Day 12 Inland Birding out of Rockport

When we moved to Rockport we knew that there would be many sites in the area that we would want to discover as well as some that were hot spots for us in the past. Near here there are two rivers that run into Copano Bay and Aransas Bay. We headed for those wetlands that adjoin those rivers some 20-30 miles inland. This ride took us north some 30 miles before we headed inland. That meant we passed the Aransas NWR (we will visit later) and some good shoreline birding on the way. Traveling northeast on TX 35 we turned inland toward Refugio at highway 774. Tis road is a narrow, two track, paved that has scrub land on both sides. It was the first abundant hawk territory we had seen since Arkansas. There were Red Tailed hawks on the poles and on the wires were many Kestrals ,the smallest of all the hawks. The crowning part of that leg was spotting an Osprey and not having it fly away before Ruth could get some pictures,

Here is one of the more dramatic Osprey poses.

The first river that we came to was the Mission River with a multiple assortment of flats and ponds. Here we picked some new birds for this trip and here is the way we set up our equipment for viewing. at a roadside.This was a two lane highway with adequate shoulder except for the bridge in the middle where we would set up our tripod. The first step is to view the area from the car to see what and if there is anything, out there . Then to step out of the vehicle away from the birds if possible (ducks are very timid and like lots of space between you and them. Use the car as a "blind" of sorts. Using the binoculars, scan the ponds and edges for what might be out there, then decide what you want to concentrate on. Sometimes it is the "unknown" birds as they might take longer to discern. (We are amateurs remember). Then set up the tripod and the scope to bring the birds in closer. If Ruth is close enough and we can get a good shot with her 200 X 500 lens on the Nikon D100 camera, then we put the camera on first. Shots from the car can also be made from the window with a beanbag pad on the window where it can be rolled up or down for proper height. That is desireable when one bird is sighted as the bird will tend to stay put. Stepping out of the car when the bird is close is sure to alarm the birds. And so it goes. Ruth is setting up the scope at Mission River Flats

The next river and site was the Copano River which had similar water and wetlands but also leads to a road across to a "connected" Island where we did pick up two new specie. ( Reddish Egrets, Brown headed Cowbirds and Purple Martins). The rivers were at low tide and that allowed us to see three distinct feeding types . There are 1) the ones at themudflat level (some will not go into water no matter how shallow), 2) the shallow water feeders, and 3) the water feeders like the dabbling ducks and phalaropes (didn't see any of them today).

It wasn't all birds today. This young foal didn't stray far from her Mom.

The other birds that were new to our list today were; Sandhill Cranes (19), the Golden Plover, Greater Yellow legs, The Short and the Long Billed Dowitcher, White Faceed Ibis, Bairds's Sandpipers (a large flock), and some Bank Swallows (under that bridge).

This made a good day although not long in time we covered 90 miles and the 75 degree heat turned to 81 by the time we returned to the trailer. The wind was fierce (30-40) and that keeps the birds "down" in shelter and harder to see. The exception were the wading birds in or near water as long as it is sheltered.

That was pretty much it for the day outdoors, and when we returned we rolled up our awning that we had alrady placed at "half mast" due to the wind before we left.

Tomorrow we hope to head for Aransas Pass and Mustang Island.There are some fine spots there. God Bless you all, Jim and Ruth