[texbirds] Galveston to Quintana to Brazoria today
- From: Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: 4 Texbirds Maillist <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 18:51:09 -0600
Started at sunrise on Pelican Island which was very quiet including the
tropical kingbirds who were just sitting on a wire in the early sun.
A single pacific loon was with a common loon at the pelican island end of
the causeway but very little else on the island patches, most of which are
closed to the public due to the Aggies that play with matches.
Stopped on 61st street and pelicans and both cormorants were finding fish
on the north end of the area but 18 common loons were scattered way off to
the west with none feeding and all preening.
Down to Sportsmans road and again there were no oystercatchers on the docks
but with really low tides, there was so much country out there for them to
sit.
Lafitte was very quiet but the downy and red-cockaded woodpeckers were just
before the gazebo coming out of the woods. A 3rd bird was calling from the
other side of the trail that sounded like a mixed call but I never found
it to see.
San Luis pass had little but some islands way out a couple of miles to the
northwest had vast numbers of resting and swimming birds.
Drove all of Follett's Island and had 5 sanderlings along with herring and
ring-billed gulls. Really nice driving without any bumps but birdless.
The bird of the day for those keeping local lists was a male downy
woodpecker the Neotropic woods at Quintana. My first for the area but it
did not seem to be finding food even with lots of pecking. Did not walk the
jetty as no birds were seen on the water or beach.
Again, I drove the beach from the pier down to Brazosmouth and it was
smooth sailing all the way. Lots of sanderlings sleeping up near the pier
and perhaps 40+ feeding and roosting generally west of the alternate beach
entrance and now only legal exit with 1 way traffic. Maybe 20+ lesser
black-backed gulls with most closer to Brazosmouth.
The area of beach down near the river mouth has changed a lot since my last
trip. All the debris is gone as is the deep soft sand. Still soft away from
the water but lots more hard sand to drive on. The front of all the taller
dunes down near the end which are several feet tall was removed. So there
was a significant water/wave event that also removed the sandbars that were
on the west side of the river mouth where most of the birds have been
resting. A couple of ospreys feeding along the beach but no scaup or
scoters out there.
The hurricane levee lagoon had the usual ruddy ducks along with a single
fulvous whistling duck and several least grebes. Still some coots but the
great herd was absent.
Brazoria refuge was a little quiet due to the buses and parents cars going
around but there were a number of geese resting closer than most of the
coots and shovelers. Good looking at adults versus young versus blue and
white. But most birds do not like the noisy school buses.
The area seems a little depauperate of hawks compared to the Anahuac area
and there were not many harriers wandering. The area that had so many
raptors including the rough-legged hawk last winter had 1 red-tail only.
A caracara was carrying food up near the godwit ponds. It had a huge chunk
of stuff in its mouth rather than the talons. Maybe it swallowed and what
showed could not go down. It flew over a mile and was still going when I
passed on the highway going west.
No migrants noted anywhere but that was made up for by lots of cranes etc.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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