May 31 - Galveston Island State Park

We slept in until after 7 a.m.!  Must have needed our sleep, and what-the-hey?, Marty and Becca are on a long weekend before attending the 25^th North American Prairie Conference next week.  We had a leisurely morning, although our efforts at augmenting the coffee maker with additional coffee resulted in grounds spilling out onto the counter . . . then, when I moved the pot, I accidentally put my hand on the hot plate, which blistered a finger.

After breakfast, we drove on out to the Gulf and stopped at Galveston Island State Park.  As we walked down to the beach, I noticed a Black-bellied Whistling Duck in the deflation plain pond, and putting up the scope, saw that she had 13 ducklings accompanying her.

We enjoyed our mile-long walk along the beach.

There were no turtles on the beach this morning

It was late morning, and some of the locals were already enjoying a sushi lunch.

Sanderling and Sushi

Other folks were doing some recreational fishing.  The egrets and herons were doing some recreational begging.

Sometimes you can’t even give away a fish!

There were quite a few Least Terns on the beach.  The Interior and California populations of Least Terns are federally listed as Endangered, but the Atlantic and Gulf coast population is not listed.  The Texas Parks and Wildlife notes that there are no clear morphological or genetic distinctions among subspecies, and that chicks banded on the Texas coast have been found later breeding in Kansas.  Because of the lack of distinction between populations, and movement between breeding areas, they believe the status of this species in Texas deserves careful monitoring.  It makes me wonder how these apparently connected ‘populations’ constitute separate entities under the ESA?

That aside, we finished our beach walk, and went across the highway to the picnic area for a snack and to walk the “Duck Pond” trail loop.  I might suggest not wearing sandals on this trail.  At least, if you do wear sandals, I might suggest not standing on a Fire Ant nest . . .

Grackles were quite interested in our lunch.

Males are big and black, with piercing yellow eyes

The females are brown and quite brazen

Leaving the State Park, we drove over to Bryan Beach, near the mouth of the Brazos River.  Bryan Beach is maintained by the city of Freeport "for all families to enjoy.  Perfect for sunbathing, camping, birding, fishing and relaxing.  The beach is still in its natural state so if you need anything stop in Freeport before you go over the intracoastal.  Beach goers can drive and park on the beach for no charge."  There was a relatively high tide with little ‘beach’ between the water and the sand dunes, and we walked for about ¾ mile, enjoying the sun, the warmth, and the birds.

We drove into Bay City, and checked into the Holiday Inn Express.  Marty has an IHC ‘membership’, so they treated us like regulars.  This is a pretty upscale place, compared to the motels I usually stay at when not traveling with Marty . . .  We had supper at Bay City Seafood and Steaks, where Marty & I had the “special” crawfish supper - 3 pounds of mudbugs cooked in a garlic and citrus boil.  Becca had a salad.  It only cost $35.

Willet.  Or, won't it?

Galveston Island State Park beach eBird Checklist is Here

Galveston Island State Park Duck Pond eBird Checklist is Here

Bryan Beach eBird Checklist is Here

Reddish Egret

February 5 - T is for Texas - B is for Birding

I woke up a little after 8 to a foggy 68° day, in Liberty, Texas!  I went online & registered for the Laredo Birding Festival, getting the last spot on a couple of the field trips, because I was registering so late.  I had flown to Houston, visited my daughter, and ‘bought back’ her 2000 Subaru Outback, now that she’s bought herself an F-150 – a girl’s gotta have a ‘truck”.  I left the motel and headed down the road to the south, intending to drive the Subaru back to the Pacific Northwest.

I stopped at the Visitors’ Center for the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuges - now called the “Texas Chenier Plain NWR Complex Headquarters”.

The center was closed today, but the trails were open, and I walked from the Loblolly Pine forest down to the bald cypress forest at the edge of the lake.

Bald Cypress - Taxodium distichum

This high ground above Turtle Bayou
has obviously been used for centuries, as the shell middens all along the trail attest

Native Americans had clam feeds here for many generations . . .

It had been a while since I’d enjoyed the views of cypress and marveled at the ‘knees’.  Although there are a lot of theories for why these swamp cypress have knees, no one really knows.

Cypress 'knees' above the swamp water

The Cajuns over in Louisiana called the common reed “Roseau Cane” when I worked there back in 1980

Roseau Cane - Phragmites australis

The swamp was full of red-eared sliders

Trachemys scripta

I spent a little time at the photo blind.

The blind was clean enough, but the only feeder present was empty and the water structure just had rain water in it.
It seemed to be a slow morning for birds, but I did see 16 species there, even though it was so foggy that you couldn’t see out into the lake.  A handsome Hermit Thrush kept mostly out of sight in the brush, and a few Orange-crowned Warblers.  It amuses me that I’ve seen the Orange-crowned in Texas before I found one in January in western Washington!

There is a lot of Chinese Privet in this part of the country, but I’ve never seen any local birds or animals feeding on the berries

Chinese privet berries - Ligustrum sinense

Other wildlife along the trail included a bullfrog

Jeremiah was a bullfrog . . .

and an anole

Green Anole - Anolis carolinensis

The piles of mud along the trails, and in lawns all over the coastal plain, are the “chimneys” of crawfish.  The crawfish down here burrow in the moist ground, and come out at dark to feed or travel.

I continued on out to the Anahuac NWR’s Shoveler Pond wildlife drive, off the Whites Ranch Road.  The Visitors’ Center was closed here as well, but the restrooms were open for the public.
I drove the loop, seeing 40 species, including 9 species that were new for the year.  One was the Neotropic Cormorant, which is a little slighter build than the Double-crested Corms that I’m used to seeing, and takes me a while to separate.
The impoundment is pretty full, with ‘islands’ of Roseau cane.

Besides the birds, one has to keep an eye out for alligators on this coast.

Big ones have a toothy grin, but the little ones are ‘cute’,

although even the little ones can be dangerous – if you’re a gallinule!

I walked out on the short boardwalk, and found a large flock of whistling-ducks.
The Black-bellied Whistling-duck has a gray face, a bright pink bill, and – of all things – a black belly.

The Fulvous Whistling-duck has a gray bill, cinnamon face, breast and belly, with white streaks on its flanks.  The eBird program flagged the 54 Fulvous that were mixed in with the Black-bellys as a “high count”.

Fulvous Whistling-ducks on the left, a Black-bellied on the right

Also on the boardwalk was an American Pipit, wagging its tail incessantly.
On the drive out, there was a White-tailed Kite.  The books used to call these “Black-shouldered” Kites, which I always thought was a more apt name.

Kite in the Fog

I am on my way toward Laredo for the Bird Festival there, so beat feet to gain a few miles before the day is over.  I caught the Bolivar-Galveston Ferry (free) just before dark.

The fog was pretty thick on the crossing, so all of the birds seen were close to the boat.
Four of us in in a row were “randomly selected” from the ferry line for inspection by “Security” staff.  Looking in my glove box? And under my car’s hood?  Really?  I find it so damned demeaning to be searched or have my vehicle searched in the guise of “Homeland Insecurity”.  Back west, we don’t have to put up with this un-American intrusion on our Washington State Ferry system, but apparently the Texans are more afraid of their own citizens . . .  end of rant.

I drove on until I made it to Lake Jackson – Clute, and checked into the La Quinta Inn.

Texas Chenier Plain NWR eBird Checklist is Here

Anahuac NWR eBird Checklist is Here