Jamey's AMAZING shot of a Roseate Spoonbill in flight.
Jamey's parents, Joan and Jack, came to visit over Easter weekend and we took them on a bird watching tour of the Texas coast--or at least our little piece of it.
On Friday we went to the Baytown Nature Center, an absolute treasure just across the Bay from La Porte that Jamey's co-worker told us about. We toured the gardens, which were beautiful already but are sure to be stunning in the summertime, and were entertained by dive-bombing pelicans who had evidently found their dinner!
On Saturday we took Joan and Jack to High Island, just off Highway 87, about an hour East of La Porte. There are four bird sanctuaries operated by the Houston Audubon Society on High Island.
The headquarters, Boy Scout Woods, is staffed by volunteers during the peak migration season, which is from mid-March to mid-May. During that time, there are hundreds of bird species all taking a break from their migratory journey in the same place. It's a haven for bird-watchers, and we knew that Jamey's parents would enjoy it.
Some of the lovely flora that can be found at High Island.
We visited two of the sanctuaries--Boy Scout Woods and Smith Oaks--and had a fantastic time. Jamey and Stacey are woefully uneducated in the ways of bird-watching, so it was nice to have Joan and Jack and their multiple bird books along with us to help identify the amazing birds that we saw. The highlight of the day for the birders was a sighting of a scarlet tanager--someone hollered out that one was flying into view, and there was a veritable stampede of Audubon bird watchers making their way to the platform to see it.
The elusive, and very popular, Scarlet Tanager.
At the Rookery in Smith Oaks there were hundreds of Roseate Spoonbills, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, and Cormorants, as well as Stilts, Ibises, and even a Little Blue Heron (the Heron was on the far shore, too far away to get a good picture).
There are hundreds of birds on Heron Island at the Rookery.
A Great Egret, posing for his adoring crowd.
A Spoonbill brings dinner home.
The first glimpse of the hundreds of shore birds at the Rookery.
Another pose, with feathers fluffed for the occasion.
Baby turtles on a log. There were lots of big turtles, too, but they were under the water and difficult to photograph.
The highlight of the day for Stacey (who has a weird fascination with alligators), were the 40-or-so alligators that were hanging around the Rookery all day, presumably hoping for a dropped egret egg or falling chick.
We counted some 40 alligators on and around Heron Island.
They were everywhere--swimming in the bay around Heron Island, sunning themselves on the banks, and waiting underneath low-hanging branches with tantalizing nests resting on the tops.
Guarding their dinner.
Here, birdy birdy birdy...
This was a small stretch of Heron Island that was COVERED in alligators.
There were at least 15 on that little stretch of land.
After visiting High Island we drove through Crystal Beach and the Bolivar Peninsula and we were sad to see all of the devastation from Hurricane Ike. We took the ferry back to Galveston, and had a great dinner at La Brisa on Highway 146.
All-in-all, it was a fantastic weekend.
1 comment:
That is one amazing picture of a Spoonbill! Wow.
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