Just back from a three day weekend down in the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas. I was hoping to find ocelots and jaguarundis (two of the most elusive cats in the United States — and the world for that matter). I didn’t really expect to see them, but there’s always hope. As with the Florida panther last weekend, I didn’t get any shots. But I did see the jaguarundi. Twice, in fact. Once running across the road in front of my car and the other time while hiking in the woods. I very nearly had a great shot while in the woods but as soon as I saw it, it saw me and was gone. I guess there’s a reason, the jaguarundi is very rarely seen and almost never photographed in the wild. What I did see were birds. Lots of them. Including this green jay. Extreme southern Texas is the only place in the country to see the green jay — although it is quite common throughout its range, which extends south along the Gulf of Mexico and into South America. With its blue head, green back and yellow chest, it’s certainly a beautiful bird. Not quite an ocelot or jaguarundi, but as far as birds go, it’s hard to beat.