This past week has been a phenomenal experience for birding! I've seen and photographed four 'rare' birds for South Texas. Finally, seeing the reported ebird birds in our vicinity!! The Iceland Gull, the Glaucous Gull, the Little Gull, a more common Bonaparte's Gull, and the fourth time around to the islands finally paid off....I spotted the elusive Harlequin Duck!! Three times previously, no luck. Altho, this last time I vowed I'd walk the entire distance of the ship channel's jetty to find 'em. On my way back after getting to the end of the jetty [link to my blog showing what I had to climb over to get there!! Am I crazy?] where the channel water meets the sea, I spied them on a mossy knoll, sunning! I had the opportunity to get a few photos before they dropped down into the gulf waters and swam away.
Spring has arrived. The temps are warming up nicely, and I noticed that some of the bird population is now 'coming into' breeding plumage! My favorites to see are the Roseate Spoonbill [so colorful!] and the Brown Pelican. Without any further chit-chat, I will share a few this week, and conclude next week if I can. I will begin by sharing two of the more common residents of the coastal bend seen on the Day of the Duck...
WILLET
Habitat map: Willet
BROWN PELICAN
Habitat map: Pelican
BONAPARTE'S GULL
Habitat map: Gull
LITTLE GULL [smallest gull in the world]
Habitat map: Gull
...and the elusive duo!
HARLEQUIN DUCK [two females]
Habitat map: Duck
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