Greetings All:
With a couple of lessons learned from my efforts along the Canyon Lakes of
Lubbock this past year, I have decided to chase and photograph critters in
Hockley County (the county just west of Lubbock County) this year. Again,
I am setting ambitious goals: 50 species of butterfly, 5 species of
amphibian, 10 species of reptile, 200 species of bird, and 10 species of
mammal with 90% of the species identifiably photographed.
Hockley County is roughly 100% agriculture or oilfield but there are some
very interesting hotspots, generally near the few towns and one city in the
county. Sundown has a park/golf course/water treatment facility complex
and an incredibly well-planted school/cemetery complex - both warrant eBird
hotspot status, in my opinion. Smyer has a well publicized feedlot playa
just west of town. Levelland has a tree-rich city park, a tree-rich
college campus with decent butterfly gardens, and at least two good
playa-centered parks. Road birding can also be surprisingly good in the
county with abandoned homesteads, woodlots, and a plethora of playas
readily viewed and photographed from roadside.
I made my first visit yesterday and, as I was moseying through the county,
I realized that the first of last year's lessons had been well learned. I
took pictures of everything I could get my lens on - even if it was a
common species at long distance - with none of the "I'll get a better
chance at a good shot of this species later in the year" thinking that
typified my unsuccessful 2015 efforts. I took 384 photographs and ended up
documenting 45 of the 48 bird species seen as well as 1 of the 3 mammal
species seen (the Desert Cottontails and Hispid Cotton Rats were a bit too
frisky and I was too dang cold to chase them for very long). There will be
none of this letting species seen but not photographed piling up this year:)
It should be a nicely balanced year in terms of games. The one with Rich
Kostecke will allow me to get on top of my yard (which is good as everybody
seems to think I'm a gonna get stomped this time - and Rich has, already,
built up a slight lead - and getting caught up on my yard will provide some
solace) and Hockley County should be a bit more fun, with lots of room to
roam about, than the very area-restricted Canyon Lakes of Lubbock.
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
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