Texas City Dike

I have wanted for quite some time to visit the Texas City Dike, near Galveston, but the dike had been closed for the past two year for repairs of damages sustained during 2008's devastating Hurricane Ike. I've heard nothing but good reports since the dike reopened late last fall. So when I discovered I was the only one in the family who got Presidents Day off last month, I leaped at the rare chance for an outing.


Royal Tern (Sterna maxima)
The dike itself is very nice, extending out about two and a half miles into Galveston Bay. There is a paved, two-lane road running the length of it, several piers and boat ramps and a nice stretch of sandy beach on the northern side (away from the gulf).


Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Since spring migration was still several weeks away, there were not any unexpected birds to be seen. However, I still found almost twenty different species on and around the dike just in the short time I spent there. There were numerous Royal Terns, plus a lone Forster's Tern diving for food in the choppy waters of the gulf side of the barrier. As you would expect, gulls were everywhere, from giant Herring Gulls to the smaller Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls. There were also a handful of egrets, pelicans (brown and white), and lots of both Double-crested and the smaller Neotropic Cormorants.


Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) in winter/non-breeding plumage


Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

I was a little disappointed at the extremely low numbers of shorebirds to be found, but I expect that will pick up quite a bit over the next few weeks as migration hits the Gulf Coast. The only shorebirds I saw were a lone Willet, two tiny Sanderlings and a handful of Ruddy Turnstones.


Laughing Gulls (Larus atricilla), with Ring-billed Gulls in the background
As I started to leave for home, I did make a very quick stop at the Bay Street Park, located just around the corner from the entrance to the dike. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the marshy pond running the length of this park held quite a few more birds, including Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, Blue-winged Teal, American Coots and a couple of Pied-billed Grebes. A small pier overlooking the pond also gave some great photo opportunities with the dozens of gulls resting there.


Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis), with a Laughing Gull in the background
All in all, this was a nice day of birding. I will definitely be returning to Texas City whenever I get the opportunity!


Note: As always, you can click on any of the images in this post to see a larger version.

Catch of the Day

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Taken over Burnett Bay at the Baytown Nature Center, Baytown, Texas.

Roadside Portrait

Another case of "drive-by birding."

As I was driving along Bolivar Peninsula one day, I saw a fairly large shorebird fly up from a nearby field and alight on a fence post just ahead of me. I carefully slowed to pull alongside the post and snapped a couple of quick shots before moving on.

The Willet didn't seem the least bit concerned at the truck pulling up next to him. I was rather pleased with the portrait I ended up with:


Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)

Lift Off

Blue-winged Teal female in flight (Anas discors)

Taken at the Greens Bayou Wetlands Mitigation Bank in northern Harris County.

On the Wing

Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Taken at the Smith Oaks sanctuary in High Island, Texas.


As always, you can click on the image to see a larger version. Also, check out World Bird Wednesday for more great bird photos from around the world.

Soaring High

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Taken on Tri-City Beach Rd in Baytown, Texas.

The Daily Bird: Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Wednesday Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica)

Nesting at the Rookery

We are counting down the days until spring migration and nesting season hit the Texas Gulf Coast.






nesting Great Egrets (Ardea alba)
Taken last spring at the rookery at Smith Oaks sanctuary in High Island, Texas.


As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version. Also, check out Bird Photography Weekly #128 and World Bird Wednesday XII for more great bird photos from around the world.

World Bird Wednesday: Prothonotary Warbler

Here is another bird I am looking forward to seeing again when spring migration wings its way through the Texas Gulf Coast in a couple of months. I spotted this pretty little female Prothonotary Warbler last spring at High Island.


Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)
As so often is the case in the world of birds, the male Prothonotary far outshines the female in terms of pure color and audacity. Unfortunately, the best shot I have yet to get of a male of the species pales in comparison to the image above. This one is from the year before, down at Brazos Bend State Park:


With a little luck (and a whole lot of time and patience), I hope to get some better views of this radiant warbler once April rolls around again.



As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version.

For some great bird photos from around the world, check out this week's installment of World Bird Wednesday.

The Daily Bird: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

Signs of Spring: Yellow-Rumped Warblers

I'm beginning to see more and more of these little fellows all over town. We must be getting closer to spring.




Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)

Taken last spring at the Smith Oaks sanctuary in High Island, Texas.


As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version. Also, check out Bird Photography Weekly #127 for more great bird photos from around the world.

#200

Last Saturday was an odd day, with nothing on the calendar until late morning. So I took advantage of the free morning, sneaked out of the house before the sun came up and headed for Bear Creek Park. My mission: the Rusty Blackbirds and Purple Finches that had been reported there for the past two weeks.

I arrived not long after the park gates were opened and began checking the reported hot spots. Maybe it was the temperature (I know 28F is nothing compared to what many of you tolerate every winter, but down here that's almost unheard of!), or maybe the recent lack of rain, or maybe just the luck of the draw, but there was not a single rusty or finch to be found.

Not that the morning was completely birdless. There were handfuls of crows and pine warblers, a couple of Caroline Chickadees, a little Downy Woodpecker and several Red-bellieds. I even watched as several dozen robins flew over, some lighting briefly in the treetops far above and filling the otherwise quiet morning with bursts of sound. But none of the stars, the celebrities that I had ventured out into the frozen morning in hopes of seeing.

As it neared my predetermined cut-off time — when I absolutely had to leave in order to make it home and shower before the kids' basketball games — I decided to make one last pass around the inner loop of the park. Coming upon a couple of birders with a scope, my hopes began inching up. Had they found the Rusty Blackbirds I had been seeking all morning? But no, their scope was trained on a tree full of starlings and grackles; it appeared my slow morning was being shared by all. But then ... "Oh, did you see the Merlin perched on the snag at Brandt Road?"

"Waitaminit. So you guys are standing here in the cold looking at starlings when there's a freaking Merlin a half mile away?!?" This of course was kept to myself as I sprinted back to my truck and headed across the park. And there she was, just as they had said. Life list #200, and what a beauty!




Merlin (Falco columbarius)
What can I say? Some days life gives you lemons, other days it send you Merlins!

The Daily Bird: Pied-billed Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)





Taken last spring at the San Bernard National Wildlife Reserve near Lake Jackson, Texas.

Hazy Morning Sunrise

Our friends often ask why we live "so far away" from town and the center of life as we know it. Here's one reason:


No, it's not our land — that life is still just a dream for now — but there's nothing like being able to drive five minutes from home to see sights like this.


As always, you can click the image for a larger view. And for more intriguing images of the skies above our world, check out the SkyWatch Friday home page.

The Daily Bird: Swamp Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
Taken last spring at Boy Scout Woods in High Island, Texas.

Little Lark on the Prairie

Not the greatest shots, but the best I have been able to manage so far from the roadside out on the Katy Prairie.




Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

The Daily Bird: Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal male (Anas discors)


... and the female







Pictures taken at the San Bernard National Wildlife Reserve near Lake Jackson, Texas. Click any image to see a larger version.

The Daily Bird: Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Avocets on Bolivar Peninsula

In a return to last year's spring migration, I took an afternoon one day and trawled along the mudflats and beaches of Bolivar Peninsula — just across the channel from Galveston Island — searching for shorebirds, terns and gulls. The weather was nice and a strong southerly wind was blowing in from the gulf, so most of the migrating birds were high above, taking full advantage of the wind currents. However, I did happen on a small group of avocets taking a break from their long journey to hunt for food in the Texas surf.


American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana)


males


female
This is actually the only time I've found these beautiful shorebirds in the area, and it was an exciting addition to my life list.


As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version. Also, check out Bird Photography Weekly #123 for more great bird photos from around the world.