Big Ass Year - The Julian Takes a Big Boy Whoopin'

Crumby was fixing to fret that his Big Ass Year  was fixing to get overtook by the dang number of calendar days.   Yes.  It was time for a man of action like Crumby to do something.  So Crumby headed out for the Anahuac Peninsula.  That's right.  The same Anahuac Peninsula featured in the inspirational yet totally dumbass movie, The Big Year, is where Crumby headed with a view to fluffing up his Big Ass Year list. 

Well.  Crumby's plan worked fairly well.  Not only did Crumby' s Big Ass Year list get plumped or fluffed up, Crumby actually espied lifers.  Like two lifers.  These were the black-billed cuckoo and the gray-cheeked thrush which Crumby never espied in his early days as a lister/chaser motivated  nitwit.  Plus, Crumby got peektures.

However, due to our license agrrements with a bunch of irresponsible parties,  we can't show those peektures.  But we can show this red knot, another  peekture from the Anahuac Peninsula ornithological adventure or emergency.  Red knot.

So the embarrasement of having the calendar days surpass the number of birds espied on Crumby's Big Ass Year is averted for a good while.  Yes.  We went from 144 to 214 over the course of a 3 day trip including all the miserable driving to and fro.   Mercy!  There was a stalled vehicle on Eldridge and I-10,  Houstink.  Mercy!  Crumby worked on the EIS for that abomination, too.  Mercy!

Big Ass Year - Staying Ahead of the Calendar

The days dawn inexorably.   Yet so far, Crumby's furious efforts have kept the count ahead of the calendar.  This without much cooperation from Class Aves. 

That's right.  With dozens of migrants pouring through these parts every week,  seems like an average ornithologer like Crumby might espy one or two of each of the various kinds.  And that's what's happening. or happened.  Plus, seems like most of Class Aves we are espying are more like summer resident species than genuine gypsies. 

So.  To sum up.  We are espying few birds (other than hawks and seagulls) and most of those are summer residents.  Here they are (Stinky Valley only) since April 10th by first of season date:   ruby-throated hummingbird - 4-10; eastern kingbird, Swainson's thrush, Nashville warbler - 4-13;  summer tanager - 4-15;  chuck-will's widow, great crested flycatcher, yellow-breasted chat - 4-18; black-chinned hummingbird, green heron - 4-19; indigo bunting, western kingbird - 4-20.

Mercy!  Where ae the warbler's?  Actually, all the warblers now look like orange-crowned warblers.  It's like a transformational thing. 

great crested on toothache tree

Ray's Flies

I can tell everyone right now, without any hesitation, that lime prickly ash, small tree or shrub, is great for flies.  Check these out.  First up is the marvelous Spilomyia alcimus.  This fly is huge in addition to being colorful.  Why it is almost an inch long.  An inch!  How about that!?

Now how about this Belvosia? It's like an ordinary goofy Tachinid fly. OK. But then check out its, big ass.  It's like some responsible party is fixing to tell me this is a bee imitater,  Huh-huh.  Theoretically, Belvosia afflicts muths.

Big Ass Year Stumbles Along

It was Rayetta's turn to accompany Crumby on his Big Ass Year.  Good thing too.  Because Crumby feel twice on the slippery rocks or whatnot.   How funny was that?  Nothing much funnier than an elderly person taking a tumble. 

Yes.  The substate we are presently discussing features lots of grade change.  So in those situations, Crumby needs to be accompanied by a responsible party in case he needs picking up and dusting off. 

Crumby survived the hike with only minor sprains, bruises and abrasions.  Plus, having Rayetta along meant we recorded a lifer butterfly for Rayetta's Butterflies.  Here that is;  a lovely Texas powdered skipper.  Possibly common in these parts, this skipper has long eluded us until now. 

Meantime,  Crumby heard three new birds for the Big Ass Year, including a GCW or two.  Progress.

Rhinocyllus conicus

Among the best plants for vermin viewing are the thistles.   Yes.  Many insects love thistles.  So if you want to have a lot of fun or pleasure watching insects, get some thistles. 

But there are plenty of hard-working assholes.   What are all these assholes working towards?   Easy that, these multitudes of assholes are working hard to render the globe, that many call Earth, ecologically inert.  As a part or parcel of their sinister plan they first introduce bunches or mass quantities of Asian thistles to the US.  Then they introduce insects to eat the introduced thistles.   Then the insects, naturally,  switch hosts and afflict the native thistles instead of the introduced thistles.  Mercy!  All due to assholes masquerading as scientists. 

Rhinocyllus conicus fornicating on Cirsium texanum at the Cow Barn.  Well, they are cute.

Big Ass Buteos

For the last several days, hawks have been migrating over the CB.  Not by the millions, but in ones and twos.  Yet today, a great many flew over between 10am and 1pm.  How many is a great many?  Unknown, because a great many could have flown over many times.  Yes.  It's hard to determine how many times an average ornithologer observes the same hawk over and over. 

The most buteos Crumby counted in sight at one time was 18.  So there were at least that many.   Here are some Big Ass Year documentation photos of  a  broad-winged and a Swainson's shot during today's excitement.  The  time was gray.  Therefore, the pictures are not good.  Also,  the chimney swifts are back.

Omileus epicaeroides

Ray is fond of weevils.  So naturally I always get excited when a new weevil turns up at the CB, and even more excited when I can identify the new weevil to species.  Here is a very nice broad-nose weevil on a wall. 

The Big Ass Year Dawdles

The Big Ass Year speeded up for a while (see below).  Yet now, the Big Ass Year is setting a pace that may have it getting caught and surpassed by the Julian calendar year.  Here's Crumby's reasoning.  So far, Crumby has espied maybe 120 member species of Class Aves for this calendar year.  So far, Planet Earth has spent about 95 days on its current yet repetitive jaunt around Ogma.  Therefore, Crumby needs to keep the Big Ass Year number ahead of the calendar day count number.  If he can't even do that, then his Big Ass Year may not seem so Big Ass. 

The latest Big Ass Year misadventure had Crumby braving the elements at Stinky I mean Hornsby Bend.  Crumby was hoping for some snore, I mean shorebirds besides pectoral, lesser, western, spotted, snipe, Am. golden plover, killdeer; which are already on the Big Ass Year list.  But of course he didn't espy any new ones.  None. Nada.

So the time would have been a total loss, resulting only in human fecal matter getting whipped into  Crumby's lungs by the relentless west wind, were it not for three sea gulls.  Here is one of those seagulls depicted as photographed through the windshield a fer piece off.   Documentation photography nearing its nadir. Franklin's gull.  Yes.  This one is fixing to head north.  It shall rescue the Mormon's from the grasshoppers again.