Crepuscular

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” ~Marcus Aurelius

♠

I am decidedly a morning person. Believe me, it hasn’t always been that way. First college then kids forced me into being functional before the sun came up.

When the time changes in fall, I don’t even bother resetting the bedside alarm or adjusting my internal time-clock. I just settle in to getting up and going to bed an hour earlier than everyone else. Sure, I fall asleep at whatever I’m doing at 8:00p, but that’s okay. Much like my rabbits and the deer and the birds of my yard, I have become a crepuscular being.

The morning hours during the week are when I get enjoy quiet and contemplation alone. I catch up on my reading. I go out in the dark and watch as the birds and wildlife on our property come to life. Sometimes, one of the regulars comes in for a drink. They don’t mind me much.

Hey. Whatcha doin’ up so early?
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)

On mornings like today, crisp and clear, Mr. DirtNKids and I like to go out birding if possible away from home. On the way to our destination, we spend time discussing a myriad of subjects without constant interruption from the kids, and since the rest of the world hasn’t quite awoken from the previous night’s flings, the roads are clear.

But first, some fall pics of the homestead, because this paradise is too pretty for words.

The Creek, View to the South

The Creek, View to the East

The Creek, View to the North

Fall Show-stopper, View to the West
Bald Cypress, Not Yet Bald

Yeah, I love that daily walk with my cup of coffee. If you look closely, you will see all the bags of leaves in that last picture staged for action. I’m still much too lazy for gardening and yard maintenance, so there they sit.

My husband is afraid that I am becoming one of those hoarders. (I am, but let him wonder anyway.)

We picked a different spot to go this morning, one that didn’t seem too well-traveled. Independence Park is tucked back in a well-developed area south of Houston, and it turned out to be a treasure trove of birds. We will definitely be going back here!

Watching the Osprey hunt and seeing Monk Parakeets building a nest were the highlights of our walk. We were also very surprised to see several Brown Pelicans in the area — a rarity so far in from the coast.

Osprey, full dive!

Monk Parakeet, twiggy

We’d been chasing the parakeets for a while, so it was great to finally get them on our list for the year. We are creeping up on our goal of 257 birds — one more than our total of last year — and we just might still have enough time to add the last handful of birds and top that number.

In all, we added three new species for our list today, logging 36 species in all for the trip and bringing our annual total to 249 species:

• (247) Monk Parakeet
• (248) Caspian Tern
• (249) Vesper Sparrow

I took a lot of photos this time, way too many to cram into a post. So, if you’re interested in seeing them all, you can click on either of the links below.

Cheers! And get outside.

♠

eBird Checklist:  Independence Park, 12/5/2015
SmugMug Album:  eBird Checklists

So tell me, are you a morning person?