Day 8, the Old Cemetery, Santa Ana NWR

While there is basically no, or very little, activity on Flickr since the Big Move, I thought I would upload the final 23 photos, taken on DAY 8 of our 13-day trip, 26 March 2019, at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in South Texas. This Refuge stretches to the border with Mexico. Too many problems with uploading today - usually, photos upload quickly and without issues for me. Sorry, so many blurry photos in this batch, but a lot of things were far away, or taken on a drive-by or, in the case of the pair of tiny Elf Owls, taken in the dark. I think Day 9 is going to be similar, but then Day 10 will have more colourful Texas birds.

Despite the lack of close, colourful birds, Day 8 was an interesting day, spent at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in South Texas. The forest was so different from anything I had ever seen, with Spanish Moss hanging from all the branches. It was quite a strange feeling to walk the trails.

"Established in 1943 for the protection of migratory birds, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge happens to be positioned along an east-west and north-south juncture of two major migratory routes for many species of birds. It is also at the northern-most point for many species whose range extends south into Central and South America. The refuge is right in the middle of all this biological diversity, which is what makes this 2,088 acre parcel the ‘jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge System.’ Though small in size, Santa Ana offers visitors an opportunity to see birds, butterflies and many other species not found anywhere else in the United States beyond deep South Texas." From link below.

www.fws.gov/refuge/Santa_Ana/map.html

We took a tour in a van and one of our stops was at the Old Cemetery. This was an interesting site - loved the "original hand carved Texas ebony fence", and the lizard that was hanging out on top of one of the fence posts.

"Santa Ana Cemetery can be found at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge on the banks of the Rio Grande seven miles south of Alamo in Hidalgo County. The cemetery is partly enclosed by the original hand carved Texas ebony fence which protects approximately thirty graves and a tomb built of hand formed bricks. The tomb originally contained the remains of Cristoval Leal, adopted son of the original grantee, and his wife María Rafaela Treviño. During the border bandit raids of 1915-16, the tomb was broken into. It remained open, exposing scattered bones, until 1943. After the federal government purchased the ranch, the tomb was repaired. Today the cemetery is protected and maintained and is one of the main attractions in the refuge. Source: Hidalgo County Historical Commission."

www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2251736/santa-ana-cemetery