The human-powered vehicle competition got underway on the Dallas College, Richland Campus yesterday morning, but before the students all arrived with their contraptions, I had a couple hours to myself to see what wildlife might also be making their home there.
They have a nice water feature running through the middle of the campus, so we shouldn’t be surprised to find Canada geese there, and given how far ahead of ours their spring it, of course they have goslings.
There are also plenty of trees, so squirrels should also not be a surprise, but if you look closely, this one has a yellow tinge to its underside, and that, along with their slightly larger size, which is hard to see in this picture, makes them eastern fox squirrels. Fun! I’ve only been able to show you one once before, from Colorado, and I only saw the one there, but here, they are everywhere.
I heard killdeer calling, but I also saw a bunch of starlings, which mimic killdeer like crazy in Estabrook, so I was skeptical. When I crossed a parking lot, however, sure enough, there were three killdeer, and they were quite bold, so here’s a nice portrait of one.
Also in that parking lot, I could hear a yellow-rumped warbler, and there weren’t many trees there in which it could hide, so here’s another nice look.
As I continued to try to get across that lot, suddenly a small flock of shorebirds swooped in, and they turned out to be least sandpipers, which I’ve only seen a couple of times in Estabrook. Sadly, they soon realized that “this isn’t sand!”, and they quickly continued on their way.
Then the show really got started. I had noticed a couple of scissor-tailed flycatchers flitting about, but they often flew up to perch at the top of some very tall light poles. Happily, for us at least, they eventually noticed each other, and it appears that there is some dispute between them, perhaps about territory or mates, because they really got into it.
The good news, for us at least, is that their kerfuffle led to sights like this. Holy smokes, right! I’ve seen some fancy birds before, and I’ve seen some fancy displays, but this might be the best combination of the two I’ve seen so far.
Then the students started to arrive, I helped our team reassemble their vehicle, and they performed well in the safety inspection and drag race. Today is the endurance race, but before that gets underway, I’ll get a second chance to stroll around the campus, so wish me luck!
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 