Happy Goat Ranch
Southeastern Texas is noted by bird watchers all over the world as a
treasure house of semi-exotic and exotic avarian species. While Alice, Texas --
40 miles west of Corpus Christi -- is not considered on a major birding route,
it should be.
The Happy Goat Ranch, 69 acres devoted to raising meat goats and producing
Tilapia fingerlings is endowed with perhaps more than its share of beautiful and
less common birds. So far we have identified several species of interest to
birdwatchers.
Black Vultures -- had a couple actually hatched in one of the ranch buildings
Lesser Horned Owl??
Cardinals -- it is common to see 5 or 6 pairs in the same area
Kiskadee -- Elusive and nervous
Doves -- depending on the time of year both young and adult doves
abound
Golden-Fronted Woodpecker
Scissor-Tailed Swallow (Flycatcher) -- hard to mistake this bird
Great Blue Heron -- wonder how many fingerlings he ate?
Herons -- Interested in the tilapia in the tanks
Great-tailed Grackle -- magnificent blue-black males
Black-bellied Whistling Duck -- likes to perch on power lines
Bronzed Cowbird -- Prominent Red eyes identify this blackbird
Other Birds Spotted - No Picture yet
Killdeer -- looks a little out of place picking at a dry caliche road
Ruby-throated Hummingbird -- three of the busy little birds after nectar
Green Jays -- they just appear overhead in the trees and disappear as quickly
Red-Tailed Hawks -- almost always one is on sentry duty on the power line to
the ranch
Roadrunners -- seldom can you enter or leave the ranch without seeing one or
more
Common Hawks -- share the power lines with the Red Tailed Hawks
Caracara -- this colorful member of the falcon family often sails above with
the vultures
Bob White Quail -- bold, fat quail often browse near the headquarters
building
Screech Owls -- often seen during the day and heard at night
Altamira Oriole -- tentatively indentified by yellow breast rather than
orange
Red-Headed Woodpecker -- observed banging away at the tree near the
headquarters building
Flicker -- took over for the Red-Head
Red-Winged Blackbird -- seems to get along with the cardinals well