Kayaking From Galveston State Park

I'm half-way through my month of R&R before starting another volunteer job in Sacramento NWR. Last Thursday, I left Louisiana and came to my best friend's house in Galveston to house sit for here while she paddles for a week on the Rio Grande River.

Then I partied all the rest of the long weekend. On Friday I went to the Volunteer Banquet at Anahuac NWR where I received a plaque and a jacket for my 3000 hours.

I also decided to host a weekend party at Natalie's house. So three friends and I spent the weekend birding, paddling, and eating great food, including a Cajun supper supplied by Dutch. But my favorite activity was paddling in West Bay out of Galveston State Park.  This was just a little out and back paddle where we hung out watching the birds more than we paddled.

Gulls, terns, white ibis, sandpipers, roseate spoonbills and brown pelicans were feeding or loafing.

Forrester's Tern

White Ibis

Hermit Crabs Riding on Geotube carpet

We saw what looked like a piece of floating carpet with lots of hermit crabs hanging on to it. Later we figured out that it was part of a geotube.  This is a huge fabric tube that is filled with sediment, in this case, and used to protect grassy areas from erosion.  The birds love them as they look like sandbars to them. They were resting on all the parts that were above water.

Brown pelican taking off  from a geotube

The end ...of a brown pelican dive

Laughing gulls and neotropical cormorant

Roseate spoonbills and  paddlers

Hey, short stuff

Royal terns

Least Sandpiper

Winter laughing gulls

I was the lunch provider of  wraps - cheese, black bean dip, guacamole, and spinach

Coming in

Fiddler Crabs- there were hundreds of them at the launch site