Birds of the Texas Coast

Pair of blackbellied tree ducks, at Paradise Pond, Port Aransas, Texas

We took a day trip to the Brownsville, Texas area in the lower Rio Grande Valley on the Mexican border. Our first stop was the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge on the Rio Grande River. Near the refuge I spotted this beautiful orange bird (below) and called Garry over to see it. He got very excited because it's rare to see an Altamira Oriole. They are a Mexican species that ranges into the Rio Grande Valley, which is the case for many of the species we saw there, including the Green Jay and Great Kiskadee. Those three birds are the "holy grail" for birdwatchers in that area, so we were very lucky to see all at the same time. 

Altamira Oriole, Santa Ana NWR, McAllen, Texas

Green Jay, Santa Ana NWR, McAllen, Texas

 

Great Kiskadee with Atlamira Orioles and Redwinged Blackbirds

 Seconds before Garry took this picture, a Green Jay flew away from the feeder. He really wanted to get all 3 birds in one photo. 

Inca Dove, Santa Ana NWR, McAllen, Texas

The Inca Dove ranges through southern Texas. We saw Plain Chachalaca,a female Hook-billed Kite, Clay-colored Robins, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and Whitewing Doves. We drove east of Brownsville along the Rio Grande to near the mouth of the Rio Grande river on Brazos Island. We saw thousands of shore birds as well as several Whitetailed Kites and Whitetailed Hawks. 

Brown Pelican, Padre Island National Seashore

 Brown pelicans were more common than the white pelicans, and we saw them everywhere. At the neighborhood bait shop, Garry encountered a pelican walking into the bait shop after him, looking for some lunch!

Brown Pelicans resting on a small island near our condo, N. Padre Island, Texas

 In the above photo, you can see the nests of Great Blue Herons and Black-crowned Night Herons, in the bushes and short trees.  

Pelicans near our condo. 

White Pelicans, Laguna Madre, Padre Island National Seashore, Texas

 During breeding season. white pelicans develop a knob on their bill. 

White Pelicans, Port Aransas, Texas

 We saw this flock of white pelicans while on a birdwatching boat tour out of Port Aransas. 

Double-crested Cormorant in front of our condo, N. Padre Island, Texas

 Double-crested Cormorants were most common, but there were also Neotropic Cormorants in the area, which are only found on the lower Texas coast and down into Central America. 

Osprey near our condo, N. Padre Island, Texas 

 This osprey roosted in front of our condo every day. Osprey were very prevalent on Padre Island. 

Osprey with a fish, flying past our window, N. Padre Island, Texas

Crested Caracara, Padre Island National Seashore

 The Crested Caracara is found in southern Texas into Central America. 

White-tailed Hawk, Padre Balli State Park, N. Padre Island, Texas

 The White-tailed Hawk is a Mexican species that ranges into the southern Texas coast. 

Black Vultures, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, near Rockport, Texas

 Turkey vultures were common everywhere. We saw more Black Vultures at Aransas Refuge. 

Turkey Vulture, Aransas NWR

Blackbellied Tree Duck, a block from our condo

Garry had hunted and collected his first black-bellied tree ducks near Corpus Christi ten years ago. Thirty years ago they were rare in Texas, and were usually found in Mexico, and into Central and South America. Now they are becoming more common, and we've seen them in Louisiana and Florida. Garry was hoping to get a photo of a Blackbellied Tree Duck on this trip, and we were surprised to see flocks of them in our neighborhood. I spotted some on a neighbor's roof when we first arrived at our rented condo on North Padre Island, and I asked Garry what those strange birds were. He was very excited to see them so close, and since the neighbor was feeding them regularly, we saw them every day during our stay. 

Blackbellied Tree Ducks are a very unusual beautiful bird, and very few duck hunters or birdwatchers have had the opportunity to see them. We also saw them fly over the water while we watched out the window at our condo. 

 Garry noticed that the birds roosted at night on brackish water and when it rained, the Blackbellies drank fresh water out of the puddles on the street. 

Blackbellied Tree Duck, Paradise Pond, Port Aransas, Texas

Garry also saw a pair of Blackbellies at Paradise Pond in Port Aransas, which is a freshwater pond in the middle of town, so he assumed they were looking for nesting spots there. 

 

Pintails in front of our condo

 Garry took this photo off our deck at the condo and a couple of groups of Pintails fed every morning near our dock. 

Blue-winged Teal, Paradise Pond, Port Aransas, Texas

Blue Winged Teal, Padre Island National Seashore

 During the month of February, we saw more Blue-Winged Teal each day coming into the ponds at Padre Island National Seashore. As the weather warmed, Garry assumed they were migrating north from Mexico. Most of the flocks began feeding immediately after landing on the ponds while he was birdwatching every morning. 

Green-winged Teal, Oso Bay, Corpus Christi, Texas

 Green-winged teal were less common than Blue-wings, and the Green-wings did feed on salt water at times. We saw one Cinnamon Teal mixed in with Blue-Wings, which were always on freshwater ponds. 

American Widgeon, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Pintail, Green-winged Teal and Black Skimmers,
Oso Bay, Corpus Christi, Texas

 There is a nice boardwalk at the Hans and Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge in Corpus Christi on Oso Bay, which is a great spot to watch birds. Only a few of the boardwalks have been repaired since Hurricane Harvey in August of 2017, so there were areas we couldn't visit, especially near Port Aransas in the wildlife area of Charlie's Prairie. We're hoping that when we visit again, the repairs will have been done and we can get out into the wetlands. The priority has been repairing homes and businesses, and public areas will follow, 

Buffleheads in front of our condo

 Up to 50 Buffleheads at a time would feed in front of our deck at the condo, on Laguna Madre. 

Flock of Readheads coming off of Laguna Madre, Corpus Christi, Texas

 Laguna Madre is a major wintering area for Redhead Ducks. Every day from our window at the condo we saw a raft of Redheads which was over a half-mile long. They would make feeding flights in the morning and evening. One morning when Garry was south of the condo, he saw a flock of Redheads take about five minutes to fly past; there were so many birds. The Redheads feed on the saltwater bay, and many birds went into freshwater ponds to drink. 

Same flock of redheads after landing on a freshwater pond, Padre Island National Seashore

Redheads near our condo

 We saw 15 different species of ducks in our area along the coast during our stay in February. 

Egyptian Geese, Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Texas

We added this picture with the waterfowl photos. The Egyptian Geese are native to most of Africa. We saw them in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio, which is near the Zoo and Witte Museum. Whether they were released or have escaped from the zoo, they are breeding along the San Antonio River. We saw more than 25. Garry has more bird photos which will be in another post, including some from the Texas Hill Country area. 

North Padre Island, TX, February 2019

Sunset Over Laguna Madre From Our Condo

Because we really our enjoyed our month away from Wisconsin winter last year in Alabama, we planned another winter getaway, this time to the Corpus Christi, Texas area. We had found a nice condo in 2017 and planned to visit Corpus Christi in February 2018, but Hurricane Harvey in August, 2017 changed our plans, when the condo had minor damage and the owners had to cancel. At that time we found a place in Gulf Shores, Alabama on short notice and went there last February. This year, the condo was available so we were able to make the trip to Texas. 

We left Milwaukee in early February with the temperature at 12 degrees. When we arrived in Memphis to spend the night, the temperature was a balmy 63 degrees! Yay! 

The next day it was 84 degrees when we stopped in the afternoon to visit our friends Dave & Laurie in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.  Dave had some homemade Cajun venison sausage and Blackbuck Antelope backstrap meat to give us to use while we stayed in Texas. I made several batches of excellent gumbo (according to Garry) with the sausage during our stay, adding in some fresh shrimp and oysters that we bought at local Corpus Christi markets.

Crossing the border into Texas, we stopped in Beaumont and had a great seafood dinner at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, which had been recommended by Dave. We spent the night in Winnie, Texas. The next day we passed through High Island, where Garry has duck hunted many times. Heading west we drove down the Bolivar Peninsula, and crossed the channel to Galveston at Port Bolivar on a 20 minute ferry ride. We seem to always have at least one ferry ride on our vacations! I guess that's because we like to vacation near water.

Ferry Crossing From Port Bolivar to Galveston, TX

We stopped in Galveston at their Visitor Center and did a bit of exploring the historic district, the Marine Museum, and Seawall Drive. 

Visitor Center, Galveston, TX

Opera House, 1894, Galveston, TX

Bishop's Palace, Galveston, TX

The shipping channel for ships heading into Houston was very busy, and we saw ships arriving and departing from all over the world. 

Shipping Channel Between Port Bolivar and Galveston, Route for Houston-bound Ships

 Traveling down the coast, we went through Freeport and saw many oil refineries.
We traveled the coast to Corpus Christi, passing through Bay City, Port Lavaca, and Rockport. We had to take a very short ferry ride at Port Aransas across the shipping channel to Corpus Christi because there is no bridge. The ferry operates 24 hours a day.  Port Aransas is on Mustang Island, and was the bullseye of Hurricane Harvey in August, 2017, and there is still a lot of damage visible. We drove another 20 miles and arrived at our rented condo. 

Our condo complex on N. Padre Island, Corpus Christi, TX

 The condo was a lower unit with 2 bedrooms & 2 baths with a nice kitchen and a great view of Laguna Madre. Many units were rented to other snowbirds, as evidenced by all of the license plates from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, etc. It had a pool, but the weather was not warm enough for swimming. The condos are on the Laguna Madre side of the Island, with the Gulf of Mexico side of the Island a mile away. We had a view of the JFK Causeway bridge, which connects the island to Corpus Christi mainland, 2 and a half miles away. 

Our condo had it's own dock (but we don't have a boat) 

All of the rooms have a pretty beach decor. 

As we drove away from the condo one morning, I spotted some birds on a neighbor's roof a block from the condo. I asked Garry what those birds were that "looked like baby turkeys". He got very excited and he told me they were Black-bellied Tree Ducks. He went back to watch them the next morning and spoke with the homeowner who is feeding them and attracting them to his yard. They are Mexican species which is becoming more common in Texas and Louisiana. The ducks were there every day during the month and flew past our windows daily. 

Black-bellied Tree Ducks On Roof of Home 1 Block From our Condo

Black-bellied Tree Ducks

Windy beach day at Bob Hall Pier, before lunch at Mikel Mays Restaurant 

 The Bob Hall Pier is a fishing pier located in the Padre Balli State Park, which was near our condo. We tried the Mikel Mays Restaurant and the food was OK, but we were disappointed to learn that their fish dinner was actually Swai (which is a farmed fish from Vietnam which we normally would not eat). We assumed we'd be getting locally caught fish. From then on, we always asked about the origin when eating out or purchasing seafood at the markets. 

The shore fishing was not very productive because it's early in the season and Garry was told by the locals that the "shrimp were spawning and in the mud". However, he did catch a huge Black Drum, which the locals call a "Big Ugly". He estimated that it weighed between 25 and 30 pounds, and he couldn't get it out of the water. But I got a picture and then he broke the line to let it go. 

Garry Catching a "Big Ugly" (Black Drum) 25-30 lbs!

There were many places for us to explore, including Padre Island National Seashore. We used our Senior Lifetime Pass for free entrance. One advantage of aging! Garry enjoyed visiting almost daily in early mornings so he could watch the many birds, including 15 species of waterfowl and many Mexican species of birds (see the upcoming separate post about birds). 

We learned that Texas beaches are all roads and the sand is safe to drive on because it is hard packed. There are areas where you can drive for as far 60 miles, but you do need a 4WD vehicle and you need to take emergency supplies like water. There is no cell service. You also must notify the park if you plan to drive down that far (towards Brownsville). The Mansfield Channel separates North Padre and South Padre Island. 

Entrance to Padre Island National Seashore, 10 miles south of our condo

Visitor Center, National Seashore

Laguna Madre Boat Launch at the National Seashore

 We had a few sunny days with temps in the 80's, but there were many cloudy days, a lot of morning and evening "Sea Fog" and a lot of wind on the island, especially on the Gulf side, when Garry was fishing and I was beach-walking. 

One of Many Beautiful Sunsets Over Laguna Madre

Sunset from Living Room Windows! 

More posts are being created, as Garry edits his large photo collection. We'll have bird and animal photos, our visit to the Botanical Gardens, Aquarium, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Brownsville, Brazos Island, Port Aransas, and more.