Started the trip at Anahuac. Most of the rookery birds were not out feeding
yet. Good numbers of neotropic cormorants were sitting up in the sun
showing their bright green eyes
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654419
The young of the year are now out with the older birds. They have dark
eyes, less color on the bill, neater and browner and no sign of white
around the bill
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654422
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654414
This rail was very much a king rail while calling for a while. However it
maybe looks more like a clapper rail. It was on the clapper side of
crossover road rather on the king rail side. but the water is subject to
changes in the area due to tides and rain. And of course it could cross the
road and be in the other habitat. Some seaside sparrows are on the king
rail side but are not up to shoveler pond latitude this year.
Lots of seaside sparrows were up singing but no sign of the youngsters yet.
They seem a little later than some of the local birds perhaps needing more
spring growth out in the marsh
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654404
Red-winged blackbirds were singing
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654400
and chasing cowbirds which are out in the marsh too
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654401
The alternate singing dickcissels seem to be spreading a little out into
traditional-singing dickcissel territory with the traditional birds moving
out
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654395
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654397
Good numbers of forster's terns at shoveler pond but most were in a large
group. Bright orange feet and bills are diagnostic
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654426
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654425
A good string of reddish egrets were feeding in most tidal flows and cuts
along the beach
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654720
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654717
Plumes on a snowy egret survived the nesting season while those on the
reddish egret were very raggedy
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654723
And nice yellow feet
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654722
An adult yellow-crowned night heron has a dirty bill from poking into crab
holes after crabs
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654727
This yellow-crown youngster was just out of the nest and still has baby
feathers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654728
Note the two tone wing pattern on birds of this age. When in flight, they
can look very much like an American bittern flying away with the two tone
wings
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654729
Last week, there were lots of coconuts migrating onto the beaches. This
week there was only a single one that had lost many of its barnacles. And
there was no new debris of sargassum or hyacinth on the beaches this week.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654713
A reddish egret out on bolivar flats appeared to have a white back end
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654913
Very different look when it flew
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654914
Lots of fish to eat; notice all the fish fleeing the two reddish egrets
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654915
Most of the bolivar shorebirds were sleeping back inland but some were
starting to arrive with the slowly falling tide like this marbled godwit
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654905
The little group of 5 dunlin still continue
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654902
All of the black terns out on the flats were non-breeding birds and all of
the black breeding birds were elsewhere or up north
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654898
A dunlin photobombed my attempt to photograph semipalmated plovers several
times
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654919
The flock of western sandpipers that flew in were different than the flock
from last week as they were still more in breeding plumage
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654922
A good number of least terns in non-breeding plumage were over on east beach
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654938
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654940
They have better carpal bars than common terns
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654944
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654943
Several Wilson's plovers feeding in the same area
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654946
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165654947
Another nice day on the coast.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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