Back in Texas again, this time at Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center. This Common Paraque is the most reliable and the most regular…and therefore the most photographed…bird in Texas. It roosts, generally with one of its fellows close by, right beside the Alligator Lake trail…so close the park has had to build a small brush barrier to keep people from accidently walking on the bird. Seeing the bird, on the other hand, always takes effort. Because it is so well camouflaged, it has taken me up to 20 frustrating moments to find it, even though I know it is there, and that it is in one small 12 foot square patch of ground. And, on several occasions I have missed the second bird altogether, though it was within feet of the first. This year we managed to find both, but only after getting directions from someone who had seen the second bird before us. (Knowing the second bird is actually there is half the battle.)

Samsung Smart Camera WB800F. ISO 320 @ 1/90th @ f5.8. 408mm equivalent field of view (which tells you just how close I was to this bird. The Paraque is not much bigger than a Blue Jay. 🙂 Processed in Snapseed on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014.