A Propitious Beginning to the New Year

I did manage to get in two walks at the beginning of this month before the deep freeze set in. On both walks, I was pleased to see a Spotted Sandpiper busily bobbing its tail as it walked along. It must not have found anything to eat at this location and flew off upstream. This was the first Spotted Sandpiper I have seen this season:

This is another one of the birds that spends the summer in the north, but heads south for the winter. They frequently winter over along the river. This sandpiper still has a few spots on its breast characteristic of its summer plumage.

Fortunately, deep freezes are short lived here in South Texas. The weather forecast looks favorable for more walks in the next couple of weeks.

This set of photographs was taken at the first weir downstream from the Lone Star Blvd bridge at Roosevelt Park on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, January 2, 2014.