Wildlife in the vineyard
The vineyard is looking pretty good. The fruit is all green and clusters are filling out. We’ve had some heavy rain lately and it is quite humid, so I am keeping quite a watch for fungus. Especially powdery mildew and downy mildew. I also try to scout for grape berry moth, but haven’t found much of the typical web in the grape clusters.
I DID however find a nice looking bird nest. The parent flew off when I approached with a loud flutter and gave the location away. I wouldn’t have noticed without the noise. I know it’s a great place for a bird, with the food being so close and all, but I REALLY wish they would go somewhere else.
For the first time, I found a LIZARD in the vineyard! There are lots of lizards around the winery, but I never see them out at the vineyard. The area is open grassland all around, but there are some trees near the road and perhaps this guy came from there since he turned up on that end of the vineyard. He was bigger than a tree lizard or anole. He made a noise like the previous bird and that was how I found him. What do you think, Texas Alligator Lizard?