[texbirds] Black-legged Kittiwake at Boca Chica Jetty, 12/11/12
- From: antshrike1@xxxxxxx
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:42:43 -0500 (EST)
I figured this cold, blustery morningg would be good for studying gulls from
the comfort of my truck. So I spent two hours at the Brownsville landfill
combing through thousands of larids but could only find the usual three species
along with a couple of Franklins. There were no corvids of any kind.
Next I drove FM 4 to Boca Chica Beach. The norther had blown water from South
Bay up onto the normally dry flats providing for lots of shorebirds along the
highway. A couple of snowy Plovers and a Semipalmated Plover were the most
interesting. Mostly there were Western Sandpipers, Sanderlings, Willets and
Dunlin (does Dunlin need an "s" when it's plural?). Had the wind not been so
cold I would have spent more time with them. The was also a spectacular
feeding frenzy of several hundred Reddish Egrets.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/Birds/ReddishEgreatFM412-11-12175_resize.jpg
I drove Boca Chica Beach from the moth of the Rio Grande north to the jetty.
The beach was barely drivable without resorting to four wheel drive. South of
the jetty were four Red Knots.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/Birds/Red-KnotBocaChica12-11-12467_resize.jpg
A young Black-legged Kittiwake zoomed up and down the jetty.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/Birds/Black-leggedKittiwakeBocaChica12-11-12525_resize.jpg
Lastly this Piping Plover was sporting some pretty fancy leggings; purple and
pink rings with a yellow flag on the left and pink and black rings with an
aluminum band on the right. Seems like a bit of overkill. How much is enough?
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/Birds/PipingPloverBocaChica12-11-12272_resize.jpg
Boca Chica Beach (LTC 043), Cameron, US-TX
Dec 11, 2012 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
11.0 mile(s)
Comments: Drove from mouth of Rio Grande to Boca Chica Jetty up to
northeast
shore of South Bay.
26 species
Redhead 1
Bufflehead 1
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Brown Pelican 200
Great Blue Heron 2
Black-bellied Plover 25
Snowy Plover 8
Piping Plover 1
American Oystercatcher 3
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Willet 30
Red Knot 4
Sanderling 50
Least Sandpiper 2
Dunlin 4
Black-legged Kittiwake 1
Laughing Gull 200
Ring-billed Gull 50
Herring Gull 50
Caspian Tern 3
Forster's Tern 1
Royal Tern 300
Sandwich Tern 10
Horned Lark 2
Savannah Sparrow 4
Dan Jones, Weslaco
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- » [texbirds] Black-legged Kittiwake at Boca Chica Jetty, 12/11/12 - antshrike1
