March 29,30,31 Smith Point, TX

Day/March, 29,30,31- Now at Smith Point TX on the east side of Galveston Bay

The move to Smith Point puts us very near two excellent birding places.

1. Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge and 
2. High Island, where the songbird migrants gather after their 500 mile trip across the Gulf of Mexico. Here is where they literally “fall out”.

We don’t know if that will happen while we are here or not, but we will stretch our time to the limit to try to be here when they do come.. The local input is, that 1-2 weeks from now they will come. We might be on the cusp! It often depends on a Cold front and the resulting winds that “hold” the birds from moving further north which aids in the identification of more birds. We shall see. 

So far we are doing very good identifying on the average 50 birds a day. I will not divulge the total species as there is a contest with any child under 18 to try to guess the total number of bird species we identify on the trip until we return to Grand Rapids. Your  “under 18 year old is eligible. 

A word about Anahuac NWR. The Hurricane “Ike “ (2008) dumped a lot of salt water on the low lying land, as well as destroying many trees,  so the return to normalcy is just now starting to take effect. Mainly it was a salinity problem along with the infrastructure that was destroyed. (Many people lost their livelihood as well as personal property.) This NWR is a managed water system with separate units and each unit has its own schedule for water and dry times. Rice is one of the crops that were prevented from being planted (see picture) but it is now has enough fresh water to be coming up in places.

Spider Lily (An Amaryllis)
(mysterious transmission?)

The Intracoastal Waterway as seem feom the "High Island" Bridge

Great volunteer efforts were and have continued to put the NWR back in good running order. New road and surfaces were just finished yesterday (Friday)  a new Visitor Center was completed this spring (it is beautiful)  and has great “green” infrastructure.

Today at the DQ, (Hey, we love to stop there) in the small city of Anahuac (pop 2,210), I talked with the school Athletic director and his two girls . He indicated that after the Hurricane the school population went down some 10-20 % but is beginning to come back. Of course the economy added to that some I am sure. The big industry is  recreation, and this weekend we saw that FISHING is a huge industry as there were dozens of boats and trailers at every boat launch that we saw and we probably saw 15-20 of them. Along the Trinity River (now at flood stage) many were fishing from the banks. Each day when we drove these isolated rural (paved) roads we commented that it sure was quiet. Today was a different story as the “weekenders” were out in force mainly fishing. The roads were actually “busy”.

Tomorrow  (Sunday) at the NWR there will be a “Rail sweep”. That is, two times a year volunteers can walk through the Rail (bird) grounds as workers use a long rope to drag across the marsh and flush the Rails and other marsh birds into the air for counts. Otherwise many would never be seen as they are so secretive. It is all a NWR program for accurate statistics as well as a way for the public to see some birds they would not ordinarily. We will try to get in on this  tomorrow. It is done two times on the last day of March and again on the first day of April.

A Scissor tailed Flycatcher looking at you.

Fulvous Whistling Ducks (seldom seen)

A bit distant (that's good!) Roseate Spoonbill Rookery (Zoom!)

A map to show where we have been Triangle 9 is our camp site
and the arrow is where we travelled today (Sat). #10
is Anahuac NWR

So here are a few pictures from the trip across from Galveston on the Ferry, the boats waiting to come into Houston, and of course some flowers and birds to enjoy. Maybe a few surprises.

See you again in a few days.

Leaving Galveston (March 26-29) To Smith Point,TX

Days 25-27 At Galveston,TX March 25, 26, 27.

SEE PICTURES AT BOTTOM OF POST!

Galveston is a long barrier Island connected to the mainland by a large series of causeways and I-45.

The Gulf Coast around Galveston had much to offer in the way of bird life. Interestingly many of the good birding “hotspots” spots are not on the Ocean side but in the mud flats and back bays that often have standing water where the shorebirds can get many crustaceans and worms in the shallow waters. There are also many developed and natural wetlands there. This is where we spent much of the three  days here.  Three roads worth mentioning were; Stewart Rd, Sportsman Road (the best ) and 8 mile road. All about 8-10 miles west of Galveston downtown.

The birding has been consistent with 50-60 birds identified each day. Some new species added were the Whimbrel, Tree Swallow, Black Bellied plover, Solitary Sandpiper, and many White Ibis that we have seen in flocks.

Galveston, “discovered” in 1817, is an historic town, not only has it withstood and been destroyed by hurricanes, it was a major scene during the Civil War when the Union placed batteries (cannons) on the shores and across the Bay on Bolivar Peninsula to prevent goods from getting out to the Confederates. (Much like Rockport.) It has about 47,000 people only 10,000 more than in 1940. The tourism industry is along with fishing and shipping, the main industries. The Hurricane of 1900 that destroyed most of the city and was the largest disaster in USA history (ever), with the loss of 6,000-8,000 people, mandated that a seawall be built . It was built in the next few years and is 12 feet high and extends 10 miles along the waterfront. It has served well since then. Reading “Isaac’s Storm” and other books about the storm are worth the time to help understand the tragedy.

The city of Galveston extends the length of the Island (30 miles) and is separated by new communities that have sprung up along the Gulf shoreline  .Multimillion dollar homes and resorts ‘sprinkle’ the shoreline.

As an example, the RV Park where we stayed had spots for 79 large RV’s with cement drives and pads fully equipped. A large modern pool, and eating room along with recreation halls are included. After only three years since its’ establishment , the owner is building an addition to the park of equal size. It has another pool, (bigger) and another recreation hall. It also includes a mini golf set up and other child amenities and exercise rooms. The tourist money comes in here and he expects more will come. Many of the people we met were “Snow birds “ from the North staying 1/2 the year here. One man indicated that as Texas has no taxes on his mobile home for 6 months and one week he claims his home here and lives the other 5 months and 3 weeks in Nebraska and pays no taxes on his “summer “ home there. Hmmm. Something wrong there?

Most of the homes along the beach are those often seen on the Ocean shores up on stilts and three stories high with 15-20 rooms at a minimum.

It will be good to get to Smith Point, in spite of the good birding here, on the backwaters of the Galveston Bay, away from the highway (45 miles off the main road) and where life is slowed to a crawl. It does a person so much good  to slow down a bit . We’ll check in on our friends at “Geri’s Seafoods” and see how they have been recovering from the Hurricanes “Ike” and “Rita”. They are oyster farmers  and since late 2011 the oyster beds have been closed in South Texas due to the red tide. This is caused by the organism_ Kerenia brevis which makes the oysters toxic to humans. Only recently have some limited beds been opened again. These businesses have suffered greatly.

 Included are a a few pictures from the past three days for you to enjoy as the computer seems to be working fine after a delay of 1 1/2 days.

Only one Pizza Hut in Galveston (take out only) and look what's next door! (They didn't Have Tillamook 'Mudslide'  ice cream so we opted out).

Sunset at Jamaica Beach (Galveston TX)

A Solitary sandpiper (not common).

Sometimes the birds fill the space. Many varieties here.

A Tro-colored Heron

Dragon Fly at a Nature Preserve

The infamous pirate was camped here and it is now a
wildlife sanctuary.

Ruddy Turnstone

Many gulls and terns on this beach at Texas City Dike

Brown Pelicans arte sooooo funny.
They also can soar so smooth and dive
directly into the water headfirst.

Another tri-colored Heron all twisted up.

A flock of White Ibis a ways off

See you in Smith Point where the spring migration may start at any time...or not!

PIctures, Pictures, Pictures March 26, 2012

 The trip from Rockport to Galveston was only 150 miles and passed  through mud flats, then huge fields of corn (knee high already) , some other grain crops, then heavy brush again as we neared Houston. Then headed south to Galveston and over the Bay bridge and out to almost the west end of  Galveston Island where we are now in Jamaica Beach RV Park. It is a  very open park compared to the Ancient Oaks (lots of live oak trees there) where there was cover and bird life albeit mostly Great Tailed Grackles and their noisy chatter.
We will be here three days and find what we can before heading across the channel of Galveston Bay to the Bolivar Peninsula with another Ferry crossing to reach Smith Point and the Spoonbill RV Park where we will stay at least a week. So here are the pictures I have been waiting to post so you can see more of the bird, flower and scenes of the TX Coast. The internet is super fast here.

Black Skimmers

Black Skimmer nesting site at Rockport

Shirt Biled Dowitchers in roadside pond

Sanderling on Gulf Beach 

The beach at Mustang Island TX

At the same beach but into the sun the salt spray is defined

Downtown Corpus Christi (a piece of it)

Daisies and Indian Paintbrish in Tivoli

An oil platform being repaired or constructed.

A type of harebell?

Gosh, I should know these...Anyone?

LIttle Blue Heron

Unidentified roadside flower

Bouganvilla we had before but it is so pretty!

Gecko seen in Aransas Pass Wetland entrance.

Days 23 & 24 March 23-24 Rockport TX

Day 23-24, Scouring the sites near Rockport

First I had better review the Whooping Crane tour as I only had pictures for that and they did not get posted as of March 24, 2012.

The day  (Thursday) started by securing reservation for the 10:00 AM Whooping Crane  tour as they need a minimum of 10 in order to have a trip. Fortunately, there were just ten that were signed up, so it was a “GO”!  The “Wharf Cat” is a twin diesel that can get up to 28 knots on the Ocean so can move right along. The ten of us were comfortable on that two deck ship. The captain had good, but not overbearing narration and was very generous in stopping for views of the Whooping Cranes when they were close to the shore. The Crane didn't seem to be bothered as I’m sure they “know the drill”. Our first mate was Brandon and he was helpful the entire trip. As I indicated the Aransas NWR is 117,000 ares along the edges of the Intracoastal Waterway where some ships and many barges (shallow drought of less than 20 feet) can ply the waters all the way from Padre Island on the Gulf of Mexico to the Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the USA. IT is known that the barges are the cheapest way to haul goods long distances. 

The Cranes are just about ready to go north to northern Alberta and Northwest Territories. They stay in family groups when they leave. The flight will take them to  Wood Buffalo Nat.Park., in northern Alberta  and southern Northwest Territories where  they will hatch their young and get them back to the NWR in time for winter.  There are a few other smaller habitats for the Whoopers, and a minor flyway from New Mexico to Idaho. The population is now around 400 individuals which is up from a low of 13 in the 1950’s. We allmost lost them!

It was a great trip  on the Wharf Cat and a seldom seen one. Certainly very few people have even seen the Whooping Cranes.

The Aransas NWR and Whooping Cranes winter home.
THis is located along the Intracoastal Waterwayin TX

Redhead (Duck family)

Whooping Cranes 

Redheads and some Lesser Scaups

The next two days were what we called “redoing”some areas that we had done before to see if we could pick up some species that we had not seen. As usual we continued to monitor each specie that we saw and identified each day. 

Three of the outstanding “finds” were right in or near Rockford, as on the Connie Hager Lagoon we twice saw a large raft of Redhead and Lesser Scaup of some 4-500 birds on each of two consecutive days. They were no doubt resting for the trip north in a few days., The second group was just west of town in an inauspicious mud flat where the Short Billed Dowitchers had assembled. These are flocks of birds in the 100’s to thousands. When they move, they all move at once.  They turn and twist in different loops , which is a wonder to watch. It is known that a type of “radar” is used by them to direct flight at times like this.

On the road north of Rockport, a few creeks run into the Copano Bay so allow some gathering of birds in smaller numbers in the mud flats that are near there. . Quite often there were 20-30 birds of the same species , and sometimes just a few.

Some of the species seen on those days included but were not limited to:

A Kingfisher that we saw three days in a row on the same place on a wire ,A battle between a Swainson’s and a Red Tailed Hawk, that ended in a draw, White Ibis flocks in the air of a thousand or more, Black Necked Stilts, Long Billed Curlew, Sandwich Tern, Glaucous Gull, Gull Billed Tern, Marbled Godwit, Black Skimmer, and Black Bellied Whistling Duck. (I just love to type that last four names) The first of these two days we saw 59 birds which was our best day ‘bird wise’.

Whimbrel

Driving south again and poking into side roads and all the ponds and flats we could find, we saw,  but not exclusively; Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Turnstone, a Shrike usually found  on a wire or fence, Lesser Yellow legs, Roseate Spoonbill (who is always away from the road a distance.), American Avocet, Western Meadowlark, and the Barn, Bank and Tree Swallow. That day we saw 50 different  birds in all.

Tomorrow (Sunday) will be the last day here and it’s “wrap-up” day for us, with church attendance, some laundry to do and get the trailer ready to roll on Monday AM. We will head for three days at Galveston, and then across Galveston Bay (Houston) and camp at Smith Point’s Spoonbill RV Park , for a week, which is perhaps our All Time favorite Park. Here we will hope for the songbirds return, especially at High Island and Anhuac NWR. 

Posting was good on Sunday so these went OK.

Don't go away!

I am having trouble posting pictures so will add them in a day or so when internet connection and speed is better.

We willput on som ebeautiful pictures of the Whooping Cranes and some huge flocks of Redheads, Lesser Scaups and individual pictures if Whimbrels and other birds at that time

Stay Tuned.--JIm

Mustang Island off Aransas Pass TX Day 21

Day 21 March 21st To Mustang Island  (Aransas Pass)

Suffice to say that the shorebird sightings have been tremendous so we continue to see them in most all the revenues we try to cover. Today was a trip slightly south of Rockport called Mustang Island .When Alonzo de Pineda explored this Island it was called “Wild Horse” in the 1600’s. The name changed.

As it is a barrier Island the birds use it as a great place to nest and with the n=migratory birds a great place to rest before moving on. We are not quite into that yet, but the shorebirds are there. Today 43 birds species were iD’D. There are about 12 birding sites designated in various sources on Mustang Island.

A  Great Day for Paraboarding

There he goes with a good lift.

The Ferrys at Aransas Pass

Rather than list the birds I will post some pictures of those that we have not talked about much, but that we have seen today and the last few days. The trip to Mustang Island, as there is no bridge, includes the many Ferry boats that work 14/7 to keep the traffic flowing across the Intercoastal Waterway (I.W.) between huge ship passages. Most places that there is a road have a bridge to cross the I.W., but the state has kept these Ferrys running at Aransas Pass since the 1960’s There are 8 Ferry boats that can carry 26-28 cars and carry 100 per hour. It certainly it is a source of employment and they are free. (Tourist an sport fisherman money?)

Port Aransas has a rollicking history to say the least. There were  Pirates, Hurricanes, Civil War battles and blockages by the Union Navy who finally burned the town to the ground to prevent the shipping of salt, cotton and other products to the Confederate Army to the east are among some of the history  vignettes of this small 3,000 population city. (See in Wickipedia)

Assorted ducks Shovelers, Redheads,Green W. Teal,

Loggerhead Shrike on Palm Tree nest building

Willet

American Oystercatcher

Resting Ruddy Turnstones (musta come across the Gulf?)

American Avocet (lots of these)

So here are the birds for today. Tomorrow will be the trip to see the Whooping Cranes on the Intercoastal Waterway on a “tour “ boat.

Day 19,20 March 19, 20, Rockport TX area Great bird sightings!

Laughing Gull      Rockport

Loggerhead Shrike

Day 19-20  March 19-20, Birding in the Rockport area --Gulf Coast USA

Two great days of finding those birds!  A large thunderstorm and the first rain of any kind in the 2.3 weeks we have been on the road added to the activity of the birds especially this AM Tuesday the 20th).

Sunday it was that round trip to Refugio, and Monday it was a more distant trip to the Bay at Corpus Christi that netted some 49 birds identified (ID’D). Between Rockport and Aransas Pass there were many places along the Gulf where the spit along the road allows water to pond and puddle on the inland side of the road. Here there often were shore bird to observe. Three wildlife area were on our list that day  and one eluded us as for the life of me I could not find it. Sometimes the old directions change or names change on the roads. Whatever we did find two places that allowed us to observe some new species for the trip. 

Avocet at Indin Point Portland, TX (Corpus Christi Bay)

Great Egret near Gulf Coast.
Outstanding on Monday were; Reddish Egret, Caspian Tern, Greater Yellow legs, Black Skimmer, both the Snowy and the Cattle Egret, Long Billed Curlew, Short Billed Dowitcher, Least Tern, and the White Ibis.Being in and around the big city of Corpus Christi was not a favorite spot to look for birds, but they were there along the edges where the water is. As the migration has not started the migrants (songbirds) are not here yet, but wait for their arrival any day now. 

Today was birding close to home after the first rain. After a lubrication on the truck, we stayed right on the waterfront to observe and there we did see many species.  The city of Rockport has a very large park called the Rockport Beach Park, with pond that has easy access between the pond (50-60 acres ) and the Ocean. Here the birds can move freely back and forth and use a few small islands in the lake. With the heavy rain last night  there was no shortage of water for them to splash and frolic. (Do birds frolic?)

Species seen there today included, but were not limited to: Great Egret, Coot, Common Loon, Long Billed Curlew, Black Bellied Whistling Duck, Marbled Godwit, the Franklin’s, Ring Billed, Herring and Laughing Gulls, and the Caspian, Forster’s and Common Terns, Quite a haul for one morning.  That park has three nesting areas for the Caspian Tern, the Laughing Gull, and the piping Plover. See the pictures of some.

Black Skimmers on nesting  grounds

Black Bellied Whistling Ducks. (Rockford)

bays there where we added:  Turnstone, Reddish Egret, Later we went to the west side of Corpus Christi and added a few: Snowy  Plover, Scissor Tailed Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Red Breasted Merganser, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Black Necked Stilt, four Osprey in  a 1/2 mile, and Pied Billed grebe. 

The total for the day was 52 species ID’D.

Suffice to say that things are “looking up” and although we may not do as well on other days, this is the reason we travelled here. Enjoy the log and the pictures. I will place some on the blog as the internet allows.

Tomorrow will be Aransas Pass and Wednesday a trip to see the Whooping Cranes in their last weeks before departure to the north. That will be by boat on the Intercoastal Canal. LOts of ship and barge traffic there.