I hope everybody out there had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year full of God’s blessings! For all of the folks that made their once a year visit to church for Christmas, that’s fantastic.
I would like to make one suggestion and that is even if you don’t go again until Easter or next Christmas, open your Bible daily and read a verse or two. It will offer a truthful foundation to help you survive the trials, evil and corruption of this world. End of sermon.
This time of year has always made me look to the new year sometimes with anticipation, sometimes with trepidation, but for the most part it is always a guess of what will happen and for the most part a waste of time.
I don’t know if it’s still there, but McKenzie’s BBQ in Conroe used to have a little sign up that said: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans for the future.” I guess that pretty well sums it up.
When you look at the Great Outdoors that we have left in Texas we should be thankful. What passes for civilization has not yet destroyed it all, but they keep trying. Therefore we outdoor types must keep up the fight against mindless greed and rampant destruction of our natural habitat and do everything we can to preserve our surviving environment.
When you think about how blessed we are with our outdoors here in Texas and really take a look around, you will see a marvel to be preserved. Right here within a few miles of my house I can hunt, fish, and go birding just to mention a few easily accessed activities.
Oh, that reminds me, I’ll bet there are a lot of people in the county who may not know that we have bald eagles that can be seen around Lake Conroe. Now if you want to see a beautiful sight, a bald eagle flying over the lake, or your house, is one to remember. This is one time when we see them often and they are magnificent.
Since I am onto raptors, let me offer a few facts about some of the birds of prey we have right here in this part of Texas. Beside the Bald eagles one can often see other raptors and I will point out some that we see all the time from my front yard.
Another large raptor that often perches on a dead tree sticking out of the water in a cove near where we live is an Osprey. Osprey and Bald eagle are the most common and unique of all raptors and they can be seen right here. Ospreys are smaller than a Bald eagle and have a white body and a 60 to 70 inch wingspan. A Bald eagle has a dark (blackish) body and a 80 to 82 inch wingspan, also you cannot miss the distinctive white head and tail of an adult Bald eagle.
Osprey eats a diet of about 99 percent fish. Some of the bird books state that they eat fish of small size, but one day fishing guide Butch Terpe and I were out fishing just north of the FM 1097 bridge and saw an Osprey fly headed south with a good size black bass in its talons. It had the fish pointed the same way the bird was flying and made for an awesome sight.
Bald eagles eat small birds, fishes, frogs and most small mammals. I remember one time not long ago there was a lady on television from the Kingwood area telling about how a Bald eagle swooped down in her back yard, picked up her little dog and flew away. I hate that she lost her pet but I don’t know what you could do about it, especially as bald eagles are protected. I know one thing for sure, if that would have been a coyote that got the little dog people would have been screaming for blood.
Let me move on to another raptor that has taken up residency in our neighborhood and that is a Red Shouldered hawk. Down here in Southeast Texas it is a permanent resident throughout most of its range. The main conservation threat to this widespread species is population densities and deforestation like so many other species of animals and we have it all right here.
The Red Shouldered hawk is a medium size raptor with a wingspan that can range from 35 to 50 inches. Adults have brownish heads, reddish chests, and pale bellies with reddish bars. The ones around my house are readily recognizable because of their distinctive red plumage on the chest.
I love to see them around our house because Red-shouldered hawks are carnivores. They mainly feed on small mammals, especially rodents. These include gophers, mice and moles. They will also feed on slightly larger mammals, such as rabbits and tree squirrels and I have no shortage of squirrels. Other prey can include amphibians, reptiles (especially small snakes), birds, fish, and large insects.
So folks, as we go into the new year be aware of the wildlife and Texas boasts a whopping 639 bird species and I have just addressed three that I see often from my home. Jut think of the other natural wonders waiting for you to discover.
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