Baby Turtles & Piping Plovers

A quick trip to Corpus Christi to see the last public release of turtle hatchlings at the Padre Island National Seashore this year - 30 July-2017.




















Also at the beach some banded Piping Plovers. Always fun to find and report them!

Northern Waterthrush

Migrating through the Texas gulf coast; chillin' and eating before continuing north to its breeding grounds in Canada.

Spotted Sandpiper

A spotted sandpiper among 50+ least sandpiper.

Dove and chick

Late spring chicks are the treat of my week. On Tuesday, it was a treat to spot 3 killdeer chicks running around nearby a nest I'd been observing for weeks. Today, I went back to check on a white-winged dove nest I spotted Saturday. To my surprise, there was a dove and a chick sitting calmly next to each other!

Spring Migration

Indigo Bunting

Black-throated Green Warbler

Spring migration is still going strong in High Island, TX.

Great Egret

We were back at High Island this past weekend. We saw many nests still with beautiful blue-green eggs. Parents were busy preparing for the arrival of their little ones. A couple of nests had chicks and the egrets were carefully feeding their chicks. Last year by this time most nests had chicks already and the egrets were busy feeding their young.

The roseate spoonbills seemed either to be a bit behind in breeding or they took great care in hiding their eggs in the nests. It looked like they were just hanging around with some happily playing courting games.

A great number of warblers were reported in the woods. Sam Wood's blog has great pictures of the birds migrating through the High Island Sanctuaries. Yesterday he posted gorgeous pictures of a Kentucky Warbler and an Indigo Bunting.

I'm yet to see an indigo bunting or a painted bunting that migrate through. The kids will need to be a bit older for that kind of birding. Daniel is good at spotting alligators, frogs and the big birds. As expected, not very patient or quiet to wait for the smaller birds. He hears them though and is quite excited about it. A couple of more years...

40th Aniversary - Sesame Street

Google has some really need google doodles this week celebrating the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street coming up next Tuesday, November 10.

Big Bird was the first one featured on Wednesday, then we had Cookie Monster and today it's Ernie & Bert.

In Brazil, Big Bird is called Garibaldo.

And now there are 4...

One more egg in the nest.

And not too far from this nest, I spotted another one also with 4 eggs.

Killdeer

The bird from yesterday -- it's the killdeer (Charadius vociferus) named for its loud call kill-deeah or kill-deeah-dee-dee.

The Smithsonian Handbook of Birds of Texas describes it as the largest of the ring plovers and the only double banded plover within its range. As I observed, the guide goes on to describe how it "leads intruders away from nest and young with 'broken wing' act, rapid calls, one or both wings dragging, tail spread, and often limping or listing to one side. Once lured far enough from the nest/young, the 'crippled' bird suddenly 'heals' and flies away, calling all the while."

Natural instincts

at the end of my run today I was surprised by a bird at the bottom of the trail. At first it looked injured, but as I approached it quickly moved farther away and re-started the "injury" dance. After a few steps I noticed a small nest with 3 eggs on the ground camouflaged amongst the rocks. I believe the bird felt the nest threatened and started to act injured to distract my attention from the eggs. Very interesting. I came back with my camera and he repeated the dance once again.

It's nice to be back running after a long 12-week break. Today it was more a run-walk-run in the noon heat.

Gray

This little one was sitting so still on the fence yesterday as I drove by I thought it was asleep. I approached him from the left, but after a while it turned its head and I was able to see both eyes.

High Island Rookery

Castles and Swans

Swans swim free along the Moselle River in Germany. On the hills, castles complete the picture.

High Island

Migration is not in full swing yet in High Island. There were lots of very pink spoonbills but not many egrets or ibises at Smith Oaks. Alligators were out in large numbers. A few turtles and a bullfrog also enjoyed a sunny day by the water.

These spoonbills had a much darker shade of pink than the ones I saw in the Fall '08 at Addicks. I noted that some birds had some orange feathers on their tails and wings - mating plumage, I learned.

A closer look

A popular Brazilian saying for the ultimate strike of bad luck - "the vulture pooped on his head".
Yuck!

But looking closely, you can find beauty on 'most everything.

Sleeping under Mamma's wings

And venturing out to the water...

The beach

It was a sunny winter day at the beach today. The beach in High Island is quite unique. Instead of just sand, the beach is covered with mud very rich in fossils. Just walking along the beach for a few minutes I found a fossilized bone - quite neat.

High Island sits on a salt dome. Oil, gas and sulfur exploration and production began in the early 1900's on the flanks of the dome. You can see pump jacks all around the city. Just a reminder that you are indeed in Texas!

In the Spring, however, is when High Island really comes to life. Visitors come in large numbers to witness the migration of millions of birds on their way to northern breeding grounds. I'm looking forward to a bird watching visit in a few weeks.

http://www.birdinghighisland.com/

Roseate Spoonbills are back!

And I have pictures this time! I was able to get really close to the water without spooking the birds.

I was a bit concerned about going down the levee since I had the encounter with the bloched water snake on Monday. But the photos from the levee were just too far and not very gratifying. The grass was not as tall as it looked and going down was just fine.

The spoonbills we great - just posing away. They were very curious about me being there. The camera clicks did get them intrigued.

On the way out, I also spotted some deer tracks on the mud at the edge of the water. So much life is hidden away in the woods.

A Hummingbird

September 21, 2008

The lot next door has always sweet surprises for us. This Saturday I spotted a humming bird gently feeeding on this vine's orange flower. It's the first time I see a humming bird around the house. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me...

A Hummingbird

Hey, it's a humming bird outside the window.

Yeah, right - if the boss says so.

We turn the corner and there it is. The boss was right. A humming bird seems to be "trapped" or puzzled by the glass jungle. It comes close to the windows in the building, sees the green across the glass walkway, but can't quite figure out how to get across the man-made barrier.

It was nice to spot the humming bird in its seemingly effortless flight, but at the same time it was sad to see it tangled up in the maze of our buildings.

A few months ago I had the pleasure of visiting Augusto Ruschi's nature center, after years of vacationing just a couple of hours away. Hummingbirds fly free all around the park. Augusto Ruschi devoted his life to the study of plants and animals, mainly orchids and hummingbirds.