I started the day at Anahuac where a purple gallinule was eating grass seed to close to really take pictures. I could get some pictures of parts of the bird like the top of his head http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188649 http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188650 His tail http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188647 And how he uses his feet to hold the grass stead as he strips the seed. He pulls the seeds through the closed beak and detaches the edible goodies inside the mouth http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188645 Young yellow-crowned night herons were really common around shoveler pond http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188642 And cattle egrets are losing their breeding plumage http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188641 There are still a few young of the year eastern willets lingering but most of those will be gone by now http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188740 One small patch was all the shorebird habitit I found away from the beach and it had pectoral sandpipers http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188742 Semipalmated sandpipers http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188743 A solitary solitary sandpiper http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188745 Several rapidly molting stilt sandpipers. they seem to lose their feathers in a hurry ala dowitchers and godwits http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188747 Some still have striping underneath http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188749 Many of the western sandpipers only have a few reddish back feathers left but still have breast chevrons http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188754 Others appear non-descript http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188757 Good numbers of black terns are arriving and quite a few are still fully black but again the start a rapid molt. http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188827 Others probably are among the summering birds. Perhaps they hang around the beach to do a lot of the molting and then go and join the great flocks offshore in the gulfweed http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188832 A young of the year forster's tern has really bright clean plumage with no trace of juvenile feathers http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188833 Young of the year laughing gulls are already replacing their brown feathers with winter gray http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188835 Many of the royal terns are in winter plumage http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188837 Parent sandwich terns are really getting tired of children continuing to beg for food and are not feeding like a month ago http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188840 Some traces of summer remain with eastern meadowlarks in full song http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188957 While olive-sided flycatchers are arriving on their way to south america. This one at Quintana has a very good vest; many of the birds at Smith Point have worn feathers and dingier vest markings http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188963 But they are big headed. This bird had no sign of it white tufts except when it did a really tortuous scratching procedure http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188967 http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/145188966 All the pictures can be browsed at http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/inbox -- Joseph C. Kennedy on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
