Monday, February 7, 2011

Birds du Jour - From Birding at Galveston and Texas City Dike

I had my fellow volunteer and friend Lucy staying with me for the weekend.  I talked her into staying until this morning and going back to Houston via Galveston. We started the day by unloading our truckload of mulberry trees that the probationers had potted up yesterday, watering everything, and then going to Winnie for the best breakfast burritos. Then we set off to Galveston. The temperature started off at forty-four degrees with a ten degree chill factor and the winds were predicted to reach twenty-five miles an hour; not good for finding birds.


Sandhill Cranes
 There were lots of laughing gulls at the ferry but the pelicans - white and brown - and the red-breasted mergansers were somewhere more protected from the wind. We continued on over to 8 Mile Road and birded the corner then proceeded with many stops to the end of it and then birded Sportsman's Road. There were very few birds about but we did get to see the sandhill cranes and roseate spoonbills we had hoped for. But we had an amazing view of  about 20 American oystercatchers all sitting together on a pier on Sportsman's road. Then we went to Galveston Island State Park and only saw kites and a few herons and one flying roseate spoonbill.


Great blue heron, reddish egret, white ibis, roseate spoonbill, and snowy egret hunkering from the wind

Feeding roseate spoonbills


White-tailed kites

American Oystercatcher


After a delicious lunch at Salsas Mexican and Seafood Restaurant, Lucy went home and I went to Texas City Dike.  The winds were still howling and the birds were scarce.  I finally had to get on to  the shopping errands I had to do. But even with few birds we had a wonderful time.


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