Spent Wednesday in Galveston County starting at east beach, crossing over
and up to Rollover Pass, back across the ferry and ending at the Texas City
Dike
Summer was coming in for sure but no cuckoos were singing.
Did not find the pomarine jaeger but the 200+ american avocets were hanging
around. Some are starting to get grayer heads as they go into fall molt.
The first fall shorebird migrants were a couple of snowy plovers along the
shore but the other shorebirds went west with the arrival of one of the
adult crested caracara.
The snowy and wilson's plover are still fighting and the snowy is still
winning. Lots of least terns were carrying fish and scraping after being
generally absent. UL has been around for a good while and appears to be on
territory.
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391733
Others seem determined to keep their bands a secret
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391734
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391736
The royal terns can have very different shades of orange/red due to their
diets but caspian terns also have some variation
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391640
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391641
Sandwich terns were attending the ferry and finding shrimp in the upwelling
behind the boat.
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391727
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391729
Two magnificent frigatebirds on each trip. A female or youngster
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391647
And a male that showed how slow they can fly. The ferry had to stop for a
tanker and the frigatebird flew toward us but never got closer into a
fairly light wind
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391648
Finally found a summering osprey on one of their regular perches in Port
Bolivar. Again no shorebirds in Fort Travis but the grass is ready for them.
Had 7 adult or almost adult ring-billed gulls and one herring gull on
bolivar flats. All had good plumage in contrast to the mangy birds that
summer most years.
This herring gull seemed to have a darker back than normal
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391644
In previous years, large numbers of royal and sandwich terns would arrive
on the beaches before the baby laughing gulls. This year my first baby was
a laughing gull that begged from both a caspian and royal tern
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391645
Newly arrived migrant shorebirds included a long-billed curlew and several
marbled godwits with orange bills.
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391646
Drove lots of beaches and had zero shorebirds. A few turnstones and peeps
were way down past the bollards.
Hot weather does have the nighthawks sitting up on posts or the wires
rather than the ground
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391642
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391643
Ended up on the dike in early afternoon and looked for the brown booby. The
southwest wind had a good chop washing over the rocks where it had been
seen earlier in the week. Found the bird on the navigation tower at about
half way between marker 2 and 3. I have scanned that tower for boobies and
such at least 1,000 times over the years and this is my first good bird so
it pays to keep checking.
The original view as not the best
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391635
But it did sit up and prune etc
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391636
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391634
And less glare when a boat went by
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391639
Several of the terns have bright colored insides of their beaks but the
sandwich tern is plain. A nice hot day gives good looks for all the panting
birds.
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391730
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391732
Ship traffic makes feeding easier for the american oystercatchers out on
the dike. The wake can break oyster clumps free from the rocks and the hot
sun opens them to make feeding easier
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391630
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391632
Lots of little things are stranded
https://pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/169391633
But one of the main foods is hermit crabs. The waves wash the crabs in
their borrowed shells up on the beach and the crabs try to get back to the
water. The oystercatchers grab them and often take them to the waters edge
before pulling and pounding the shell to dislodge the crab. They can eat a
good number at one sitting.
Lots happening out there so get out and start walking.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
