The best bird of the day was a very young least grebe in the pond on the
east side of Retillon Road as I was leaving the second time. Its nice to
have notes on your windshield about good birds.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570911
He was very tame and liked to be squeaked at and often was too close for
pictures
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570910
He did not call but gave a little peep call now and then
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570902
Not sure if he could fly a long way but many of the ponds including the
pond he was in were dry earlier in the spring.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570904
Still some shorebirds out on the flats but not a whole lot. Maybe avocets
outnumber everyone else but they do wander and were not around on my first
trip but were napping on the second trip down the beach
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570744
A small group of dunlin remain and stayed together
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570751
Or tried to show how tall they were
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570750
A total of 3 not so red red knots were around
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570802
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570800
This turnstone has been around for a while
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570804
No really colored sanderlings were present but some still had a little color
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570806
Semipalmated plovers usually summer in small numbers and birds were on the
flats, east beach and rollover pass
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570808
There were several peeps feeding and napping. I put all down as
semipalmated sandpipers but a couple could be westerns. Will look at the
pictures again in a few days
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570863
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570861
Several appeared different depending on whether there was a cloud or not
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570864
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570858
Reddish egrets demand sole ownership of much of the flats while the great
and snowy egrets feed more politely
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570803
The tricolored herons also did not play well together and also terrorized a
yellow-crowned night heron
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570849
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570852
Further east on Bolivar an osprey was eating its usual mullet
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570798
Several royal terns were following the ferry on the way back to Galveston
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570735
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570734
New sargassum was arriving near the jetty on east beach Galveston and used
by many birds including Wilson's plovers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570732
and snowy plovers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570731
Caspian terns can be heard from a long way off and often are noisy
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570729
The summering red-breasted merganser on the texas city dike was preening.
It continues to fade from week to week
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570724
And spends much of the time wishing it had migrated with the other
mergansers
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570725
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/165570727
All the pictures can be browsed at
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/inbox
Click on on and use the right and left arrow keys to browse all.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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