Our recent trip to Texas to pick up our daughter from her mission was a birders dream! I saw many birds I had never seen before. Texas is covered in wildlife and bird refuges! A few we visited were: the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park World Birding Center, the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, Port Aransas Birding Center on Mustang Island, and the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge. We also went to Goose Neck State Park in St. Charles Bay.This is a Green Jay. They are very colorful!
Great-tailed Grackle--these birds make a great variety of sounds!
Streak-backed Oriole
Great Kiskadee
Plain Chachalaca
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Blue Bunting
Sometimes it was more fun taking pictures of the birders than it was the birds!
Yes, we were right in the middle of them!
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
I believe this is a Snowy Egret. We were driving from Brownsville to South Padre Island, and the wind was whipping!
Great Egret
The Birding Center on South Padre Island
Looking out over the wetlands from the tower
Kate and Bill
Clappper Rail
Little Blue Heron
Common Moorhen, female
Common Moorhen, male
Roseate Spoonbill, female
Tricolored Heron
Probably a Least or a Semipalmated Sandpiper
Many wonderful boardwalks and birding blinds
There is an alligator under this blind!
A Great Egret poses for us
Long-billed Curlew
Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs
Lesser Scaup
A Willet wading in the gulf
Brown Pelicans and Laughing Gulls
Osprey
Loggerhead Shrike
Crested Caracara
Northern Cardinal
Scenery along the gulf
Gorgeous plants
Interesting pods
Redish Egret
We came upon a narrow waterway that ran under the road and we disturbed a large number of birds. These birds are the White Ibis.
These are some of my favorite pictures!
When they landed a ways from the road, we could see a large variety of birds all together.
Harris Hawk
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
One of our favorite areas was Paradise Pond in Port Aransas. Can you tell that I'm having a good time?
We saw this adult Black-crowned Night-Heron
Green-winged Teal and Blue-winged Teal
The pond was full of turtles!
Last but not least, we saw these three Whooping Cranes on Goose Neck Island in St. Charles Bay. Most of the Cranes had already migrated through, but these three were the only ones left that we knew of. We rushed to follow the directions we were given so that we could get back to Corpus Christi in time to catch our plane home! It was worth the rush!
5 comments:
Beautiful pictures!!
What amazing pictures! Looks like you had a great time!! Thanks for sharing!
Great photos! I can see how you would want to squeeze in a visit to this place before heading home. How fun.
You sure can get great photos with that lens and your wonderful eyes. It must be great to have your daughter back home for a bit. We saw sandhill cranes about three weeks ago on a little trip North of Seattle. Also many snow geese. You should enter some of your photos to magazines and contests.
I am so excited for you and Bill to have your sweet daughter home with you for a while. I know the feeling and so enjoyed reading all about your adventure with her in Texas. As always...gorgeous bird pictures. I agree about sending them in to magazines! I saw a Ladder-back Woodpecker where I worked. Didn't know that was it's name until I saw your pictures.
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