Uvalde this afternoon to do some grocery shopping and stopped at TSC to get food for the bluebirds. We got “Bluebird Nuggets” and a
special mix of nuts and fruit to put in the mealworm feeder that Marci and Brian Swanson (from Virginia) sent us last year. We’ll watch it for a while tomorrow
to see if we have any takers. We ended up pouring a little over $200 into Uvalde’s economy with our purchases of gas, groceries, and bird food. (See there?
Birders DO help the economy of the communities where they bird.)

When we got back to the cabin, Larry Arnold from Colorado was waiting to talk to me while Harold unloaded and put away the groceries. I went back inside for a few minutes, then out to the car to get something, and lo and behold, there was a group of men from CO, AZ, and NJ with Ed Stonick who had e-mailed me earlier. Lee Haile also showed up with a digital video of an Audubon’s Oriole he took in his yard in Tarpley last winter. After sending them on their way I went back inside, then back to the car, and a couple from Vancouver Island, B.C., were there to ask, “Where is Neal’s Lodge?” They were so gracious and said they had read my articles in WildBird magazine and decided to come down for a
visit. I told them about all the trails and sent them over to the office to check in.

We went back over to Cabin 61 to make other changes in feeder arrangements where Jerry from Lake Conroe helped, then to the bluebird nestbox and back to our cabin to eat the roasted chicken and great potato salad we bought at HEB in Uvalde. After supper we went back to Cabin 61 to sit until time to take in the feeders. Three other couples were there: one from Michigan, one from Manchester, England, and one from Austin.

It was a very large day, and I’m about ready to turn in, but not before I check the list. We’re up to 124 species with 92 of them seen at Neal’s!



Wednesday, April 5, 2006
I’m going to try to hit just the highlights for today, because it was another VERY LARGE DAY! The last stop on our “rounds” each day is The Pecan Grove.
When we stopped to check the feeder and drip and as we drove through, we heard Bell’s and Yellow-throated Vireos singing and American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins were at the feeder and on the ground. We decided to stop about 30 yards
away from the first bluebird nestbox and eat our breakfast there. The female bluebird made repeated trips into the box with dried grass. Once, when she was occupied inside the box, the male stood guard on top of the box. Harold checked the bluebird food we put out yesterday afternoon and said it looked as if nothing had even taken a nibble. We’re hoping they will find it soon.

We checked the nestbox in front of Mary Anna and Rodger’s house and found a full nest about six inches high with at least two blue eggs. We are so excited! Just hope and pray no critters get the eggs.

We sat at the Cattle Guard feeders for about two hours and heard the Verdin singing its two-notes-then-three, repeatedly. We kept hoping it would come to the cotton like it did last year and the year before. The Pyrrhuloxia made a few appearances, which always thrills us. We heard the Roadrunner calling again today. We saw an Olive Sparrow, which was the first time either of us remembers seeing it at this location. It’s usually at Cabin 61.

We re-arranged some of the feeders at the Cattle Guard: took away the small sugar-water feeder that has no perches for the orioles and replaced it with one that has perches. The Hooded Oriole appeared just a few minutes after we made the change. We also added a hanging tray feeder in the foreground.

On our way from the Cattle Guard we drove up into the Screech-Owl Trail to see if we could find the Eastern Screech-Owl that has roosted in the trees in
front of Cabin 18 for YEARS! Eagle-eye Harold first spotted whitewash on the ground at the end of one of the picnic tables. We knew to look straight up from there, and sure enough, there it was snoozing away. Later in the day I took two groups of four people there to see it: two couples from Michigan, a couple from the Valley and a couple from Vancouver Island. They all got to see the owl open its eyes, look straight at us, then yawn. It looked totally bored with all our attention. It’s so much fun to make a find such as this and know (almost without a doubt) that we can take people there and show it to them. One man got a really good digital photo of the owl’s face.

When we went to the store around noon, they told us that Mike (on Neal’s staff) was ready to install some additional trail signs that he had made for us.
So we led him around the grounds until they were all posted. Now, it will be easier for birders to follow the trails that are on our beautiful new color-coded trail map. One of the most important signs is one that says PLEASE STAY ON THE TRAIL, the trail near Cabin 61 where the Rufous-capped and Golden-cheeked Warblers have been seen. It’s also the Black-capped Vireo’s territory, but we still haven’t heard a peep out of him yet.

While we were showing Mike the way on all the trails, Rodger made chicken salad sandwiches for us. We took them to our favorite spot on the river for a
leisurely lunch. We felt so relaxed there we got our folding chairs out of the Burb and took a little nap. On our way out of the campground another couple from Michigan waved us down, and we stopped to talk to them for a while.

We finally got our laundry done and went to the cabin to cook bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast for supper. Just as we finished, there was a knock at our
door. It was Tom Hince from Point Pelee. He is here to “scout” for the group he will bring back to Neal’s for the weekend. It’s always pleasant to visit with
him. As we sat in the chairs in front of our cabin, Tom told me it was so unbelievably nice to be able to sit outside, because it was snowing today at Point Pelee.

Tonight I had an e-mail from Mitch Heindel, a top-notch birder who lives in Utopia. He sent me his list of sightings for the past week and added 14 species
to our list, which now stands at 136 species. The list includes birds sighted in the area covered by my BIRDER’S GUIDE TO CONCAN, TEXAS (AND SURROUNDING AREA, which I’ve recently revised and expanded. And so ended another LARGE DAY at Neal’s in the Texas Hill Country.

April 6, 2006
By the time we made our rounds this morning we had seen 10 new birders. Ava and George are here from Seattle. He looks very much like George Gere. :-)
Others were from VT, LA, Iowa, and Connecticut. This afternoon we came home to find a couple from Bristol, England, waiting in front of our cabin.

We’re meeting Susan Lynch at Mama Chole’s in Leakey for supper at 5:30. (Turned out to be a great place to eat! I’d recommend it to anyone!)

Today, we added Black-bellied Whistling-Duck that someone saw in Utopia Park; House Wren and Brown-crested Flycatcher near Cabin 61. Harold and I also saw the Brown-crested Flycatcher on Mariposa Drive off of River Road.

We had lunch again by the river and the Green Kingfisher came flying out of the little inlet beyond the last picnic table in the campground. (We wonder if it’s nesting in that inlet. It flies in and out of there pretty often.) He sat on a rock mid-river for a long time. Also saw Yellow-throated and Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers among other species. Other birders saw numerous Northern Parulas along the river this morning.

We drove down River Road to see how far we could go before the road was blocked. They’re building a new bridge at the second crossing, just before you get to 7 Bluff, so in order to get THERE one must drive around by HWY 83 to River Road.

April 7, 2006
Did our rounds, ending with the Pecan Grove, where other birders had already seen Blue Grosbeak and Vesper Sparrow, both new for our list. Ate our
breakfast while watching the bluebird nestbox. The female is still taking nesting material (dried grass) into the box while the male sits on top. Once, when she came out of the box, they both flew to the bluebird feeder. They sat there for a while but didn’t appear to get anything out of it. We’re still hoping they find the goodies we put there for them. We put some of the bluebird nuggets on top of the nestbox. Maybe they’ll find those.

At the Cattle Guard our best sightings were: A male Summer Tanager singing in the dead tree at the top of the hill; a Swainson’s Hawk flying over; Verdin
with cotton in its beak (somehow we missed seeing it grab the cotton), then one sat in the top of a tree eating the buds; male and female Hooded Orioles came to the water dish numerous times. (I’d never seen orioles actually bathing before.)

Met Al Perry, nature photographer from Evansville,IN, who is participating in a photo contest. He has been assigned to Annandale Ranch for the month of April. He told me that Golden-cheeked Warblers are on the ranch and offered to take me to see them whenever we have time. I don’t know when that will be.

Drove to Sabinal to pick up a prescription and to have lunch at Brown’s Pharmacy. On our way we drove the Sabinal Feedlot route as described in my book. Not many birds, but we had good looks at Grasshopper Sparrow and added Brewer’s Blackbird and Savannah Sparrow to the list. Also saw numerous meadowlarks, but they didn’t make a peep, so we’re not sure if they are Western or Eastern.

When we got back to Neal’s we took the Cafe birdlist to the store so I could update both of them before the cafe opened for the weekend. We now have 149
species on the list.

We sat with Nona Nunnelly (from Muncie, IN) and friends at supper, then I talked to a couple from England who saw the Rufous-capped Warbler today almost at the end of the River Trail. Whew! We were afraid it was gone, because no one had reported seeing it since April 1.

After supper I met a couple of young women from the Houston area and showed them the Eastern Screech-Owl. It was sitting farther out on the limb than it does earlier in the day, and it was swaying back and forth. I think it was getting ready to depart for its night of hunting. We then went to the Cattle Guard where I stayed with them for a few minutes, long enough for both of them to get a couple of lifers.

LeAnn Sharp came by after leading the bat tour. She brought a couple of sparrow traps for Mary Anna to use at the feeders in front of the store.

Another VERY LARGE DAY!

Saturday, April 8, 2006
After rounds we went down to the River Trail and found Tom Hince and group. We followed them around a while, because we knew that if ANYONE could find the Rufous-capped Warbler, it would be Tom who is a warbler expert from Point Pelee! Well, we didn’t find that one, but we found lots more including two new species for the list: Black-throated Green Warbler and Blue-headed Vireo. While we were with Tom’s group a Zone-tailed Hawk did a fly-over.

Back at the feeders in front of the store, the Brown Thrasher was seen again.

We went to Neal’s Cafe for perfect poached eggs and all the trimmings, then off to Cabin 61 that was surprisingly active at 11:30 a.m. In addition to all
the usuals there, a Hermit Thrush came in for a drink and another (or maybe the same) Zone-tailed Hawk flew over low enough for good looks.

Went to the Pecan Grove a little after 1:00 where it was very quiet at the drip, so we drove around the grove and sat in our folding chairs a while. Along
came a parade of birds: Ash-throated Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Yellow-throated Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Carolina Chickadee, Chipping
Sparrow, Black-chinned Hummingbird nectaring at a flowering shrub, Black-crested Titmouse, and Carolina Wren. On our way out of The Grove we saw American Goldfinches, Mourning Doves, and another pair of Vermilion Flycatchers. I wish I knew how many pairs of this spectacular bird live at Neal’s Lodges. We drove through the parking lot at the bank and P.O. and found a pair of them in the same
location (on the fence at the P.O. end of the building) where we’ve seen them for three years.

We drove down River Road and stopped at River Oaks Resort parking lot to check out their mulberry tree. It is LOADED with berries that are still green. Saw no birds in the tree, but their martin house is really hopping. We’ll continue to watch the mulberry tree every few days until the berries ripen, then there’s no telling what we’ll see there.

Went down to Andy’s at River Road and visited with Jean Evans a while and saw what they are doing to develop Andy’s place. They’re building a really nice
deck out back with a huge fish pond. They plan to put hummingbird feeders and other bird feeders around the deck with pots of native plants, which should draw in the birds.

Went back to the cabin to relax a bit before time for Saturday night supper at Neal’s! A large group from England is expected in today as well as some
smaller groups including some friends of ours. Cora, Ila, Allie and her husband, and another couple of their friends arrived shortly before supper. We ate with them, then went to the Cattle Guard to bird with them until dusk.

Trying to get to bed at a decent hour.

Good night, all.

Sunday, April 9, 2006
Day started out at sunny and 44º. Really quite chilly down by the river. By noon it was in the 70s. Most notable sightings today: A dead tree in the Pecan
Grove looked as if it had been decorated for Halloween with Black and Turkey Vultures all over it. Two more in a snag looked like Count Dracula with their wings spread.

Spent time with Cora’s group, two women from D/FW area, and 13 Brits at Cabin 61. All the usuals, but no Black-capped Vireos or Rufous-capped Warbler.

While I was napping this afternoon, a family from CT & NY found the Rufous-capped Warbler on the River Trail near in the campground. Why can’t Harold and I
see it????

Found two birding friends from Waco, Gordon and Janda, sitting at the Cattle Guard when we went to check it. Had a good visit and saw some good birds, too.

Supper at Neal's Cafe, which is not usually open on Sunday night; but it’s going to be open all this week to accommodate all the birders who’ll be here.

Monday, April 10, 2006
Wow!! Our list is up to 164 species now! We added several today, beginning with a Great Egret fly-over that two birders from Canada saw early this morning
and a Great Crested Flycatcher at the Cattle Guard feeding area. While eating our breakfast in the car again while watching the bluebird box we finally got
to see and hear the Blue Grosbeak perched and singing in the top of a tree opposite the box. Also saw a pair of Pyrrhuloxia in the same area for the first time. The Red-shouldered Hawk put on a good show again. That seems to be its time of the morning to show off. We checked the bluebird box and found the nest to be as high (tall) as the one in front of Mary Anna and Rodger’s house. Couldn’t see any eggs yet, but the nuggets we put on top of the box yesterday were gone. We’re hoping the bluebirds ate them.

At Cabin 61 between 9 and 10 a.m. we were entertained by a Hermit Thrush, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Orange-crowned Warbler all at the water drip at the same time. And a Western Scrub-Jay came and gobbled up about a dozen peanuts before going for a drink. This is the first we’ve seen of this handsome bird this year. We thought of the couple from Michigan who were here last week. They looked and looked for this bird and never saw it. Too bad they couldn’t have stayed here a few more days.

Back at the Cattle Guard around 10:50 with the Ormans for great looks at the Verdin who loves the little balls on the tree behind our “feeder” tree.

Picked up Chile/Frito pie at the Concan General Store and took it to the river to eat. Saw the Green Kingfisher, Black Phoebe, and Spotted Sandpiper in
their usual places, and numerous Yellow-throated Warblers, which are quickly becoming my favorite birds. (It doesn’t hurt that Clair deBeauvoir’s great photo of this bird is on the cover of my newly revised Concan Guide.) Heard the lovely song of Canyon Wren and watched Northern Rough-winged Swallows land and take off near the place we were sitting. Couldn’t decide if they were gathering insects or nesting materials.

We inched our way along, from the last picnic table in the campground to the giant rocks at the beginning of the campground. This is the Rufous-capped Warbler’s territory where it has been seen numerous times. We sat for 30 minutes in each spot, hoping for a glimpse. I was determined to stay there until at least 2 p.m., which is the time it was seen yesterday in the same area. We still did not see it. (I MAY have gotten a quick glimpse of it once when a small bird with an olive back flitted through my view; but it certainly was not a good enough look to positively i.d. the bird.

I made the mistake of taking a nap again this afternoon; and while I was sleeping four birders saw the Rufous-capped Warbler at the water drip at Cabin 61. One of them even got a picture of it. I think Harold and I are doomed NOT to see this bird!! But we’re not giving up! I just won’t take any more naps!

Another Large Day in Concan!

Tuesday, April 11, 2006
I did NOT take a nap today, and great was my reward in birder’s heaven! I saw the Rufous-capped Warbler at the water drip at Cabin 61! It was exactly 4:01 p.m., and I had just remarked to Bev, sitting next to me, “He’s 30 minutes late.” (Some had seen him yesterday at 3:30 in the same place.) Suddenly, someone quietly said, “There’s THE WARBLER.” Everyone knew to look toward the water dish. Sure enough, a small olive-backed warbler with a distinctive rufous crown, white eyebrow, and birght yellow throat was flitting through the underbrush
beneath the juniper next to the drip. He hopped to the rim of the dish and plopped into the middle and splashed and splashed until everyone in the group (18 birders!) had killer looks. There was a collective sigh of relief or awe. I’m not sure which. (For Harold and me it was both, because up until that moment
it seemed that we were doomed not to see it.) After the long-awaited bird flitted back to the left and out of sight, we all did high-fives and thumbs-ups!
When it was all over I congratulated the group on not yelling in excitement when he came into view.

Once I overheard a birder say, “In birder’s heaven it’s always April.” I say, “In birder’s heaven it’s always April in Concan!” What a place! Out of 167
species seen since March 27 in the area covered in my Concan Guide, 108 have been seen here at Neal’s!

This afternoon’s sighting of THE WARBLER was anticlimactic for some in the crowd. A few of them were lucky enough to have been there this morning at 9:30 when the little charmer made another appearance. And two women from Arlington, G. Keilstrup and J. Choun, met me outside the cafe this morning when we were starting out to make our rounds and presented me with fantastic photos of the Rufous-capped they had taken yesterday. They also gave me great shots of “Barkus The Owl”, the Eastern Screech-Owl that hangs out near Cabins 16-19 every year and Long-billed Thrasher, Clay-colored Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Summer Tanager, and a Black-crested Titmouse “picking cotton” at the Cattle Guard. Ladies, thank you for great additions to my Spring 2006 Concan photo album. And thank you for putting your names on the photos.

Were there other highlights to this day? Well, yes! A male Bullock’s Oriole showed up at Cabin 61 at the same time a Hooded Oriole came for a drink of
sugar water. The Hooded was very polite and waited on a branch above while the Bullock’s drank its fill, then he came down to the feeder. They repeated this several times, much to the delight of the audience.

Another delightful visitor at the Cabin 61 water drip was a gorgeous Wilson’s Warbler. This and the Rufous-capped were both Lifers for Harold.

Activity at the Pecan Grove water drip is picking up. Today several species of warblers were seen splashing in the mud puddle beside the water basin:
Nashville, Yellow-throated, Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s race), Orange-crowned, and Black-throated Green, along with a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and American Goldfinch in fine spring plumage, while a Blue Grosbeak hung around the weed stalks behind
the drip. All in all, it was a very COLORFUL LARGE DAY in Concan!

Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 60º Cloudy. Clouds burned off by noon.

Harold and I took our breakfast to the Pecan Grove around 8:30 after making rounds. Things were really hopping there until 9:45. A gorgeous golden-colored
female Summer Tanager came for a drink at the drip. And at one time there was a Blue Grosbeak on one side of the water basin and a male Eastern Bluebird on the other side.

The warblers really love the mud puddles that form at the lower right corner of the water basin. Yellow-throated Warbler came several times to splash, as
did Ruby-crowned Kinglet, canary-yellow American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins; and an Orange-crowned Warbler went to the deepest puddle directly under the corner of the basin. He almost disappeared, but we could tell he was there by the spray of water that splashed up and out of the hole.

The Cattle Guard Feeding Area was quite active from 11:25 to noon. There we saw both Brown and Long-billed Thrasher, Olive Sparrow, numerous Clay-colored Sparrows, our favorite Black-throated Sparrows, Canyon Towhee and many others. Once when I glanced down at one of the water dishes a male Indigo Bunting was drinking. It almost took our breath away. Although other birders saw it yesterday and the day before, it was the first one we’d seen this year. We thought we heard a Scarlet Tanager nearby, but, if it was there, it never came to the
water. Maybe tomorrow we’ll be so lucky as to see it. (After supper tonight we saw a Yellow-throated Warbler at the Cattle Guard water drip. Of course, it
preferred the mud puddle. It was the first time we’d seen this particular warbler in that place.)

While sitting there we heard the Greater Roadrunner’s mournful calls but
didn’t see it. When we went down the road to our usual turn-around place, I saw some movement among the Prickly Pear Cactus near the fence and saw a Roadrunner’s tail twitching up and down as they often do. In a minute we saw its head peak above the cactus. We stopped the car in the middle of the road and sat there watching the show for at least five minutes. The Roadrunner cocked its head
to one side then the other as if looking or listening for some prey to make a move or a sound. Then it pecked at something on the fence post. He hopped up to the barbwire fence, then to the post and looked down into the cactus as if trying to determine the prey’s exact location. I love the way a Roadrunner becomes horizontal when it walks any distance. It did this several times as it walked and ran around the cactus bushes. It finally ran out of our sight.

When we went back to the Pecan Grove later around noon, it was very quiet. We saw two women from California who had been here for three days. They were getting ready to leave for the airport in San Antonio and their flight back home this afternoon. One woman said she wanted to tell me how therapeutic these three days had been for her. She had lost her husband to lung cancer only three
weeks ago; and since this trip was planned months ago she decided to go through with the trip. With tears in her voice and her eyes, she said the total
change of scenery had done her a world of good. More proof that the beautiful birds we so love to watch have healing in their wings.


Thursday, April 13, 2006
Today was PAINTED BUNTING DAY!!! They must have arrived last night, because they were at Cabin 61 and the Cattle Guard early this morning. One individual at the Cattle Guard had a yellow band across its chest. It didn’t look like a moulting bird. Perhaps it’s just an aberrant bird. (I’ll look for it again tomorrow because it is quite distinctive.) Whatever the reason, it was beautiful! Indigo Bunting was also at the Cattle Guard.

The Pecan Grove was really hopping from a little after 8 until about 10:30 this morning. We sat with a couple from England, a man from NC, and a man from CA. It was really interesting when a group of warblers appeared for a mud bath. Among the six of us we never could decide if we were seeing Mourning Warbler. We KNOW we saw Wilson’s, Nashville, Orange-crowned, Yellow-throated, and Yellow-rumped (Myrtle race) Warblers along with a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but we were a little doubtful about some of the warblers because we couldn’t determine
if they had “crescents” or “eye rings” or “complete” or “broken” eye rings. I love it when we all have to look in the books to try to i.d. a bird. Makes for
lively discussions. And we had Kaufman, Sibley, and National Geographic field guides to consult! We never did decide, and the birds in question never came back while we were there.

Scores of American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins were feeding on the ground. Some of the male goldfinches are in their gorgeous spring plumage. A
hummingbird kept hovering around the dripping water and finally dipped its tail into the water several times. They bathe almost like the vireos, like they’re afraid they’re going to get too wet. Around 9:30 I went to Neal’s Store to pick up another hanging tray feeder to try with bluebird food in it. It took the goldfinches and White-winged Doves exactly 15 minutes to find the treasure. We saw
Eastern Bluebirds in the grove, but none came to my offering. Maybe tomorrow! Blue Grosbeak also came to the water. After a while everyone (all the birders)
left but me. A Merlin came and perched over the feeding area for a few minutes, and of course, everything else scattered and disappeared.

The VENT group sat at Cabin 61 almost all morning waiting for the Rufous-capped Warbler to appear with no success. When we got to the cafe for lunch (They were open for this large group of birders), Jessica, our waitress, told me she saw the warbler in the trees right in front of the cafe around 10 a.m. She described the bird to me perfectly. She had seen the photo Glenda Keilstrup took at Cabin 61 a few days ago. When I told the VENT group about it they decided to stay a little longer after lunch and bird along the river below the cafe. I don’t think they ever found the warbler. (Lunch, by the way, was delicious! Spaghetti with meat sauce, green salad, garlic bread, and peach cobbler.)

After lunch things were hopping at the Cattle Guard. We first saw a male Indigo Bunting, then in a few minutes along came the male PB with the yellow
across its chest. Then another came along without the yellow band. So we know we saw two individual birds.

We went back to the Pecan Grove around 2:30 and sat with a couple from Conroe for a while. Saw most of the usuals plus a brilliant Black-and-white Warbler. We were getting a little warm around 3, so we decided to go to the cabin to cool off.

We promised to meet an Illinois couple at Cabin 61 after supper. When we arrived there at about 7:10, a fellow from NC was sitting there and the Illinois
people were not there. The North Carolinian had come to Neal’s especially to see the Rufous-capped Warbler and had been looking for it for several hours. Harold got out to move some chairs so I could drive through. Just as I was about to park the Burb, both men signaled for me to look toward the bird bath. And there was the Rufous-capped Warbler! It flitted from one side of the water dish to the other, occasionally dipping into the water, then up again to the rim. We watched it for at least a minute, then it flew off to the left. By the time I got out of the car, it was back again. What a treat! Now, I know I’m not
supposed to be anthropomorhic about birds, but let me tell you. This bird has personality. It is so perky, very much like a wren in its actions, and most of
the time its tail is cocked like a wren’s. It is not a shy bird at all. Birders sit a little over 10 feet away from the water dish, but it comes right on out. It always comes onstage from the left, plays around in the low brush, then flits to the water. What a charmer!

When I went over to the store a little before 9 p.m., four birders from Sweden had just checked in. They had been birding in the Rio Grande Valley before
coming here. They will be here for only two days. I showed them the new birding trail map and told them where they could find different birds. I advised them to stay here at Neal’s tomorrow for all the great birds here, THEN to go other places to look for the Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo. I think they will see why I said that after they’ve been here a few hours.

What a day! And it can only get better!

Good Friday, April 14, 2006
This was a relatively slow day bird-wise but good, nonetheless. While eating breakfast in the Pecan Grove, Harold and I enjoyed watching two female
Black-chinned Hummingbirds flying through the water drip, then hovering over the water before finally settling down in a shallow spot for an actual bath. They did this repeatedly for about five minutes. We heard the Red-shouldered Hawk and Summer Tanager calling from a distance, and a male Vermilion Flycatcher was on its usual low perch on a pecan tree.

At the Cattle Guard between 9:40 and 11, the Greater Roadrunner gave a repeat performance from last year. It perched in the top of the dead tree at the top of the hill below Cabin 56 and called and called for a long time. Its mournful cry sounded quite pitiful. We wondered it it was looking for its mate. After a while it left this lofty perch, and in a few minutes we saw another Roadrunner skulking through the underbrush very near to our chairs.

Bob Rasa (from Uvalde) was here all morning and sat with several different groups who were looking for the Rufous-capped Warbler. Bob kept kidding me and telling me to go on back to my cabin to take a nap. He told the group that that would assure their seeing the warbler. We left them a little after 12 to go to the cafe for chalupas, the special for the day.

It was too hot to sit out at any of the feeding areas this afternoon, so we came to the cabin around 3:15 to cool off and take a nap. Went back to the cafe
at 6 and ran into Liz and Don Barrett and invited them to eat supper at our table. They live on a ranch between Concan and Sabinal. It’s always fun to
visit with them. (I got to know Liz back in 1996 when I had to spend five days in the hospital in Uvalde during one of my Fall visits to Concan. Liz was my main nurse during that unexpected stay.) When it got close to 7 p.m., I began to get a little antsy to get back over to Cabin 61 to try for the Rufous-capped again. When we got there a little after 7, a group of about 10 birders had just seen it at the water dish. Tomorrow night we’ll try to get there BEFORE 7!

Another large group from England arrived late this afternoon. They came to Cabin 61 just in time to see a male Painted Bunting come to the sunflower seeds
several times. The English woman sitting next to me was in awe and remarked that there is just no other bird quite like the Painted Bunting. I wanted to
tell her about the Indian legend that says this was the last bird that God made. Since he was almost out of paint, God painted the bird with a little dab of
this and a little dab of that, ending up with an Easter egg sort of bird. I venture to say that the male Painted Bunting is one of the most spectacular
creatures in all creation. This was indeed a GOOD FRIDAY.

Saturday, April 15, 2006
It’s a never-ending, ever-changing show! No matter where you go at Neal’s, the Cattle Guard, Pecan Grove, Cabin 61, or Cabin 5, the drama is ever-present. At the Cattle Guard this morning, a Yellow-throated Warbler surprised us by going to the sunflower feeder. It looked as if it were getting seeds! But warblers are not supposed to eat seeds, right? If it wasn’t eating them, it surely fooled us! Perhaps it was finding insects there, or maybe it had not read the book.

At Cabin 61 a male Painted Bunting fed at the sunflower seeds for a long time and then went to the sugar-water feeder and drank its fill. I had never
before seen a Painted Bunting at a hummingbird feeder. Then it went to the plastic jug that we use as a “drip” and tried to drink from the spigot. As if that were not enough, talk about performers in colorful costumes. At one time there was a female Hooded Oriole drinking at the sugar water while the male Painted Bunting perched on top of the bottle, and a male Hooded Oriole was sitting on the limb right next to the PB, waiting his turn at the nectar .A Westerm Scrub-Jay made cameo appearances several times on the middle rock at 61. He called noisily before flying in from stage right, grabbing a peanut or two or three, then making his exit the same way he came in.

The Pecan Grove was active between 1 and 2:30 p.m. We had the pleasure of the company of birders from Seattle, Sweden, England, and Texas. The couple from Seattle watched an Eastern Bluebird enter a hole in a dead limb near the feeding area and pointed it out to us. So I’m assuming we have bluebirds nesting not only in the nestboxes but in tree cavitis as well. We’ll keep an eye on that dead limb. Hooray for bluebirds! While sitting with the four gentlemen from Sweden in the Pecan Grove, they got four Lifers in 30 minutes, including Painted Bunting, which they just couldn’t get enough of; Ash-throated Flycatcher that one of them digiscoped; Lark Sparrow; and we heard a Barred Owl calling.
They looked for it but did not find it. As we were driving out of the Grove, around by the bluebird box, we saw numerous Black and Turkey Vultures feeding on carrion in a depression near the picnic area. We drove closer so we could see better, and two Crested Caracara flew up from the carrion. We drove back
through the Grove to make sure the English and Swedish birders had seen the Caracara, and they had.

We went back to our Cabin 5 in the heat of the day, and I had orchestra seats at our patio windows while Harold napped. The list of characters performing there included: a swarm of Black-chinned Hummingbirds fighting off the bees that are still sucking the sugar-water feeders dry every day; Lesser Goldfinches at the thistle feeder; Bewick’s and Carolina Wrens hopping about the patio floor looking for insects; male and female Hooded Orioles at the oriole feeder; and the mammalian vacuum cleaners, Rock and Fox Squirrels, cleaning up the
sunflower seeds spread on the picnic table.

Backtracking a bit: This morning we ran into the British group, Speyside Wildlife, and they were all ecstatic. They had been walking along the River Trail
on the west side of the river around 9:30, where they happened upon a singing Rufous-capped Warbler. They had very close looks at it for as long as they wanted to look. I’m telling you, this bird is NOT shy! Others saw it at the water drip at Cabin 61 at 8:20 a.m.

I predict that there will be a full house outside Cabin 61 tonight, waiting for the RCW’s performance that has been starting around 7 p.m. the last few nights.

Later Saturday night:
Well, sure enough! There was standing room only for a stellar performance. The star of the show came to center stage at exactly 6:52 p.m. for its nightly
ballet at the water drip. No one had to consult the Playbill to see who the thespian was. The crowd sat in stunned silence as all 30 of us watched this
precious little bird do its nightly toilette. As usual, it came in low from stage left, flitted to the water dish (that was almost empty by the way), and splashed and splashed anyway. It hopped up to a perch over the dish to shake and preen, then into the water again before exiting. At 6:55 here it came again for an encore. The little warbler doesn’t seem to care how many are in the audience. It performed this morning for only one spectator and tonight for 30! It seems that its philosophy is, “The show must go on.”

Another LARGE DAY IN CONCAN!

Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006
My alarm clock went off at 6:45. Groggily, I turned off the alarm and the light on and got out of bed. Just then, there was a loud knock at my door. When I called to ask who it was, “It’s the Swedes,” a voice answered. I opened the door to see all four of them standing there with grins on their faces. Last night they spotted and heard Common Poorwill in the field near the Pecan Grove and Lesser Nighthawk near their Cabin 66. They were very pleased with their
entire experience in the Hill Country. When I asked them how they knew to come here, they told me most Swedish birders who come to America have been advised to come to Neal’s in Concan for an outstanding birding experience. I’m sure they will send others in years to come. They were off to High Island today.

The Pecan Grove was active from 8-8:55 this morning. At the time it was pleasantly cool, so we took our breakfast to eat there. A male Summer Tanager came to bathe after the hummers finished their water dance. In the mud puddle we saw Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned, and Nashville Warblers. Birds heard included Eastern Bluebird, White-eyed Vireo, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Blue Grosbeak, and Yellow-throated Vireo among others. On the way out of The Grove we also heard Bell’s Vireo and Yellow-breasted Chat.

We never got back to the Cattle Guard to sit and watch today after putting out food early this morning. The temp got into the 90s, and it was just too miserable to sit there. We did go back after lunch to replenish food and water. We had my favorite Sunday lunch at Neal’s Cafe: pear salad, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green peas and carrots.

I’m proclaiming today as BOB RASA DAY. At 1:30 as we were walking out of the store, Bob (from Uvalde) got out of his car and was yelling to us, “Yes! I got the warbler! Yes! Yes! Yes!” Bless his heart. He has brought so many people to Neal’s to look for this bird and has sat with countless birders from all over, and today, while he was alone, was his first time for him to see it. Congratulations, Bob! And thanks for all that you do to promote Neal’s. He told us that it really would not have mattered to him if he had NOT seen it, because he so enjoys helping others to see it. That’s the spirit, Bob!

Two large tour groups from England are still here, and everyone hurried to the cafe to eat an early supper at 5:30 in hopes of getting to Cabin 61 for the nightly RCW show. At 6:25 as I pulled into the driveway that leads to Cabin 61, 12 or 15 birders were coming OUT. I knew something was up. Yes, it was their THUMBS UP! They had seen the warbler at 6:20, just a few minutes before I got there. I sat until 8:15 with another large group who were disappointed that the bird never showed up for an encore. But they are not giving up. They all said they will be back again tomorrow. I think birders must be among the most patient people in the world. They are certainly persistent in their pursuit of wild creatures that take them to some beautiful spots in the world. Concan in the Texas Hill Country just has to be among the most beautiful! (And I’m not
prejudiced one little bit!)

Monday, April 17, 2006
Today was LION KING DAY! No, we didn’t see a lion roaming around Neal’s. We didn’t see a Mountain Lion either. We didn’t even see a feral cat today that I remember. But we did meet Valerie Gebert and Rob Taylor who are associated with the traveling company that is producing THE LION KING at the Majestic Theater in San Antonio for the next six weeks. Valerie is Musical Director for the show, and Rob is Concert Master. Valerie grew up in North Dakota, and Rob is from upstate New York and has been birding since he was three years old. Rob got
Valerie interested in birding several years ago, and now they go birding every chance they get when they are on tour (all over the country) with the show.

Valerie went on the internet and googled “Birding Around San Antonio,” and of course, the website for Neal’s came up with my e-mail address on it. She
e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago to see if I had any suggestions for them for a day trip on a Monday since that is their only day off. I suggested today, and so we met them at Neal’s Store at 9 this morning. The rest, as they say, is history.

What a delightful twosome! We learned very quickly that Rob is an excellent “ear birder”. His musical talent has been a tremendous factor in his learning
bird songs and calls. Our first stop was the observation deck behind the new addition to Neal’s Cafe. Valerie was delighted with the sounds and sights of numerous Purple Martins flying around the martin house outside the back of the cafe. We also spotted a Yellow-rumped Warbler playing around in the acacias below the deck.

Our next stop was the Cattle Guard where the sun was already bearing down. Nevertheless, Valerie quickly racked up a few Lifers. We kept hearing the
Greater Roadrunner, but it never showed itself. A very late Brown Thrasher was at the water drip and seeds. Canyon Towhee and Black-throated Sparrow showed up on cue as did a number of other regulars. We heard Bell’s Vireo that would have been a Lifer for Rob, but it would not come out into the open. We drove them to the top of the hill to show them my favorite view in the whole world and then to the end of the Cattle Guard Trail. There we saw the three Welsh birders who have been here a few days, and we all had brilliant views of a Brown-crested
Flycatcher through Rob’s scope. We also found the nest of a Bell’s Vireo high on an overhanging branch.

At Cabin 61 a male Painted Bunting came to the sugar-water feeder several times. Another Lifer for Valerie. She described it as a mixture of mustard and
catchup. A Yellow-breasted Chat tantalized us with its incessant, insane calls. How can a bird that large and that loud elude us? A pair of Olive Sparrows
entertained us with their antics at the bath. One of them finally just sat in the water as if soaking in a hot tub. You could almost hear its sighs of comfort
and joy as it soaked in the sunfilled water dish.

By this time we were all getting hungry, so we stopped at Neal’s Store and ordered sandwiches from the Concan General Store where there is a deli. (Neal’s Cafe was closed for lunch today.) While we were waiting to go pick up the sandwiches, we stopped at the bank/P.O. parking lot to see the resident Vermilion Flycatchers. Sure enough, they were home. Go there, and you can bank on seeing these brilliant birds. Don Castello from Waco was also sitting there, using his van as a blind, hoping to get close photos of the pair.

We took lunch to our favorite picnic table at the end of Neal’s campground. The Red-shouldered Hawk put on a good show for us, giving us a chance to see
the “windows” in its wings. I glimpsed, and Rob heard, a Wood Duck as it did a quick fly-by. They got great views of Yellow-throated Warblers, and Valerie saw her first-ever Carolina Chickadee on the ground just a few feet away. When I told Rob to walk down to the inlet behind the picnic table to see if he could
see the Green Kingfishers that I’m sure must be nesting there, the kingfisher flew between two cypress trees and past Rob’s back. He did not see it, it was so fast and silent. We heard a Ladder-backed Woodpecker calling from a distance on the other side of the fence, so Valerie and Rob went to track it down. Another Lifer for Valerie. When they got back to us we saw a Blue Grosbeak and Summer Tanager, and we heard “the voice of the Texas Hill Country,” the Canyon Wren singing its cascading song. Also showed them the Black-chinned hummer’s nest above the picnic table.

On our way off the River Trail I decided to swing by Cabin 27 to see if the Cave Swallows were at home. They were! They nest under the eaves of this cabin
almost every year. Then we stopped at the Eastern Screech-Owl’s traditional roost in front of Cabins 16-19, and for the first time in a long time, it was not there. We thought it may have changed its perch, so we looked and looked but could not find it. I wouldn’t blame it at all for leaving home after the crowd that was here for Easter weekend. We hope it will return after things settle down. We’ll check on it every few days.

We finally made it to The Pecan Grove around 2 p.m., where Bob and Pat Day were birding and Don Castello had set up a camo blind to photo birds at the water drip. The Days were here at Neal’s for one of my birding Elderhostels in the early 1990s and have returned four times. They said they were here this time because of my WildBird article (May/June 2006 issue) about Cabin 61. Bob helped Valerie and Rob track down a pair of Golden-frontedWoodpeckers and other birds such as Eastern Bluebirds in The Grove. By that time the temperature was in the high 90s, and my energy was really getting zapped, so we went back to the cabin to cool off. We promised to meet the four of them for supper at 5:30 because Val and Rob were going to the Bat Cave at 6:30. When I came out of the cabin around 5:20, Pam Moes (from Waco) and her mom, Dee (from Nebraska), were just going into the cafe. I invited them to join us at our table. What interesting conversations go on around a table full of birders! When I went outside our cabin a little before 8 to see if I could get “Service” on my cell phone,
I heard a voice say, “Well, hello there, June Williams!” It was our old college pal, Dale Pogue and his wife Anne. Dale said, “You told me several years ago that I should come to Concan, and here I am!” Dale reminded me that he was my “husband” in a play we were in as “Ouachita Players” more than 50 years ago. We’ll enjoy having a visit with them tomorrow. As Mae West often said, “Too much of a good thing is wonderful!” That’s how I felt about this LARGE LION KING
DAY IN CONCAN.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Today has been another HOT day. Temp in the upper 90s this afternoon! And this is APRIL?

When I walked out of the cabin early this morning I heard a call that I don’t often hear: greerrr. It turned out to be a Couch’s Kingbird, which I heard several more times during the day. A nice bird with which to start the day. The Roadrunner was calling when we replenished the food at the Cattle Guard, and the Pecan Grove was full of Summer Tanager songs and calls of Bell’s Vireo and Mourning Dove. As we drove past the first bluebird box, a female Eastern Bluebird flew out. We haven’t checked inside the box in several days, but we think she is still sitting on eggs. The male Vermilion Flycatcher was in his usual
place, and a Black-tailed Jackrabbit was scurrying through the brush when we were almost at the trail exit back at the highway.

Back at the cabin after eating breakfast at Neal’s Cafe, I was greeted by a couple of young men from Switzerland. They reported that they had heard Common Pauraque, Common Poorwill, and Chuck-will’s-widow in the Pecan Grove last night around 9:15. Pauraque was the most unusual bird for here and a new one to add to our Field List. Its call, pur-weeerrr, is unmistakable. I believe Bob Rasa has reported it in the Uvalde area before. Right, Bob? I sat and talked to the Swiss birders for a while, then Harold and I went to Cabin 61 for a little over an hour. So far as I know, the RCW has not been seen since the day before yesterday. Plenty of people are still sitting for several hours at a time, hoping for a glimpse of the little charmer. While we were there, we heard the Summer Tanager’s never-ending, beautiful song, which I love to hear. Finally, a male came to the drip for a bath. A White-eyed Vireo did its usual quick dip into the water, and a Bewick’s Wren took a dust bath behind the large boulders.

We drove through the Pecan Grove before going back to the cabin for lunch and saw Don Castello packing up his gear. He came to our cabin and sat for a
couple of hours photo’ing the birds at our feeders. He left for Waco about 2:30 and accidentally left his tall flash stand. (Pam Moes will take it back to Waco
on Friday.)

When we got to the cabin around 12:30, we found a note on our door from Sylvia and Jim Gallagher from LA. They are staying at Garner SP for a few days, so
we’re hoping we get to see them before they leave. They are very fine bird photographers and teachers, and I use several of their images in my slide
presentations. Sorry we missed them.

Birders from Arizona, Louisiana, and Oregon are here today, as well as other friends from Waco (Pam Moes and her mom and Jane and Paul Derrick). And Bird Finders from England are still here. They are relentlessly watching and waiting for the RCW to appear. I hope they get to see it before they leave tomorrow.

Conversation around the supper table was lively again tonight with the Derricks and Pogues (from Rockport) joining us. After supper we took the Pogues on a driving tour of the grounds. They are in an RV and cannot maneuver all the trails except by foot. It was fun reminiscing with Dale about our college days back in Arkansas at what was then, Ouachita Baptist College. It is now a University. The Pogues remarked that they had seen Cedar Waxwings and a Swainson’s Thrush in “the mulberry tree” in the RV area near our cabin. I cannot believe I have been coming here for 20 years and never knew there was a mulberry tree right under my nose! I learn something new about this place every day! You can believe we’ll be watching that tree for the next two-and-a-half weeks. No telling what we’ll see there! Our list now stands at 184 species with 125 of them seen at Neal’s! Will we make it to 200 again this year? We’ll see!

When we went back to the cabin for a pit stop, there was a couple from Wyoming waiting for us in front of the cabin. They had read about Neal’s in my WildBird column and were in the neighborhood and decided just to drop by on their way home from The Valley. After talking to them a while and telling them what a great birding place this is, they decided to stay a night or so.

Went to the Pecan Grove at 11:25, and just as we got out of the Burb a Black-throated Green Warbler made a quick stop at the water drip just long enough to give me a heart attack. At first I just knew it was a Golden-cheeked Warbler. We waited and waited, but he never came back. Maybe another time. While
sitting there with Dale and Anne Pogue I heard our FOS Eastern Wood-Pewee. The Pogues thought they had never seen one, so they walked a little way into the Grove and found a pair of them. Later they discovered that is was not a Lifer. Then along came Leslie from Houston with her Florida friends. After a few minutes Leslie asked if anyone would like a gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Harold and I accepted her generous offer, and it turned out to be the best PBJ sandwich we’d ever had! Thanks, Leslie.

When we got back to the cabin there was a Brownwood couple waiting to see us. They were on their way to the TOS meeting in Laredo. They, too, had read my WB articles and stopped to see if by chance we were home. We tried to talk them
into staying, but they had to get on their way but not before promising to come back when they could stay a while.

The weather was supposed to be cooler today, and it was this morning. However, this afternoon’s temp was in the high 80s and low 90s, so we came inside to cool off. Still no sign of rain which the weatherman keeps promising. Tonight we took the Pogues to Leakey to eat at Vinny’s, a great little Italian restaurant. Sal, the owner, came out of the kitchen to talk to us, and I told him I had sent hi