Galveston Island Birding Trip

JMM and I are native Galvestonians and very much enjoy going back to go birding.  It is especially nice in the fall and winter( but the spring migration can be outstanding too.) Here are some photos from a recent birding trip.

Willet

Snowy Plover

Least Sandpiper

Osprey

Winter Birding in the Rio Grande Valley

The pictures aren't as good as I'd like because it was overcast and we didn't have the tripod with us.

Black-necked stilts

 

 

Blue Winged Teal

 

 

Great Kiskadee

 

Green Jay

 

Ladder Backed Woodpecker

 

Northern Shoveler

 

Orchard Oriole

 

American Coot

 

Chachalaca

 

Around Oak Meadows

Around Oak Meadows

We went to the Rio Grande Valley to do some birding in the warm, sunny south Texas parks. Ha! We froze our buns! But we had a good birding trip anyway. One thing that made it so pleasant was that I have discovered the Marriott Residence Inns. They are wonderful! I could watch television without disturbing JMM, there was a buffet breakfast and dinner, and best of all there was a handicapped accessible bathroom so I could shower easily! 

We went to the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and the Estero Llano Grande State Park. My favorite is the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park where you are able to watch the beautiful Green Jays, Great Kiskadees, and Chachalacas up close and personal. Another thing that made this trip so pleasant is talking with the volunteers at the parks. Without exception they are friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.  Most of the ones I visited with were from the north, down to escape the northern winter. I bought tee shirts and mugs and JMM bought pins for his pin board. I had the bright idea of stitching park patches from our travels onto quilt blocks and making a travel quilt. We shall see how that idea progresses. 

As always, it was wonderful to get back home. Pictures will be up this afternoon.  In all honesty, the pictures are not all that great. It was overcast and we didn't bring the tripod but how could you not take pictures of green jays and Kiskadees? 

Reading this week:
     Empire of Liberty by Gordon S. Wood.  This is taking a long time to read but it is excellent. It had no idea what a turbulent, interesting time the post-Revolutionary period was!!
     Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham. I am listening to this one audio CDs and can certainly understand why it won a Pulitzer Prize. What a complicated, interesting, brilliant man! 
     The Leafcutter Ants by Bert Holldobler. Beautiful book, full of pictures, diagram, and charts. Learning a lot about ants; first of all, how many millions of years they have been busily doing their thing. 
     The Rule of St. Benedict by St. Benedict of Nursia. I like to read this every year. Just nourishing to the spirit. 

Birding Galveston Island

I should have had these pictures up a month ago. But life, as it so often does, intervened.

 

 

Birding at Brazos Bend State Park

We took a much anticipated trip to Brazos Bend State Park which is our nearest state park.  I love that place!! I do think that Texas has the best state parks!! Daisy (daughter's dog) was with us for the weekend while she was out of town.  We took the trail that winds around the big pond (keeping a sharp eye out for alligators all the while) and enjoyed the beautiful birds. It was a bit colder than we had anticipated and the wind was quite chilly but things warmed up as the day went on. JMM has a new camera and was practicing with it and taking lots of pictures.  I'll post them as soon as he downloads them. 
Here's the day's birds:
Red- winged blackbird
Mourning dove
Black vulture
Mockingbird
Moorhens
Cardinal
White ibis
Tri-colored heron
Little blue heron
Black bellied whistling duck
Snowy egret
Crow
Mockingbird
Caracara
We were told that there was a vermillion flycatcher in residence but he evaded us.

Anahuac NWR Birding Trip

Saturday we took a one day trip to Anahuac NWR.  It was a beautiful day--not too hot, not too cold, a bit cloudy but no rain.  We stopped at the lovely Visitor Center and took a walk on the boardward out into the salt marsh.  I could have stayed there all day! A flock of beautiful cedar waxwings and rufous crowned sparrows kept us mesmerized. But I'm glad we went on into the refuge.  There was a lot of road construction going on, probably still repairing from Hurricane Ike 3 years ago.  Anyway, we saw flocks of white ibis, pelicans, roseate spoonbills, and many other beautiful birds.  The star attraction of the trip was near the tiny town of Anahuac where JMM spotted a pair of Eastern Bluebirds.  How can anything be that beautiful!!  It was good to go and good to come home as always.