Category Archives: Texas birds

Feet

The Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center at the Port Aransas Wastewater Treament Facility is one of the hotspots along the Texas coast. Not only are the birds plentiful, they are accustomed to visitors and allow pretty close access. So these amazing feet belong to a bird I see in the hundreds – but never knew about about their spectacular feet.

You can see that it is an American Coot – a bird that is easy to take for granted.

This Pied-billed Grebe was grooming away in a variety of poses. We really liked to see his feet in action.

Sorting out herons and egrets can be challenging but when you can see the black legs and the yellow "slippers" you know you’ve got a Snowy Egret.

It’s a great experience to see wild birds, who normally flush when you raise a camera, stay around and act like avian models. You’ll see some nice stalking shots on the next post.

Companions

While I record each species we see and use eBird to track birds as we travel, my birding partner is more interested in "slow birding" – taking time to "smell the flowers" – to mix metaphors. It’s got me seeing more and enjoying birding even more.

We came upon these gulls just after a lesson from a local bird walk leader. So we paused and sorted them out into Laughing Gulls, Ringed-billed Gulls, and Herring Gulls. Right now,those are the three species here so it is fun to sharpen ID skills by just going over groups – and when they line up on a pier it’s even more interesting.

Just up the road we saw these Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Can you see what they were looking at?

Yes, it was an Anhinga, a relatively rare bird here. We watched it as it fished with snake-like movements and then strolled back up to the larger group of ducks, spreading its wings to dry out, and hanging out with the kids with bubble-gum legs.

In the next field we saw an odd couple – a young Crested Caracara and an adult Turkey Vultures. I know that they are both carrion eaters and sometime soar (kettle) together, this seemed almost like a foster mom situation.

A second juvenile joined the group as we watched entranced by what appeared to be flying lessons.

There were three juveniles, one of whom could barely fly, several Turkey Vultures, and everyone seemed at ease with the scene. No adult Caracara seemed present. We loved what we had seen but were a bit bewildered about what was going on. Anyone have any suggestions? Leave a comment if you do.

Goose Island Birds – A Sampling

Goose Island State Park is one of my favorite birding spots. Our first few outings have been very rewarding. Here is a Black-capped Titmouse who showed himself just a few hundred yards from our campsite as we started out.

Walking down to the bay, we saw these two Northern Pintail’s and a Little Blue Heron.

We paused for a few photos of an interesting live oak in the campground.

A short drive away is the field where Whooping Cranes often congregate. There are three regulars including a youngster. Here’s one of the parents.

A number of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were also there and it was interesting to watch the cranes shoo them away from choice feeding spots. The ducks are quite the characters, making you smile with their actions and their voices.

We will be here about a week and while having to deal with scattered thunderstorms, are enjoying the birds and mild tropical conditions.

Biking For Birds

We had three days of foggy mornings at Galveston Beach State Park but every so often, the sun showed itself.

Saturday morning, we rode our bikes over to some of the bayside trails and in spite of wind and fog, saw some nice birds. We heard this Loggerhead Shrike calling as we rode in and he sat nicely for us.

A fresh water pond held a neat variety of waterbirds including several White Ibises, a Roseate Spoonbill,

Walking the Clapper Rail Trail, we came across this Great Blue Heron who seemed to think he was hidden from us.

Biking back to the little pond, we saw this Tri-colored Heron in alternate plumage.

Returning to the campsite, this Savannah Sparrow and his buddies welcomed us back.

Our trip to Goose Island State Park featured stiff Texas crosswinds and temperatures in the high 70’s. Off to look for Whooping Cranes in the next few days.

Remembering Martin Luther King and his dream as we move onward, with hope.

Galveston Beach

"Galveston, oh, Galveston,
I still hear your seawaves crashin,…"

On the way to Galveston Beach State Park, we took the ferry across the Houston ship channel.

Halfway across, we downloaded Glen Campbell’s "Galveston" and listened to it the rest of the crossing – and thought of it as we walked the beach that afternoon.

Just after checking in, we saw this neat White-tailed Kite just outside the office. We hope to see others this weekend.

After setting up, we walked the beach barefoot (the water was refreshing but not swimmable) and saw this Willet, which got Penny’s attention.

These Sanderlings were fun to watch. The second photo shows them and the Willet.

It is time to bone up on shorebirds, again.

Finally, Some Warblers

Ten days of south wind resulted in few migrants but that changed Friday with a weak cold front and wind shift to the north. Saturday was better as I noted in my last post but Sunday mid-day to evening was great. On my walk with Penny and a subsequent outing without her, I saw about ten new year birds including two life birds. Here’s the list:

Goose Island SP (CTC 048), Aransas County, Texas, US ( Map )
Date and Effort
Edit Date and Effort
Sun Apr 05, 2015 2:30 PM

Protocol:Traveling
Party Size:4
Duration:1 hour(s), 36 minute(s)
Distance:1.5 mile(s)
Observers:Dick Mansfield
Comments:
Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.8
Species
Edit Species List
31 species total

2 Turkey Vulture
1 Red-tailed Hawk
4 Laughing Gull
2 Forster’s Tern
2 Inca Dove
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -Female
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
1 Brown-crested Flycatcher
6 White-eyed Vireo
2 Yellow-throated Vireo
1 Blue-headed Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireo
6 Black-crested Titmouse
1 House Wren
2 Gray Catbird
X Northern Mockingbird
**2 Worm-eating Warbler**
**2 Blue-winged Warbler**
8 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Orange-crowned Warbler
4 Hooded Warbler
2 American Redstart
*Seen in two locations clearly. Confirmed by Bob and Dawn Scranton. Part of minor warbler fallout from wind shift. Males actively feeding, fanning tail.*
2 Northern Parula
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
2 Yellow-throated Warbler
1 White-throated Sparrow
1 Scarlet Tanager
X Northern Cardinal
2 Indigo Bunting
X Red-winged Blackbird
2 Great-tailed Grackle

It was a great way to end our stay at Goose Island. Two other couples who had also planned to leave Monday extended their stay because of the fallout. We were tempted but we’ll hope to see them enroute and then when they arrive in Vermont. They look great in their breeding plumage but O was too busy sorting then out high in the trees to do much photo work. First night taking Motrin for “warbler neck” in a long time. No complaints here.

Thanks, Larry, for the life bird

On Saturday morning, I joined a dozen other birders for a "woods" bird walk led by Judy and Larry Geiger from Wyoming. I have known these folks for years – Larry is a "pokey" who birds very slowly and really prefers to sit and let birds come to him. Every morning as I walk Penny past their campsite (which is adorned with feeders, water sprays, brush piles..) I’ll see Larry sitting in camo clothing in his chair, binoculars and camera at the ready, armed with his coffee and a hand-rolled cigarette, waiting. He sees a lot of stuff before most of us are up and about.

Judy, on the other hand, is a walker, and birds at a pretty good pace, usually instructing as she does. They are a great team who let birders identify sightings by field marks rather than shouting out, "There’s an Indigo Bunting."

Saturday’s walk was rather routine until we visited the park feeding station. Nothing was moving in except the usual suspects and some of us were getting antsy to move on but the leaders dawdled, waiting. Then someone spotted something with yellow, always a good omen, and we were on to a Black-throated Green warbler – and then someone said, there are two birds – and sure enough, a gorgeous Yellow-throated Warbler was also flitting about. Most of us got good looks and then, as warbler do, they were gone. After a wait, we moved on psyched to have such a neat start.

We had ambled only a hundred yards, still chatting about the warblers, when Larry said, "I’ve got a great bird here. Hopefuly, he’ll sing, he’s way back in the understory." As we scrambled, he was talKing about "rain crow" and some other stuff and I had no idea what we were looking for. Suddenly, others spotted it, telling which way it was moving …I still couldn’t see anything. Then the Yellow-billed Cuckoo moved a little more into the clear and then we spent the next fifteen minutes watching it actively feed on caterpillars in the dense foliage. Photos were tough to get – this was the best I could get.

We asked Larry how he ever spotted the bird which was so well hidden and he said that he had spotted the tail, knew that only cuckoos had tails like that, etc. I could have walked down that park road hundreds of times and unless the bird was calling, would have missed it. It was nice to find out later that it was life bird #422 for me. Thanks, Larry.

Some Monday Birds

I was out walking the dog before daylight, listening to the morning chorus of birds and frogs when far off, I heard a Great Horned Owl hooting. After another coffee and bagel it was getting light out so Penny and I headed out for another jaunt, this time with my binoculars and camera. Not much was moving – we seem to be overflown by migrants – until I took a side trail, noticed some movement, and spotted this owl. It was very large, facing away from me, but turned periodically to check us out. It was difficult, with the limbs and lighting, to get a decent photo but a great start to the day.

We had planned to go over to Port Aransas for the morning for some birding and after an easy drive and short ferry ride, were at the wastewater treatment facility – one of our favorite birding spots. The Leonabelle Turnbill Birding Center has hundreds of waterfowl that are used to visitors and just hang out on the facility’s ponds. Boardwalks and spotting scopes make this popular and very productive. Here are a couple of Roseate Spoonbills overhead (most are getting their breeding plumage).

We had Cinnamon, Blue-winged, and Green-winged Teal.

Ruddy Ducks in breeding plumage were eye candy for Vermonters.

Even this Common Moorhen looked pretty spiffy trotting along.

We took a drive down to the beach, just to see it again. I noticed a flight of about thirty Brown Pelicans flying very low coming up at us so I stopped the truck and grabbed a shot. As an aviator, I admire their flying skills and love to watch them in formation.

On the way home, we picked up some healthy lunches from "The Shack," a local barbecue place. Afterward, I felt a bit like this Black Vulture which I saw later on – fat, dumb, and in need of a nap.

A Morning Jaunt to Aransas NWR

One of the "must-do" trips when we are a Goose Island State Park is to get to the [Aransas National Wildlife Refuge](http://www.vtbirder.com/aransas-national-wildlife-area/) so we loaded up some lunch, our birding gear, and the dog and headed out yesterday morning. It’s only a short trip, much of it at 70 mph, and it is always a bit unreal to take the narrow roads through cotton country. The fields are continuous black soil, flat as can be, cut only by irrigation ditches. Way off, like mirages on a desert, trucks float along just on the horizon. It’s about as far removed from Vermont as possible.

The refuge is large and being remote, not that busy, even on a weekend. Mary and I get in free with our Senior Pass (one benefit of getting old) and there is a pretty driving loop along the coastline with several overlooks.

The first stop after the impressive visitors’ center is the alligator viewing pond. They’ve constructed a new viewing platform and right below it was this young alligator, taking the sun. It’s Mary’s type of alligator viewing – there’s no way, unless he sprouts wings, that he’s going to bother her.

The birding was so-so with the exception of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, who have just begun to show up. Some will stay here, others will continue their migration northward. There were over a dozen and all were having trouble perching in the stiff breeze. This one balanced on a sign.

As did this one.

Later, after seeing a couple of Whooping Cranes from the elevated platform, I thought I saw a bunch of white birds way up high. I tried to get my binoculars on them with no luck, finally giving up. I told Mary that I must have mistaken a swarm of insects for a flight of birds.

We moved on, driving the long scenic loop, when I thought I saw a similar group of white objects. I stopped the truck and realized right away that they were birds that showed up when the sun was on them but disappeared when they turned away. They were making large circles, thermalling and drifting with the wind. I got Mary on them and through the binoculars, could see that they were White Ibis. My camera didn’t focus well but you can get a sense of the neat swirling birds we were seeing.

The temperature showed 80 as we stopped in a grove overlooking the water. The wind, while making casual dining a workout, kept the bugs (which were there) away. It was a nice Saturday morning in southern Texas.

Sunday Afternoon Digiscoping

I took advantage of a damp Sunday afternoon to practice some digiscoping with my iPhone. The lighting was poor but the dog and I had several outings and got a lot of fresh air. I can see why people opt for carbon-fiber tripods- my aluminum one gets pretty heavy one long jaunts.

Here’s a female Northern Cardinal which I sometimes confuse with the Pyrrhuloxia, her Mexican cousin. (Thanks, Sue, for the correction.)

You can’t walk 100 yards here without seeing the Texas state bird, the Northern Mockingbird. They are singing and tussling for territory but unlike blackbirds, they don’t wear out their welcome.

Curved-bill Thrasher are amazing singers and seem to go on for minutes without a pause.

We went down by the lake and found this Great Egret trying to hide in the rushes

This Eastern Phoebe and a partner were actively feeding and calling. It’s nice to think that the “fee-bee” call will be in our Vermont woods in a couple of months.

Not to be outdone, this female Vermillion Flycatcher performed for us. There are perhaps four pairs in the park and while the males are the most spectacular in plumage, the gals do ok.

Vermillion Flycatchers are my kind of bird: easy-to-see, wonderful to watch in action, and inclined to return to, or near the same perch. What’s not to like?