I went to San Jose Island yesterday - just off of Port Aransas - and saw
several flocks of nonbreeding Black Terns. This is a life bird for me and
I was hesitant to call it. But the pictures I took are just like Sibley's
and your picture. Since my book says migrating, I wasn't sure. Maybe they
migrate soon.
Thanks for helping me confirm my ID.
This was my first trip to San Jose Island. Lots of shore birds and gulls.
Also saw a frigatebird flying over Salt Lake in Copano Bay area.
Virginia Drake (San Antonio)
at Rockport for a few days
On Tue, Jul 4, 2017 at 11:44 AM, Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Started the day at east Beach on Galveston. Not many birds around and it
appears that the least tern nesting there failed again this year and there
have been no successful nests on Bolivar flats either. The tropical storm
and following high tides was the 4th or 5th high water event to affect the
nesting birds including Wilson's plovers, horned larks etc.
Tides were high when I arrived especially as the latest beach replenishment
effort to help the hotels really caused habitat loss at the jetty. Tides
kept coming up with the wind all day but were down from the storm peaks.
The outstanding beach creature for the day was tremendous numbers of hermit
crabs trying to get back to the water. Surprisingly nothing was eating them
as they are really liked by oystercatchers and gulls. Maybe they were
overwhelmed and sated
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766756
A single male magnificent frigatebird was the only one seen all day despite
the great onshore winds that usually bring them into the bayfront.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766757
The rains brought a good number of newly arrived marbled godwits into Fort
Travis. Just arrived as they still have perfect feathers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766758
The orange bill also says just arrived
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766762
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766764
A bird that has been in a few days looks more like the heavily molting
arrivals
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766765
Newly arrived short-billed dowitchers were with the godwits but ran around
a lot as their shorter bills had trouble getting the goodies the godwits
found down deeper
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766767
Out on the flats the only black terns were a small group of non-breeding
birds
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766853
They stayed when I walked down and when I came back
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766855
They did a lot of wing stretching and bouncing up and down
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766851
Most of the least terns that have been around all summer were elsewhere or
gone. Without sargassum for the 3rd summer the non-breeding least, black
and common terns are very scarce as they feed in the incoming sargassum
mats inshore as well as out there. I did not find the site that forecasts
the sargassum migration but the theory is that currents way out in the
Antilles can take it up east of the us coast or into the gulf.
The annual coconut migration does continue though. This one still has a
little green and only very small barnacles.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766860
All the larger gulls out on the beach the last few weeks have had fairly
good plumage and none of the really ratty birds have been around
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766862
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766864
Good numbers of young royal terns were on the sand waiting to be fed but no
sandwich tern chicks yet. The parents bringing food need to run a gauntlet
of other terns gulls etc to get to the chicks. It gets exciting at times.
I missed getting a picture of the great blue heron trying to snatch a fish
out of a tern chick's mouth
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766893
Two brown pelicans joined in the theft attempt and note the adult tern
going after the heron
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766894
The heron had a considerable problem for a bit
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766895
The really young tern chicks have shorter bills that grow rapidly. Note the
difference in the younger (left) terns
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766898
The youngsters do fly well but do not fish
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766900
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766901
More arriving short-billed dowitchers were on the beach
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766901
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766910
They do keep track of who is overhead, in this case a pelican
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766911
There was little feeding habitat for probers and the tide coming in had
most of the birds leave to sleep/rest inland from the beach but two
dowitchers were sleeping on the sand and never moved
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766908
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766903
But they still watch
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766906
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766905
Frenchtown, Bob and other roads had little habitat due to high water which
in some cases had been over the roads
A pair of crested caracara were still mating after sitting together on
fence posts. Here a good look at the business end
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766959
Great poses
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766964
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766961
Still no sign of young eastern kingbirds but lots of young scissor-tails
are flying around
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766968
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766966
No shortage of bugs around
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766965
A younger neotropic cormorant has gotten green eyes
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766972
Like an adult
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766971
And had trouble coughing up the cormorant equivalent of a hairball
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766970
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165766969
Lots more pictures can be browsed at
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/inbox
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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