Wildlife tour

Today we made a return visit to King Ranch to take a wildlife tour. Since the ranch is such a vast undeveloped area, it is home to abundant wildlife as well as large numbers of birds.




Deer exist on the ranch in large numbers. In fact, they do hold hunts for deer to help manage the herds. We did see quite a few deer today but of course they are often hard to spot. They are fast movers, too!
We saw a large number of turkeys also. Some of them were quite large. Just think how big they will be by Thanksgiving !
We stopped by a lake when large numbers of birds congregate. Our guide was especially knowledgeable about birds and was quick to point out many different species. Some of the birds we saw are native only to this area of Texas. This Green Jay is one of those species. We particularly liked this little guy because of the almost tropical colors. We have never spent much time watching birds but we have learned that this area of South Texas is a destination for serious birders because of the large number of varieties found here.



As we were scanning the lake for other species of birds, we saw this large fellow swimming near the shore !
Our guide informed us that the small lakes on the ranch are home to numerous alligators. That surprised most of us--we thought they lived in the Louisiana and Florida swamps.
When we started really looking at all the logs across the lake, we spotted these 2 fellows sunbathing.
We were glad they were on the other shore !
The tour was very informative as well as a fun way to spend the morning.
When we got back to our campground Jim decided to take advantage of the free fishing in Texas parks. No word yet if he is actually catching fish or just fishing!!