South Padre Island

After my Big Day I was exhausted it lasted long into the night with trying to see the Elf Owl.  Now in real time I am home, I got back in time for mother's day and I hope to be able to get all the posts I want to put up about this Spring Trip posted as quick as I can while my memory is fresh.  So I hope y'all are in the mood.  This is really the last spot I hit strictly for birding.   From here on out it's just what ever bird comes across my path..(and that was LOTS) 

I have done a horrid job with trying to get my birds correctly Identified, my photo's correctly labeled, etc.  I have ID'd some wrong and I hope to eventually get it all corrected.  Trying to go through my Field Guild by lantern light in the van at night was just so not working...now I can do Internet searches etc and try to get them right and please correct me.  I also still use many of the old names for birds and try to find the "current" name if I know it has been changed some I have no clue it's been changed. I'm not just behind the times in one area I'm behind it in all areas. So bear with an old bird while she tries to enjoy her own little birding fantasies. 

By the time I got here, to South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, I was on my 3rd day in the Rio Grande Valley area I was exhausted dealing with the traffic.  Way too many people on the highways.  It is a beautiful place, they have done a wonderful job of creating a mighty fine place to bird.  It is highly accessible for anyone with mobility issues.  What seems like miles of boardwalk..

...gives great access to the water, the marsh and some of the trees.   But before you reach the boardwalk visit the feeders area where you can see the Baltimore Oriole

I wanted this to be an imm. streaked back oriole but I was told by some others it's an Immature Baltimore either way I've never seen one like this before...

 

I couldn't decide if this bird is a Veery or a Swainson's thrush so I'm going with Swainson's neither is a new to me bird. 

I'm including it because I love the softness of this photo and the bougainvillea in the background is just so colorful!  Hummers were present black chinned, ruby throated, buff bellied...and black bellied whistling ducks were in the water feature up front.  

  

I headed down the boardwalk after tying my hat on, this is NOT my hat..

This will make a good nest box for some bird!  I found along the boardwalk edges...what I believe is the King Rail .  

The largest of the rails, I did see but never got photos of the yellow rail, and the black rail over at McFaddin NWR nearby Sea Rim while there..the little black rail reminded me of a very small black chicken with huge feet!.  They are so small compared, yet this bird is not large.  Most of him disappeared into the grass.  

A Pectoral Sandpiper,  SO I assume its due to the pattern on the chest...I don't know why else this is so named...

with a photobombing dragonfly...

Lots of Common Gallinules or Moorhens strutting around on the marsh also.

 

 

the legs match the face...and here is a White Ibis love the bubble gum pink beak and legs. 

Other waders seen were the Reddish Egret he is always running around like he just smoked something kinky...lol 

Also around were the Roseate Spoonbills with their brilliant pink shoulders and spoonbills.

next is a  preening Tri-colored Heron with his big eye...

I think this boardwalk is one of the Convention Center's this awesome spot is shared by 2 public access places.  I drove over to the convention center...right next door

Painted by artist Wyland in 1994

(the Orca Room) where you can walk on their boardwalks and watch the warblers and song birds enjoy the water and seed. 

Here we have male Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, male and female Blue Grosbeaks, and one Dicksissel in the middle background. 

a Nashville Warbler in the water...

with a female Rose Breasted Grosbeak, an immature Orchard Oriole, and a Blue Grosbeak

A beautiful Indigo Bunting, 

right on the boardwalk the always pumping of that tail, the Louisiana Waterthrush.  

One of my favorite Photo Opts of the day was getting this Scarlet Tanager. 

In almost a clear shot...with only one hand while I answered a mobile phone call with the other don't tell me I can not multitask! 

I wanted to go around again, but I had decided to leave the Lower Rio Grande area for cooler clims, so I had me some driving to do....I had big plans to go to Brownsville and Sabal Palms but put that on the back burner for a maybe trip to Mexico, Que Bueno?? 

So I made myself some lunch and watched the song birds fly in and out of the trees then headed back over the long bridge to the mainland...but on the way I spotted this..

as big as life Kong, along with this long necked dino...

and some very colorful and realistic coral reefs!

Oh Watch OUT doo  do, doo do

I think we def will need a Bigger Boat!!

 ebird list here:

Next stop on my Tour of Texas is Falcon Lake State Park!

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

The Critters of the Big Cypress National Preserve

I keep saying my next post would be Big Cypress..and finally here it is..I feel that I saw so many great birds just getting here...that ultimately I wondered what would I see?

 If you have any critter problems you can call this guy...

Notice the first item on his bullet list...haha.  Im  a BIG FAN of the Walking Dead...its the perfect escape series for me.  Im  not afraid of ghosts or zombies...Spiders YES. 

It was late afternoon when we pulled into Monument Lakes Campground in Big Cypress National Preserve.  Its a nice CG with a pond and  resident white Ibis, and gators.  Here is our spot #T1 Its a non electric CG there is a bathroom no showers...

The mighty Casey is on guard...he is such a joy to have around! HE really loves to travel, he adapts to life on the road very well..We stayed here for 3 nights! 

Little Buddy.

I made sure to keep Casey away from the tall grass...when we had our dinner an entire cubby of Northern Bobwhite Quail came out of the grass to have dinner too!!

This white Ibis  mom has 2 immature chicks with her...

Our first night around 8 pm the wind picked up really fast and we had quite a down pour that lasted a couple hrs so we were pretty slow getting up the next morning...

Guess who broke her OWN cardinal rule of never leaving ANYTHING out overnight...I guess you can see the soggy puddle in the seat of my chair..

SO the short version of the story is this...I told the Camp Host I had reserved this same site again, so I would leave my wet chair and my wet steps and foot rug at the site to let it dry while I went exploring that day she said "fine no problem"...So off I went.  I got back about 4 pm...right away I saw no chair no steps and no rug!! GREAT So immediately I went over, she met me at the door..

"I guess you're looking for your chair and other things"? Ahhhyes...

SO it turns out that she was so late going around to hang the reserved plaques out the maintenance man came around thought this stuff was left behind and took it home with him!! Finders keepers?

So he showed up right before the sun set with my belongings and his apology...And my stuff was bone dry...the next day I was carrying my chair on the way to sit by the pond and relax for an hr and they teased me that I didn't have to carry my chair around to keep it from being stolen...lol

After breakfast I walked the Henry Sorter Boardwalk and saw some awesome bromeliad  getting ready to bloom..I really enjoyed seeing them up in the trees.  A Ranger told me they don't die after blooming, but the cultivated ones I've owned in the past did...so I dunno.

     

  

An Eastern Phoebe had a look at me...

A very still Green heron let me take his photo...

A very good look at his feathers...this is my fav of the Herons...and when he extends that neck its amazing!!

And this little Blue Heron is the runner up on my Favs List...

...some lovely Swamp Lillies

really stand out in this sea of green!  Lots of moss, lily pads, ferns, and bromeliads cover everything in the swamp...

 some of the birds I saw along the boardwalk...

A yellow rump warbler...

Snowy Egret

And then I did a drive on the H P Williams wildlife drive and later on after lunch I drove on the Monroe Station Drive...These are some of the birds and other critters I saw...

A very gangly Tri-Colored Heron

A common moorhen or gallinule...

A belted Kingfisher still for just a moment...

did you ever take a good look at an Anhinga's feet?  NO wonder they can swim so well...

They are really quite a striking bird with such rich colors in their feathers...

the Anhinga

And yet another Cold Blooded animal  for your enjoyment...

This looks like paradise lost.....

With all the recent rain there is water in places where it soon will be dry ...OH who do we have down on the right side?? 

Is she not the cutest? I read once somewhere the farther south you go the smaller the deer get...This little gal is pretty small compared to the white tailed deer we see in SC ..

A pretty tri color heron 

...wades belly deep.....while 

And my favorite Egret the Snowy with his Golden Slippers hunts on dry land...

This fox squirrel came out into the road begging for a handout...He sure was a beautiful color also saw a solid black one too...they are red, black and variations of both...

the swamp opens up to some very pretty streams in spots...

Back at the GC all was well and we had yet another night of torrential rains..it was cozy and warm in the DLEX and Casey and I slept like a couple of babies!! Our plan was to head to Shark Valley the next day and get there early to insure we get parking as the lot fills very fast.  

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.