South Padre Island

 

We are at Isla Blanca County Park at the south end of South Padre Island for December and January.  We are vounteering at the Birding and Nature Center, leading bird walks for visitors.

We are enjoying the new compliment of birds and wildlife as well as seeing new and old friends.

Willet strolls the beach

Sanderling -feeding reflection

Snowy Egret fluffs

Snowy Egret - ah that's the spot

Ruddy Turnstone

Black Land Crab - body is 5 inches across

SpaceX is across the Brownsville Channel - about 5 miles away

Brown Peilcan yawns....

and stretches

Overwintering Rose-breasted Grosbeak

American Kestrel juvenile above our RV

Birding Center boardwalk to Laguna Madre from the 50 foot viewing area

Our first group of visitors check out the mud flats

Great Blue Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-heron 

Black Skimmer - fish skimming

Mottled Duck

Pied-billed Grebe

Brown Pelicans are everywhere

Vertually every pier and post

Sandwich Tern

Yellow tipped bill is just starting on this Sandwich Tern

Hundreds of Moon Jellyfish washed in with the waves

Thousands of Mullet observed in near shore waters

Loggerhead Sea Turtles feeding in channel

Caspian Tern adult with food-begging near adult

Great-tailed Grackle on the breakwater

Great Blue Heron in the Gulf shallows

Willet feeds along the waves

Pelicans at Sunrise

Pelican rides the rough surf

Wintering Pyrrhuloxia

Red-breasted Merganser

Pair of Northern Pintails

Where did she go?

Big Padre - 12 feet long and 900 pounds
The Birding and Nature Center has a Alligator rescue area.

American Kestrel

Cuckoo Bee

Ghost Crab peeks of of his hole in the dunes

Vermilian Flycatcher - Laguna Atascosa

Aplomado Falcon looks down from high above

White-tailed  Hawk near Laguna Atascosa

White-tailed Haek sits close by the road

Thanks for turning around so we can see your tail

Shrimp boat coming in from a night of shrimping

This statue of Jesus reaches out over the Gulf as a memorial to all 
Shrimpers lost at sea.

We wish you God's love and peace in this crazy world during 
the wonderful celebration of Jesus birth this Christmas.
Love & Prayers,
Ty & Ida Baumann

Rio Grande Valley Birding

 

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher migrating south

After 11 weeks at Bentsen Palm Village in Mission, Texas we are moving on to Isla Blanca Park on South Padre Island.

Having met new friends from Colorado, Tom & Sherry O'Shea, who shared our interest in birding and all things natural, we took advantage of rare bird sightings in the Rio Grande Valley.

American White Pelican coming south

Black-crowned Night-heron at Edinburg Wetlands

Diamond-backed Watersnake - 5 feet long

Double-crested Cormorant spears Pleco

Green Heron

Am White Pelicans have definetly arrived for the winter.

Black-necked Stilts

Clay-colored Thrush at Hugh Ramsey Nature Trail
Joining Jerry & Karen Smith, long-time friends from Wisconsin

Western Box Elder Bugs concentrating

Red-eared Sliders blanketed with Duck Weed

Green Parakeet

Passion Flower

Mom with baby Javelina

Mom attacks- too close to her baby - interloper clicks inciseos and surrenders.

Great Kiskadee admires self

Time for a peanut butter treat

Coyotes wrap up a night hunt at Bentsen State Park

Gray Hawk Juvenile

White-tailed Kite

Harris's Hawk haloed by the moon

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk juvenile

Red--shouldered Hawk

Fork-tailed Bush Katydid

Plain Chachalaca

Altamira Oriole

Audubon's Oriole - a rare find that many birders came to see

Female Rose-throated Becard, another rare find

Fork-tailed Flycatcher - a super rare find

This Social Fycatcher in Brownsville is new for North America for us

American Kestrel on Palm hunting at our RV site

Good luck hunting - caught an Eastern Fence Lizard

Fog droplets adorn spiderweb

Common Pauraque sleeping at Estero Llano Grande State Park

Love & Prayers,
Ty & Ida Baumann