Yesterday Molly and I biked over the 1,000 mile mark for this tour. Rural Texas … the land and its people have been fantastic. You may read my daily bike diary via the Crazy Guy on a Bike Web Portal. Here are a few pics I took over the past few days …
Forster’s Terns
Great Blue Heron
Crested Caracara
Spotted Sandpiper
Cattle Egrets
Mocking Bird
Me!
Our Route through Day #24
Molly and I saw well over 100,000 Dickcissels this morning on Texas #22 while bike touring about five miles west of Corsicana, Texas. For about six miles we were treated to thousands and thousands of Dickcissels while at the same time viewing carpets of bluebonnets. As a Naturalist I realized just how rare this event was. These birds winter in Central and South America, and are working their way north to the grasslands of the Midwest. This was a once in a lifetime event which was awe inspiring.
The music from their singing was amazing, and when flocks took off the sky was filled. Fantastic morning to be bike touring through rural Texas. I have included one photograph to give some impression of what the deciduous trees looked like. At the same time certain farm fields were full of feeding Dickcissels.
To learn more about Dickcissels follow this link from Cornell University:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dickcissel/overview
As I noted, the Bluebonnets made the scene that much better. Rolling carpets of blue filled the fields. It was truly a magic morning. We are now 935 miles into our bicycle tour of Texas.
Finding beauty in a highway jungle! Molly and I are stopped for the night at a very, small, modest motel near where three highways intersect. There would seem to be nothing beautiful about the location.
When you are cycling, pushing on to the next town is not an option. The body is tired. However, just before sunset I found this Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher looking for an evening snack. Just shows beauty is everywhere … even on neon strips. One must just look for it!
