Germans Bird South Texas More
by Keith Hackland (alamoinn@aol.com) photo credit: Keith Hackland
published May 2016
(continued from April 2016 issue)
After a great start to the tour, birding very full days, we
were up early next morning, following back roads from
Refugio to Rockport, stopping at wetlands to see Mottled
Duck, Black-necked Stilt and Teal. We stopped on
a busy road where the group wandered along peering
through binoculars and scopes, bird watching. Unfortunately
I had to watch the cars skim by and my heart was
in my mouth as I motioned to traffic to slow down, but to
our German birders there were no cars, only birds.
We stopped again at short grass land with
mirrors of water lying here and there. A lone
bird had everyone's attention. Its legs were
yellow, slim build, speckled light brown body,
large eye with white eyebrow, short yellow bill
with black tip. It was an Upland Sandpiper. A
great find. They move through on migration,
often seen solitary, and are a bird one stumbles
across rather than expects to see.
Observing the feeding of a mixed flock of
waders, Long-billed Dowitcher, Terns, and
Greater Yellow-legs reminded everyone that
lunch time was approaching. At about 12:30 we
pulled in to a Subway because we were short of
time and thought it would be a quick stop. We
had to meet a birding boat scheduled to depart
at 1:30 ten miles away. Well no one in our group
was familiar with what to do or say or how to
select options at a Subway. There were way too
many choices, and only one server, who had
to do a lot of explaining without the benefit
of being able to speak German. We concluded
that Subway was a bad idea for the future, and
with much patience, managed to have everyone
served. Then we drove on to Fulton Harbor.
We made a stop en route to admire several
Common Loon, a winter visitor that conjures
up memories of their melancholy call on quiet
lakes in Wisconsin and Canada. The Loon's image
is used on the one dollar coin in Canada,
commonly referred to as a loonie.
The Skimmer, our ride for the afternoon, is
a boat designed to be stable for watching birds
on the ocean near the shore, and to travel at a
good speed between birding hot spots. Its home
port is Fulton Harbor, where it hides amongst
dozens of shrimp boats.
The trip, while a little rough on the swells,
was most enjoyable. Our number one target,
Whooping Crane, was greatly admired
and photographed by all. There are some 300
Whooping Cranes now in the wild that winter
in Texas at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, a
big improvement from the 14 birds remaining
in the 1940s. Back from the boat trip about 4:30
pm, we took a quick drive north to a bridge and
stream. This is the line where the last Boat-tailed
Grackles can be seen, before they all become
Great-tailed Grackles in the remainder of
South Texas and into the Rio Grande Valley.
We managed to find a few Great-tailed, before
retracing our steps and driving through
Port Aransas to the Port Arthur ferry. With
no waiting, it was a quick ferry ride into Port
Aransas. We stopped at our hotel to check in,
then made a quick birding stop at the water processing
plant, before enjoying supper at Trout
Station. My favorite item on their menu is Seafood
Jambalaya. It is a dish to write home and
tell the folks about . . . it is that good.
Great views of Tricolored Heron, Greenwinged
Teal, Black-crowned Night-heron,
Double-crested Cormorant, White Ibis, Common
Yellow-throat (a warbler), Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker (a woodpecker), and a dozen more
birds made for an exciting morning, as we
worked our way South on Mustang Island, finally
stopping at a What-a-burger for lunch. This
was another novelty for our guests, who were
amazed and amused at the way Americans eat.
Another two stops, Blucher Park and Hazel
Bazemore County Park in Corpus Christi yielded
new birds, with a stop at a pond in Riviera,
and finally at the Sarita Rest Stop, where we
admired Brewer's Blackbirds and Green Jays,
as they ate our peanuts. Night fall brought us to
Alamo Inn B&B, with a Tex-Mex supper and
Mexican beer at El Dorado Restaurant. We had
finally made it to the Valley.
The next week our friend Michael Marsden
guided our German guests throughout the Valley,
to the Island and a great boat ride with Scarlett
Colley to see Mangrove Warblers, Brownsville,
Boca Chica, and all the other great hot
spots.
At the end of the week I received an early
morning call that Michael had to take a well
deserved day off due to illness, and it was my
time again, going on one of my favorite outings
to Brushline Road. It is a sandy route north of
Alamo through dry land farms to La Sal del Rey,
a good road from which to view pot hole lakes
supporting water fowl, fields where Whitetailed
Hawks fly and sometimes Wild Turkeys
strut, and the ubiquitous brushline. While we
saw a lot of birds, we missed the Wild Turkey.
Birders always say it is not birding if all one's
target birds are found, and it is always good to
leave something to return to see.
Making our way back to Houston we found
a Barred Owl in the park in Refugio, and by
the end of their tour our group had 264 bird
species, a really excellent count, reflecting the
advanced skills of the German birders and the
great guiding of Michael Marsden.
We hope to see
many more German birding tours
visiting South Texas
during the coming years!