South Padre Mar 23 2014

We stayed close to home today.  The local birding center and convention centre are quite close and provided a great assortment of birds to entertain us.  We were going to go beach combing this afternoon but the sky got cloudy and the wind came up.  We need to slow down anyway.  Some of these species I have posted before but these are better shots.

Tri-colored Heron

Sora

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have just returned here.

Roseate Spoonbills

Pied-billed Grebe

Little Blue Heron

Great Egret with fish

Clapper Rail calling

Clapper Rail

Queen Butterfly

Queen Butterfly caterpillar

Monarch Butterfly

Brown pelican

Cloudy skies, rain and wind brought in a fallout last night.  This Yellow-throated Vireo was a new migrant.

Horned Lark.

Female Hooded Warbler 

Male Hooded Warbler

Orchard Oriole

Inca Dove

Northern Parula in an odd position

Louisiana Waterthrush.  A very skittish bird.

 We are going to get rain again tonight so can't wait to see what blows in tomorrow morning.  It must be quite the trip across the Gulf of Mexico for these tiny birds.  When they get here they are eating frantically; some right at our feet.

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Sabal Palms Brownsville Tx. Mar 22 2014

Sabal Palms was a half drive from Padre Island but, once again, we still got there a little late for good birding.  This area was once a cotton plantation on the Rio Grande.  It has been converted into a wild life preserve and yielded some nice additions to our list.  This is right up against the Rio Grande.  In fact we drove through the high metal border fence to get there.

Carolina Wren

Clay Colored Thrush.

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Levitating Gray Catbird

Great Horned Owl in a Palm tree

Great Blue Heron

Louisiana Waterthrush

Northern Cardinal female

Northern Cardinal male

Ovenbird

Plain Chachalaca showing red throat

Solitary Sandpiper

Sandwich Tern

White-tipped Dove showing why it is so named

White-tipped Dove

Yellow-throated Warbler

The old plantation house is now used for a visitors centre

Finally we leave with a couple of snakes.  This is a 6 foot Indigo.   Constrictor eats other snakes and anything else.

Not sure what this one is.


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Boca Chica-Mar 21 2014

Boca Chica is a wildlife reserve on the very southern tip of Texas where the Rio Grande River reaches the Gulf of Mexico.  You can only stay on the main road with a vehicle but one can walk off the road.  We did a little walking but mostly stayed in the car.

We saw this creature and thought it might be an Ocelot.  It walked into the brush before we got an ID so we ate our lunch and waited.  Before long it came back out.  It is a scrawny Bobcat.

If it wasn't for the tail I am not sure if we could have figured it out.

American Kestrel

The national bird of Mexico-Crested Caracara

Eastern Meadowlark

Forster's Tern

Ruddy Turnstone

White-tailed Hawk. We have been waiting all week to find one these-today we found 3. 

Royal Terns

Wilson's Plover.

This is a 2 mile causeway that links Port Isabel with South Padre Island where we are staying.


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