Saturday=rain

I don't mind the rain too much but every Saturday kinda puts the limit on things.  I figure with a radar like this in the morning I would have to plan on birding in or near my truck.

Sometimes during the week I give myself ideas on where I could go birding on the weekend.  I have been trying to justify a trip to Odessa to see a Snowy Owl but so far no.  There has also been a sighting of an Elegant Trogon in New Braunfels.  A bit closer and maybe doable.  I also considered trying for Henslow's Sparrow again in Hardin county  but the events of the week put a stop to any of those plans.  My mother-in-law had an aneurysm earlier in the week and had to undergo many procedures, tests, and several days in the hospital but praise the Lord she is in good shape and should be released from the hospital late Saturday.

Snowy Owls are Arctic birds and have only been documented in Texas 7 times.

Elegant Trogon is a Tropical bird with about 6 Texas records.

I wonder how many times these birds have been seen in Texas at the same time.  Probably none until now.  If I want to see either or both of these birds now may be the time.  But, I have a job, a family, and other things that limit me to 1 day of birding per week. I guess I could, in a perfect world, leave Friday night, stay in New Braunfels, get up and go see the Elegant Trogon by mid morning, drive to Odessa and see the Owl before sundown, then drive home 8 hours.  The problem is these are birds.  They move.  They fly.  They hide.  They disappear and are never seen again.  I can just imagine driving all the way to Odessa and hear, "The owl was right here yesterday, it must have flown back north"  and then get home and see reports of the next day saying, "Very cooperative bird, everybody saw it".  The Trogon, if missed, would be less of a disappointment being only a 4 hour drive.  We will see if one or both hang around during the next week and maybe I will just have to go for it.