Not much to photograph at east beach but I had my first frigatebirds on the
ferry ride across to Bolivar
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703798
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703797
The two summering ospreys on Bolivar are still summering
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703800
The white-tailed kites have chicks out of the nest
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703802
The eastern willets have not had many chicks yet this year in places I go
but there are some and they are still territorial and up on the fenceposts
looking for interlopers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703922
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703921
Bolivar flats had more western willets than past weeks but all were
probably non-migrants arriving from other places due to the higher tides
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703925
The port bolivar black-crowned night heron rookery is going again after Ike
and more birds are out feeding but I have seen no chicks yet
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703796
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703795
My first royal tern chick of the season was out on bolivar flats. the chick
saw a parent or heard it and called which led nearby adult royal terns to
charge in to try and get the fish when delivered
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703887
Running did not help as more adults got hungry
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703888
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703889
The parent stayed up in the air and junior waited
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703890
And all turned out well
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703891
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703892
A Caspian tern chick had the same problem but with ring-billed gulls
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703883
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703884
The chick dropped the fish
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703885
But with a great splash recovered it and swallowed
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703886
Reddish, snowy and great egrets were out feeding in the shallows along with
tricolored herons
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703919
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703917
A lesser black-backed gull joined the ring-billed gulls in trying to steal
from terns and then they stole from each other
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703930
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703931
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703932
Marbled godwits are returning to the coast with a nice flock already in
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703941
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703943
The orange bill fades to pink with a few days of arrival
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703940
The winter plumage dunlin continues
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703938
The 3 summering red knots are now all gray
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703944
I put this bird down as a western sandpiper but it might be a semipalmated
but I never heard any calling while I was there and quite a few westerns
are around
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703951
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703952
This bird is a western with only one used leg. The toes of the other leg
can be seen but when the bird moved and flew a little it only used one leg
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703953
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703954
The single white-rumped sandpiper is still around
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703955
A banded Wilson's plover and 3 other plovers were clustered around a least
terns nest close to the water and within a foot of the tide a week ago. The
tv from the peninsula is not encouraging that the nest made it. I should
have hatched by the end of this week
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703956
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703958
Most of the regular shorebirds out there sort of ignore fishermen returning
to their cars from out in the gulf. Some walk or run a little but some do
not even get up to what would create panic at other sites. The American
oystercatchers do not follow that norm and always fly some but do not go
far.
If you are set up out there, you can let the fishermen act as beaters to
bring the birds close to you as long as you do not move
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165703927
Great day out on the beach
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
