§ Along Ocean Drive...

With the construction going on at our home this week, I've once again been more or less in another lock-down. But, I managed to get out early Friday morning. But only for an hour before I had to get back and get the car safe under the garage roof. LOL...I like it secure and parked inside, and NOT on the street. Anyway, I left just after sunrise, and drove along Ocean Drive near the NAS [naval air station] and the bay. I figured there is BOUND to be water there, where most of the natural ponds/lakes and riverbeds are dry or drying from our drought. [rain is in the forecast tho this weekend. Keeping my fingers crossed] I parked the car to get out and walk...I saw quite a few different species in such a little time out...

GREAT BLUE HERON
Habitat map: Heron


GREAT EGRET
Habitat map: Egret


KILLDEER
Habitat map: Killdeer


GREATER YELLOWLEGS
Habitat map: Yellowlegs


BLACK SKIMMER
Habitat map: Skimmer



ROSEATE SPOONBILL
Habitat map: Spoonbill


MARBLED GODWIT
Habitat map: Godwit


GOLDEN FRONTED WOODPECKER [juvenile]
Habitat map: Woodpecker


TRI-COLORED HERON
Habitat map: Heron


BLACK BELLIED PLOVER
Habitat map: Plover


WILSON'S PLOVER
Habitat map: Plover

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§ Channel Birding...And...SEE NOTE below!

This past week, before the cold snap moved in across the coast, I took a jaunt, crossing the mudflats, on the back side of Packery Channel where it's a quiet area and I can usually see some plovers. This time thru I wasn't disappointed. Yet, very few birds other than the usual, gulls, ibis, egrets were aplenty. In fact around the curve, a whole group of gulls were lazily sunning on the shore, then a huge ruckus and off they flew! I was too far away from them for it being ME that disturbed them, so I looked upwards and saw the reason....a harrier flyover. No worries, the gulls came back and rested some more.

Here are a few of the birds I saw on the back side of the bay...

BLACK BELLIED PLOVER[winter plumage]
Habitat map: Plover


RUDDY TURNSTONE
Habitat map: Turnstone


GREAT TAILED GRACKLE
Habitat map: Grackle


NORTHERN HARRIER
Habitat map: Harrier


OSPREY
Habitat map: Osprey


MARBLED GODWIT
Habitat map: Godwit


[below--always a favorite photo op for me personally, I love the rear view. I tend to think, "what are they thinking?"]

PIPING PLOVER
Habitat map: Plover

 

PLEASE NOTE:  I will be taking next weekend off from setting up any linking tool!  I will be very busy with Thanksgiving and then, getting our house decorated and "set up" for company for the holiday arriving before Christmas!  It will take me about a week to accomplish.  The next linking tool will be set up to link your birds/photos on December 4th at noon!!!

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§ National Seashore Birds

For a couple of days this past week, we had a dry air mass come in! With less humidity. And it was half-way comfortable. Still warm temperatures, but not suffocating with a heat index at the century mark. It's warming up again, but the mornings are comfortable for now.   I'm sure the humidity will begin to build up again before Summer's over.

I drove one morning to Padre Island National Seashore [Federal Park], mostly to walk along the beach. I really didn't expect to see many birds other than the usual seagulls. I saw a few of them, and a few others:

SANDERLING
photo taken:  Padre Island NationalSeashore
habitat map:  Sanderling


One of my favorite birds to see, always, is the Semi-Palmated Plover.  They are so cute!!!



PIPING PLOVER
photos taken:  Padre Island National Seashore
habitat map:  Plover


WILLET
photo taken:  Padre Island National Seashore
habitat map: Willet


LAUGHING GULL
photo taken:  Padre Island National Seashore
habitat map:  Gull

I finished walking my 4.5 miles and drove off the beach, back onto the park highway...I decided to turn off the main road and direct the car to Bird Basin in the Laguna Madre area of the reserve. In the Spring this can be a hot spot for two plovers that are uncommon...the snowy plover and piping plover. [All Plovers are a protected species - I'm not sure if it's a national protection law or just this parkland]  I parked, got out and began walking the mudflats [dried out from lack of rain]. I saw three plovers on the flats, flitting along the ground to escape my invasion...two adults and what I believe to be an immature. These plovers are uncommon in our area also. The tell-tale ID mark is the dull gray-pink legs and feet, and thick, black bill. The Wilson's Plover:

The last photo of this series, I'm thinking this smaller is the immature.  The photo really doesn't show the size difference.  And the lighter, larger one is the female.  Perhaps the mama?  The  male is in the 2nd to last image in the series...front

WILSON'S PLOVER
photos taken:  Bird Basin PINS
habitat map:  Plover



Other birds seen nearby and across the Lagoon that morning:


LONG BILLED CURLEW
photos taken:  Bird Basin PINS
habitat map:  Curlew


REDDISH EGRET [white morph]
photo taken:  Bird Basin PINS
habitat map:  Egret


ROYAL TERN
photo taken:  Bird Basin PINS
habitat map:  Tern









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§ Banded Birds

On September 13, my area of the Coastal Bend along the Gulf of Mexico had a forecasted tropical wave heading our way. Supposedly, it was to make landfall by the Friday afternoon or early evening....bringing up to 10 inches of rain with it over the course of 24 hours. Bud and I took the morning hours to prepare the house for flooding, then, I took a short drive to the beach to check out the currents and the situation at the 'end of the world' as we see it from the shore [the horizon]. It was stormy, but I got my prescribed walking in for the day. Along the walk, I spotted two banded [ringed] Piping Plovers. I took photos, and when I got home, I booted the computer to log into the USGS  gov website and reported the two birds. The very next day I received in the email, two PDF certificates stating when they were banded and where...

#1 Banded in North Dakota 2014


#2 Banded in North Dakota 2016

PIPING PLOVERS
photos taken: Whitecap Beach
habitat map: Plovers

In the 2nd photo of the plovers, it's flag ID number is 8T2...wonder if there was an eighty-three? Sorry, I couldn't resist!!!


- - - - -

There was a reported Calliope Hummingbird at the Hawkwatch Platform in Calallen, Texas. I left early one morning to see if I could find it. When I arrived at the platform I was the only one...except for the hundreds of hungry hummingbirds. Literally hundreds...they were in a feeding frenzy at the 8 feeding stations. I had a challenge trying to keep up with them and get some decent photos!! There'd be a very minimal chance of spotting the Calliope Hummer with them dashing from feeder to feeder, buzzing around my head, or perching in the dense canopy of the trees. By the time I was done and the camera was whirring from over use, Dane, one of the hawk counters, arrived, and he pointed out the 'special' hummingbird. I secretly disagreed with his assumption. I think it's an immature Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Your expertise on hummingbirds will be a great help...any input on your thoughts? [pay particular attention to the very last photo]. Thanks in advance.

RUBY THROATED & BLACK CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD
photos taken: Bazemore Park
habitat map: Ruby Throated - Black Chinned

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