Started the day on east beach of Galveston at sunrise. Water was very high
and no one could fish on the jetty. There was a flat area near the jetty
that had some shorebirds but there were lots of people checking on them
including, peregrine falcon, merlin, caracara, northern harrier and
pomarine jaeger. Kept things moving as did the rising water.
Some new plover around getting good worms by dashing out among the waves
like sanderlings
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525203
The sanderlings were napping and using other sanderlings behind a block of
weed as a windbreak
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525202
Another one of those gulls who do not have a label around their neck
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525202
When I arrived and periodically afterward, a large black skimmer flock kept
boiling up way down the ship channel
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525207
I thought that the peregrine might be working the area and walked down with
the first part back in the grass as all the sand was under water. But they
were flushing as their island went under
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525208
Some came by me heading for the jetty but they were flushed by the harrier
that dove over them there. All eventually headed across to bolivar but I
did not find them there or on the dike
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525209
Pelicans and oystercatchers left too
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525205
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525206
The pomarine jaeger was down there too and headed to the jetty but turned
around before it got close and when I tried to get a wing picture I got a
herring gull instead.
A merlin perched after buzzing the shorebirds
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525213
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525214
The ferry ride across was wet but a glossy rock pigeon was at the landing
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525216
Worked around port bolivar without much luck and headed out to the flats.
The water had been up most of the way to the vegetation and was coming up
again. Very few birds around but a nice adult and young lesser black-backed
gull.
Down at the bollards, I could see the American avocet flock out in the gulf
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525226
A harrier and some other hawk caused great eruptions as well as a tide
coming in rapidly
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525228
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525227
Many would fly out into the gulf and then swim back to the beach
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525230
I just waited after finding out I had a beater that who was scavenging old
milk jugs from the vegetation line and coming back up the way. She flushed
no shorebirds but eventually some of the avocets would move and came closer
to me with each move.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525231
and another move
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525232
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525233
the swimming birds were coming my way too
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525234
And another flush and closer
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525235
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525236
All the beach down past the avocets was under water so I left them and
headed back. Met birders coming the other way and found that there was less
beach up at rollover pass so headed back across the ferry.
Back at east beach, the water was maybe a couple of feet higher than in the
morning with the jetty entirely covered and the tern nesting area lagoon
flooding the area just outside the parking area bollards. Lots of dunlin in
there
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525220
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525222
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525223
Went out to the jetty and there really was no beach. If you wanted to walk
toward the condos, the water was up to the grass and no place for the
jaeger to sit. Heard a real alarm call from some terns and saw a brownish
bird chasing a royal tern, got on it and suddenly a booby came into the
chase and flushed the terns, skimmers etc. By the time I could think camera
and unslung it the chase and booby had vanished and when the terns etc
settled, I could find no one out of place. It was an almost adult masked
booby with some wing feathers still growing and a few odd feathers
scattered in the black or white.
Went on up to the texas city dike thinking that it might be a storm refuge.
It was for maybe 15+ American oystercatchers with 5 banded birds. But all
of the beach area was flooded or had just had waves over it. No tracks at
all but one person trying to go out had to be dug out of a foot of slop.
All the birds and not many of them way out by the water and the skimmer
flock was gone.
A flock of landbirds consisted of rock pigeon, both cowbirds and monk
parakeets. An odd mix. Here is a bronzed cowbird
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525244
One very striking rock pigeon
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525251
A single long-billed curlew was eating leftovers from the pelicans at the
fish cleaning station
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525245
Later it went to sleep
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525246
and made a great mystery bird
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525248
A ring-billed gull was in winter plumage but still has a red gape
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525249
At least 5 of the oystercatchers were feeding at the fish cleaning spot
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525243
and paraded around with their goodies like they do with small oysters
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525242
Others were eating stranded hermit crabs. The pick up whelk shells and
check for occupants. If anyone home they take it out to the waters edge and
whack it until they can get the crab That food supply appears unlimited
when there are good waves.
http://www.pbase.com/joseph_kennedy_36/image/164525239
The really high tides moved most shorebirds elsewhere but I do not have
much idea as to where they could be in the large numbers that can be out
there when the weather is better.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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