Started the day off and watched the sunrise at east beach on Galveston and
walked down Galveston Roads to where it turns back toward Baedeker road.
Had 9 sanderlings and 9 ruddy turnstones for my shorebird count. Water was
up to the grass again near the jetty but that is due to the excess sand
removed for the hotels' benefit and then rapid erosion of the visible sand.
Only a few gulls and terns around.
Had a really well plumaged peregrine stump-falcon that I walked a good ways
to photograph only to discover that it would not fly.
The day was windy all day but the tide not quite as high as last week. The
water in the last 2 weeks washed over the 124/82 connection at high island
and more of the concrete barriers were toppled or moved. Several spots
where the wave just wash across the road. The experts piled some sand in
one of the worst spots but the tide had not started up and the wind was
along and into the shore. Not a good sign. But they do plan to maybe start
doing something about it in 2018 or later unless something delays the
repair further.
I had thought that the wind would have magnificent frigatebirds moving into
the bay and onshore. I did have 2 on the ferry ride to bolivar which were
my first of the season. Sort of puny compared to the 1,000 frigatebirds
that moved up the Mississippi river yesterday to the French quarter in New
Orleans. Neat video on the Louisiana birding facebook page.
Not a whole lot of change out on the flats from last week. But I did have
my first young of the year Caspian tern which was fed by a parent and did
not get robbed by 2 breeding plumage ring-billed gulls. The first young
royal tern was almost robbed but by other royal terns.
Least terns have several eggs but the tide a week ago came within a foot.
Quite a few are setting up nesting and some may have eggs in the debris
from last Tuesday's tide. All the nests are likely gone with a 4 foot tide
rise forecast as well as strong winds that will come onshore by Friday.
Shorebirds have started to arrive with 23 marbled godwits on the beach with
quite a few still having orange bills which will fade in a week or so. They
are already losing feathers. Also 3 long-billed curlews are back which act
like old timers based on sites and actions.
Holding over from previous weeks are the 3 red knots which are now all
gray, the winter plumage dunlin (the breeding plumage birds were gone and 1
white-rumped sandpiper. Increased numbers of birds included 35 ruddy
turnstones, 40 sanderlings including 1 breeding plumage bird, 5 western
willets in gray, 10 western sandpipers which may not have been the birds of
either of the last 2 weeks, and 20 short-billed dowitchers. 4 unbanded
American oystercatchers were new for the area.
The rest of the trip was a little anti-climactic with lots of people and
beach cleaning along the water and high water in places like Frenchtown and
bob road. The ospreys still are summering but the seaside sparrows were
down in the grass out of the wind.
Anahuac was very quiet around lunchtime with even the gallinules under
cover.
There is quite a bit of good habitat for any summering grasspipers or
freshwater shorebirds. I have not found any of the birds this year that
sometimes summer including, both yellowlegs, spotted sandpiper, pectoral
sandpiper, baird's sandpiper, least sandpiper, stilt sandpiper and Wilson's
phalarope. Some years there is little habitat as things grow so well here
but a few birds can linger.
For those heading to Anahuac, there are newly planted and flooded rice
fields just south of the highway 62/65 stop sign on the left just past the
stop sign. Nothing but ibis and stilts yesterday and there are some new
fields at Skillern and elsewhere. So there will be some late rice harvests
in the area come yellow rail time and may have good birds in the next few
days too. Big shorebird migration will start in another week or so.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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