Walk In The Park: Look Over Your Shoulder

She decided to free herself,

dance into the wind,

create a new language.

And birds fluttered around her,

writing “yes” in the sky.

~ Monique Duval

Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills and more in the shallow ponds/tidal pools/tidal marsh of Indian Point

[Note: The photos here are mine and my sister's (hers are the good ones - mine are bad cell phone shots). Hers will be indicated by "photo by BFH."]

Okay. Maybe I am a little obsessed, but I try to do a little naturalist "work" while traveling. I watch for birds and see if I can tell what they are without ending up "hunting turtles."* I also document a few different things for projects I've joined.

On this almost three hour drive to my sister's place I counted kestrels and hawks (7 Kestrels and 15 hawks). I was surprised there were no Crested Caracaras along the stretch between Cuero and Gonzales (on the last trip I saw 4), but we would eventually see some further south.

American Kestrel (photo by BFH) - These little raptors were all over the place.

I did glance over my shoulder south of Gonzales to check a pond. I check every pond and this time saw a Great Egret and Great Blue Heron. There were Killdeer in numbers in front of the pond. All a good omen for the trip.

Many birds have been moving south for the winter and we knew there would be crowds of them at the point. I don't think we ever go near our hometown without planning a trip to Indian Point. And this trip was no different. We would do our best to be there near dawn on this first legal trip to the point since the hurricane.**

On Saturday morning we walked down the road and watched White Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, and American Avocets and others feed in the shallows. They seemed to be following some school of "something good to eat." They moved back and forth heads down. Terns dive-bombed the water. Birds perched in the mangroves and stood on small "islands."

In spite of the grey mist we were still able to see and enjoy the birds. Here Great Blue Herons and a White Pelican.

American Avocets

Snowy Egrets

Black-crowned Night Heron (photo by BFH) - I knew these existed, but this is the first I've seen. There were two more perched up in the mangroves.

Great Blue Heron (photo by BFH) - In both days combined, I suppose we saw more than 30. This one was close to the road somewhat hidden by the mangroves. What a photo!

White Ibis (photo by BFH)

Roseate Spoonbills. (photo by BFH) Our mother dearly loved thse birds and I will never forget the time Dad took us out "to show us something." It was a tidal marsh full of spoonbills. Then they flew up all together and the sunlight flashed across their feathers. Incredible.

We attempt to "sneak up" on the birds.

We walked down the road, but did not get all the way to the beach as we did not need to. After feasting on this lush birding breakfast, we headed back to the car to start our official day.

After lunch we got a text from our friend DV with a photo of Snow Geese in the fields around his home and hat workshop. We replied that we would be "right there" and drove out to see him and his wife and the birds. There were hawks and kestrels, eagles (Crested Caracara - the Mexican Eagle) and geese, and SANDHILL CRANES.

Look at that red tail! She was taking a photo of that hawk - now look at the hawk hiding on the right side of the pole. (photo by BFH)

I don't remember seeing Sandhill Cranes*** as a child, although I must have. A friend said he'd seen some fly over his house in central Texas around Thanksgiving. So I have been watching for them.

A week or so later I saw a group of what I thought were Sandhill Cranes fly over the park as I walked with Zelda and friends. But there was no mistaking these birds on this day. They were amazing - their size and sound and wingspan. We drove by all the birds so we wouldn't bother them (apparently cars driving by do not startle them much as cars stopping or people walking up will). We did talk our brother into stopping a couple of times. And the birds startled.

There were hundreds and hundreds of birds in the fields.

I know some folks who plan to stake this place out next winter.

Snow Geese and White-fronted Geese

Sandhill Cranes

On Sunday we got an earlier start to Indian Point and experienced another amazing morning. This time we walked along the beach and saw sandpipers and sanderlings as well as a Red Head duck out in the water. Of course he would be there.

Looks like we might have disturbed these birds

White Pelican overflight

We saw the raccoon on Saturday, but only tracks on Sunday.

There seemed to be more oyster shells on the beach and in the shallows than I've seen before. This is an area with oyster beds just off shore.

Wild women on the beach.

It's a lovely place, even if you miss the sunrise.

The Willet - A few minutes after this he flew and showed off the distinctly marked wings.

The Drive Home:

After saying goodbye to our brother, we stopped for something to drink and had a bit of a "drive-by" at Sunset Lake Park (it's the other side of Indian Point, sort of). We did not see much, save a formation of Snow Geese flying overhead.

Snow Geese in formation

In Rockport there were seagulls, a Great Egret, and over 100 Red Heads at the marina.

These were two of the Rockport Red Heads. The other was too far out to photograph. (photo by BFH)

We drove into Victoria along Fox Road where we had seen turkeys, cardinals and vultures on a trip in the summer. This was our first trip down Fox Road since the flooding from Hurricane Harvey and we saw little other than hurricane damage - a number of round bales of cotton sat sodden in the fields. You could see the high water mark on them. Such a waste.

Then I bid goodbye to my sister, loaded my car, and started what would be a long trip home through construction and bad weather, but little traffic.

As I headed out I continued the bird count. I might not have continued counting had there not been a Crested Caracara on Hwy 87. It hopped from the ditch towards the roadway and I recognized it in an instant. I blew past him and started the count.

David Sedaris kept me company reading his latest book and I thought about the weird and wonderful things he noted in his journal, the basis of this book. I love to get a peek inside someone's thoughts.

When I had counted enough birds to need to write them down, I'd turn off the audio and dictate the count into the "notes" on my phone. I figured - even with the insanity of the dictating program and auto correct - I would be able to decipher the count. I also knew that without notes I'd be lost.

Here is an example of my notes with translation:

17 black mulchers (17 Black Vultures)
One rich older talk to black voters (1 Red-shouldered Hawk, 2 Black Vultures)
50 black vaulters (50 Black Vultures)

[Clearly I will have to learn how to dictate. And am I the only one who thinks that was a lot of vultures?]

Once I managed to get beyond the construction on the tollway, I caught a glimpse of movement over my left shoulder. What was that? Sometimes I'm fooled by leaves moving, a smudge on the window, or the "floaters" in my eyes. I know I always need to take a second look and sometimes a third, so I glance back. It was not a mulcher or a voter or a vaulter.

It was a Southwest Airlines jet making an approach to Austin-Bergstrom Airport.

Not a bird. [Also not my photo.]

NOTES:

*It is actually "hunting turtles in the ditch." My cousin, TF describes Dad's tendency to drift towards the ditch as he observed deer or birds or something in the wild as he drove down the highway.

**Long after the hurricane there was water on some of the roads due to hard wind off shore.

***I seem to remember reading about a boy killing a Sandhill Crane in my freshman English class in high school, but I certainly could be remembering it wrong.

WHAT ELSE DID WE SEE AT THE POINT?