March 18th, DAY 18 Big birding day!
The first day on the Gulf Coast turned out to be a great day for us to locate and identify birds. It was the best day thus far. IT was a “sort of” triangular ride through brush country, some city ponds and finally the backwaters of the Mission River and the flats of Copano and Aransas Bay.
It was slightly windy and interestingly for you weather buffs, the temperatures are setting records for maximum lows each night . We have been at 75 F the last few nights and not over 80 during the day. Galveston set four maximum low records in the last five nights. Seems like the wind off the Gulf is constant all day long.
Today too, was the EXODUS of the Spring Break travelers, so the road going north to Refugio was crowded. There were many people moving away from the Gulf resorts back to Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. Every time I pulled off the road to observe the birds I made sure there was space behind me. Remember that TEXAS has a speed limit of 75 MPH. So they really move fast even on two lane highways. This is at least 10 MPH faster than most states.
To allow you to get an idea of the birds we saw today, here is a partial list of the 49 species seen today with some emphasis on those not seen often.
Mew and Franklin Gulls, *Black Bellied Whistling Duck, Belted Kingfisher, Great Egret, Kestrel, Gray Hawk, *Caracara, Western Meadow Lark, Loggerhead Shrike, Reddish Egret, The Great and Little Blue Heron, *Baird’s Sandpiper, *Ruddy Turnstone, Black Necked Stilt, Greater Yellowlegs, *Scissor Tailed Flycatcher, *White and Brown Pelican, Purple Martin, Golden Fronted Woodpecker, Bank Swallow, Red Tailed Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk, Snowy Egret, *American Oystercatcher, Redhead (duck) Widgeon, Ruddy Duck, Pied Billed Grebe, Blue Winged Teal and the Osprey. We saw the Osprey only because it dove into the water to catch a fish at some distance away.
CARACARA ON TELEPHONE POLE SOUTH OF REFUGIO
WHITE PELICANS ON COPANO BAY
I left out the common ones such as the blackbirds, grackles and doves.
I will attempt to download the pictures of those with an asterisk * if the internet is fast enough tonight. It has been sluggish at night but better in the AM.
OYSTERCATCHER AT LBJ BRIDGE (LAMAR)
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER (MISSION RIVER)
One stretch of road from Refugio to the coastal areas was filled with many hawks and Carcaras perching on the telephone poles along the way . Ruth counted 15 hawks that we could not identify, but were probably Swainson’s or Red Tailed immature .
A side trip included Goose Bay State Park near Fulton, where there is a 1000 year old *Live Oak tree that has been preserved and established as a memorial to the live oak trees in southern USA. We had seen it before but it is a good one to remind us of the world we live in that was much simpler in years gone by and that we need to continue to honor and preserve those wonderful plants and animals .
SEEN IN THE RV PARK TGIS AM AND PM
RUDDY TURNSTONE SEEN A NUMBER OF TIMES TODAY
We ended the day at the RV Park by grilling hamburgers and that is Ruth’s job. She is the expert and I stay out of the way there. They were excellent. Tonight is again warm at 78 F at 8:00 PM. It will probably be that all night.
ALL IN ALL A GREAT DAY WITH 49 SPECIES IDENTIFIED.
SCISSOR TAILED FLYCATCHER (MOLTING)
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