Category Archives: Drought

Del Dios Gorge

As I sit here watching light snow fall and the temperature hover around 20 degrees, I think back two days when I was a little peevcd about birding in the hot sun and windy, dusty conditions along Del Dios Gorge Trail, a ten-mile trail popular with hikers, mountain bikers, and runners. The Santa Anna winds were stirring up dust and the birds were laying low — but I knew I’d be back in Vermont in two days so I decided to enjoy the warm walk.

It was tough to steady the camera in the stiff wind but this Cassin’s Kingbird was cooperative.

Later up the trail, I saw a couple of Say’s Phoebes.

This was the last warm weather birding for me for a few months and it was a good outing. After a long trip home, we are once again watching winter birds at the feeder.

Rain is Forecast – Too Little, Too Late

Shortly after we arrived at Choke Canyon State Park, I drove over to check out the 65-acre lake where, six years ago, we had seen a rare [Northern Jacana](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_jacana). I recalled the dainty prancing of the bird on the floating vegetation, oblivious to the dozens of birders watching it. "Wouldn’t it be great to spot something unusual?" I mused as I drove.

What I found was nothing – nada! No bird, no lake The Texas drought had taken its toll.

Texas has been in drought conditions for about five years and Choke Canyon Reservoir, where we are camped, is only about a quarter full. It doesn’t seem to affect the fishing; the place is crawling with guys going after bass, blue catfish, and crappie. The ones I talk to say they’re doing great.

I visited another section of the park yesterday and found some mudflats where Least Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, and a Great Egret were feeding. It took me a moment to realize, after I saw floats lying on the grass, that this was once the swimming area and as the water dropped, they just left the cables and floats in place.

We have several days of thunderstorms ahead with warnings of flash flooding. While the storms may hammer the campsite and especially all the spring break families here for the weekend in tents and pop-up campers, the system won’t make a dent in changing the reservoir level.

And I think it is time for the park staff to remove the sign to the "75-Acre Lake."

Here’s a New York Times article about some of the tensions arising from the drought.

Rain – finally

Listening to the rain patter on our aluminum roof is comforting, even after a sleep-depriving series of thunderstorms last night. Ever since we got here at Goose Island State Park, the impact of the long drought has been very evident. Little wetland areas along the trails are bone-dry and the soil is dusty. Yesterday, we saw six cardinals gathering near our water hose connection, taking drinks from a small leak.

One of the biggest concerns is about the Whooping Cranes that migrate here from Wisconsin. An AP release last month noted:

“The lack of rain has made estuaries and marshlands too salty for blue crabs to thrive and destroyed a usually plentiful supply of wolf berries. In addition, a long-lasting “red tide” — a toxic algae that blooms in salty water — has made it dangerous for the birds to eat clams, which retain the algae’s toxin and can pass it along the food chain.”

The refuge folks and local ranches are feeding the cranes to help them avoid starvation. Normally, there are a few in a field just north of the park where the owners provide feed. It is a popular spot for photographers and birders. This year, we counted 13 Whoopers and several Sand Hill Cranes.

Some have noticed more of a survival mentality as well. Usually, crane families are territorial – in fact, we have seen newcomers driven off by the host birds. This year, they all hang together – sort of a “times are tough” community. They’ve got a long road ahead of them to build up strength for the long haul north.

Of course, the diversion of fresh water by oil interests, a subject of a law suit by environmental groups, has exascerbated the salinity situation. The lawsuit was filed last year by The Aransas Project, a nonprofit group of local governments, advocacy groups and tourism-dependent businesses in the Coastal Bend, claiming the state mismanaged water in the Guadalupe River watershed, contributing to the record die-off in 2008-09 of 23 endangered whooping cranes.

This rain, while welcome, is just the proverbial drop in the bucket. I suspect that the drought will continue for some time and that the cranes will have to survive on handouts.

Photo of Whooping Cranes at Aransas NWR by Fish & Wldlife Service