Spent the day last Tuesday on Galveston and the Texas City Dike. At sunrise
the wind was still strong and cold but it warmed and the wind died as the
day went on.
Very little out at east beach. Only 2 flyby piping plovers for small
plovers. An adult snow goose was my first for the beach. It was finding
good things to eat in the most recent debris washed in.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471884
There were good numbers of sanderlings on the beach but almost no one else.
Some parking lot puddles had a lot of least sandpipers eating very small
things they picked off the sand. Perhaps crab or other eggs?
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471885
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471889
They did probe a bit but not deep like most other sandpipers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471888
Still good numbers of monarch butterflies heading down the island
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471890
A dark phase red-tailed hawk was down the island past the park. That makes
5 different dark birds I have seen in less than 2 weeks.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471891
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471892
Up towards the texas city dike, a pair of red-shouldered hawks was taking
turns eating frogs? on top of the power poles or feeding along the water
edge
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471898
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471895
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471894
Only a few terns about other than forster's but there was a good selection
of different aged herring gulls
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471901
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471903
A few American avocets were in a puddle sleeping
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471907
A few of the forster's terns still had partly black heads and there was a
single sandwich tern
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471908
Sanderlings were sleeping
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471911
There were 8 resting snowy plovers on the beach with most resting in spots
sheltered from the wind
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471912
Unless of course, they wanted to take the spot owned by another plover. It
sort of worked like musical chairs but with only one set moving at a time
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471916
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471915
Four unbanded American oystercatchers were resting too
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471921
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471920
Lots of people fishing but no one was cleaning fish and the usual debris
was not around but a white pelican did find something drifting around
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471923
A young male bronzed cowbird was eating weed seeds including sand burs
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471924
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471925
Monk parakeets were still finding some fruit in the palm tree
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471928
But were also down in the grass and also ate sandburs which do have a good
seed inside the prickly outer shell
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471929
And then a little bit of mutual preening
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471931
Wednesday, started at sunrise at Anahuac and the sunny skies promised never
showed up. Was clear when I left home and could see blue off to the north
much of the day.
Marsh wrens were out and sedge wrens were calling everywhere. One ragweed
patch had lots of swamp sparrows
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471934
Northern shovelers as usual were the common duck around shoveler pond, not
due to the name but helped by the fact that they taste terrible as the
seine up lots of dead stuff.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471939
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471938
Did lots of beach driving and found little other than laughing and
ring-billed gulls with forster's terns and a few royal terns.
I walked way down the flats and out too as there was really lots of sand
open. Lots of good pools with little fish but almost no birds using them.
One snowy plover was the only small plover
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471940
I could have walked to the jetty except the last bit had really bad mud. A
great blue heron went in several inches when trying to get to a large
school of small fish. Could see some shorebirds way back toward the jetty
base but they were protected by mud and a large flock of white pelicans
that had the do not disturb sign up.
Lots of preening and napping
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471941
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/168471942
More kept coming in and based on the white-washed sand, they are finding
lots to eat.
Tried for the black scoters several times both days but only had a single
fly-by bird on Tuesday.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
