Monahans Sandhills: A good place to disappear

Footprints lead from the parking lot over the dune.

On this April Friday it seemed like  Monahans Sandhills State Park was deserted.

There were a few cars in the parking lot and tracks in the sand, but where were the people?

They were in the hills where there was plenty of room to spread out. 

The temperature was in the upper 70s. However with no shade in the bright sand, it can feel a lot hotter. Take water.

The two girls atop the hill in the background were sliding down the dunes. Guests can rent disks for sand surfing.

At the visitor center there are plants and a water feature that attract birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

Endangered Attwater's prairie chickens' crazy mating dances

Attwater's Prairie Chickens are in breeding mode at the NASA facility maintained by the Houston Zoo to save the coastal bird.

We were on a tour to see the endangered birds, and they didn't disappoint.

The males are booming and showing off for the females. When anyone approaches a pen, the males come to the front to protect their females.

Booming is the sound the birds make when they inflate their yellow air sacs.

The zookeeper said the males' eye hoods get brighter during mating season.

A single-minded Attwater's prairie chicken performs its mating dance.

I didn't get a good pic of the shy females. They like to stay at the back of the pens when strangers are around.

With the loss of coastal prairie, the population of Attwater's Prairie Chickens dropped. Approximately 100 are now in the wild.

At one time about a million of the birds were spread across 6 million acres along the coastal bend, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The zoo's breeding program raises Attwater's Prairie Chickens to join the wild populations. 

Progress has been slow. Re-population efforts have had to deal with with hurricanes, drought and fire ants, which can wipe out the birds' food sources.

This bird shaking its tail feathers is part of the grouse family.

Watchful killdeer works to protect its nest

The Killdeer trick of pretending to be injured to lead predators away from a nest almost worked.

Then I looked around for a nest.

The broken-wing distraction.

Four small eggs that look very vulnerable.

When I sat on a bench, the killdeer returned to settle on the eggs.

When I got up to leave, the bird watched to make sure I walked the opposite direction.

Owl house occupant on alert

This owl pretended to be asleep until we got too close. Sorry to disturb you, dude.

Skippers hard to tell apart

 The White-Checkered Skipper is hard to distinguish from the Common Checkered Skipper.

But for this pic I vote for White-Checkered because it is on the checklist for the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and that's where I saw it.

Below is another guess for me.

I think both of the skippers are Clouded Skippers. Also in the Valley. However I'm just an amateur butterfly stalker trying to learn.

Bordered Patch butterfly is a bright spot along the trail

This Bordered Patch butterfly was hiding in plain sight at the National Butterfly Center in South Texas.

They are sometimes called Sunflower Patch and like the lifestyle in South Texas.

The toads are back in town

The toads are heading toward the pond.

The amorous croaking at night will start soon.