Spring on the Frio

You may know that each spring I yearn to be in the Con Can area on the Frio River to enjoy the abundance of bird species that show up at this time each year. I didn't think we were going to make it, but when I realized we had a family reunion in Hilda on Saturday, and no pressing commitments to keep us from it, we headed to Camp Live Oak just north of Leakey. Our high school friend Joyce McCaleb Weston and her husband Butch were our hosts, and the pictures will tell the story. Enjoy.


Sunday morning of May 1st I discovered this place of worship on the East Frio. No chapel is more intimate.


No cathedral has a more majestic canopy. My pew was formed by the trunk of a cypress tree, and the roots formed the seat. The floor of the clear Frio perfectly reflected the canopy. The background music was the sound of falling water over the stones of the river bed. The soloists were the Finches, Buntings, and Hummingbirds.


As soon as I sat down, this Green Kingfisher lit nearby, and quickly surveyed the area. He was gone in a flash, but came back later for some pictures.


The Painted Buntings were plentiful, and I spied six at one sitting at a nearby feeder.


This Blue Grosbeak interrupted the gathering at the feeder.


As plentiful as the Painted Bunting were the Indigo Buntings.




This red-head caught my eye in the distance. It is a male Western Tanager.


As I continued on the trail, I came upon a female Western Tanager. She was more accommodating for the photographer.


This cottontail sat still for me for an amazing length of time. Other birds that were spied but not photographed; Black-chinned Hummingbirds crowding the feeders, Tree Sparrows, Red-shouldered Hawk (once with freshly caught rodent prey), a variety of woodpeckers, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, and a real treat at the station behind Neal's Store, an American Redstart.


Our hosts Butch and Joyce Weston. I highly recommend checking out Camp Live Oak for your stay on the Frio. We were blessed.