South Padre Island - Plus

Sanderlings in the sunrise

We stayed nine days at Isla Blanca Park on the south end of South Padre Island, Texas.   The weather was like a roller coaster, hot and sunny a couple days then cold and windy the next, then back and forth the whole time we were there.

Sanderling on the beach

Laughing Gull

Sunrise of the Gulf of Mexico

Double-crested Cormorants playing keep-away with his catfish

Digger Wasps on Rosy Palafox flower

American Kestrel

Three days, we visited the Birding Center, walking the boardwalk and spotting the amazing variety of birds found in this wetlands area.  The Center has also taken on the alligator rescue for a large area of Texas. 

Redhead in Laguna Madre

Green Heron looks a little startled!

Not easy keeping all these feathers in line

Roseate Spoonbill creates some shade while fishing

Look out behind you!!  Smiling alligator looking for lunch?

Ruffled up Roseate Spoonbill

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Common Gallinule

Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs with Blue-winged Teal
Notice the center duck behind the log....

Coming up to fight for a space on the log

This area was built to bring in nuisance alligators

Some of the 50 Alligators in the rescue center

Neotropic Cormorant

Tricolored Heron

Mottled Duck shows off her bright speculum

Sora below the deck at the Birding Center

Pied-billed Grebe has a crab dinner

Reddish Egret in breeding plumage

Great Egret catches a fish in the waves

Laughing Gull stealing the Great Egret's catch

Nilgai cow and two calves

The "Blue Bull" Nilgai

 We drove over to Laguna Atascosa on a rather dreary day and waited stand-by to see if someone cancelled so we could take the bus tour.  Someone did cancel, so off we went on a four hour tour through the closed Bayside Drive area.

We had great sightings of the Nilgai, the escaped Pakastan/India  antelopes that were brought in to game farms for sport hunting.

White-eyed Vireo

Rose-throated Becard

We drove to Resaca de la Palma State Park to hopefully find the male Rose-throated Becard that had been seen recently.  We had only been there a few minutes and the bird flew right by our heads.  After following him for a time, Ty was able to get some clear photos of this rather elusive flycatcher.  We also found the Dusky-capped Flycatcher who did not want his picture taken and a few warblers.

Harris's Hawk

Ruddy Turnstones on the jetty

Time to get ready for eight weeks of Hawk Watch at Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park, Mission, Texas

Love & Prayers,
Ty & Ida Baumann