On the Road–Part 5

tanjabrittonwriter 48 Comments

Goose Island State Park served as our base camp for four nights. We had booked our tent site based on availability and images on the park’s website, but if you have ever made online reservations, you know that reality does not necessarily correspond to photographs. Things can go both ways: one can be disappointed or, occasionally, the opposite might be true. Luckily for us, the latter was the case.

While many tent sites in our camping loop were on an open meadow with no protection from the elements or the neighbors’ gaze, our site happened to be enclosed on three sides by a dense thicket. This afforded both privacy as well as protection from the wind that was blowing nearly incessantly.

Apart from leaving on day trips, we enjoyed watching the goings-on at and near the beaches at the State Park proper. Besides boats and fisherpeople and fisherpeople on boats, a small pod of porpoises was visible not too far away from where we had placed our camp chairs next to St. Charles Bay. Of the many gulls, terns, pelicans, and shorebirds present, the attractively patterned Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) were new to me, but I would see them at every beach henceforth. Cornell’s website compares their plumage to calico cats. They overwinter at the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines of both North and South America before flying to the arctic tundra to breed.

One evening, the wind accommodatingly abated to let us marvel at a picture-perfect sunset. Also unforgettable was the miragical nightly appearance of lights flickering on and off over a grassy stretch near the parking lot—lightning bugs. Not since we lived in Indiana in the 1990s had we been in the presence of these luminous beings whose numbers, sadly, have been declining worldwide. Each evening before crawling into our tent, we gave thanks to the fireflies who made the night sky sparkle.

To enlarge a photo, click on it. To read its caption, hover cursor over it.

Our protected campsite at Goose Island State Park
Porpoise in the water off Goose Island State Park
Ruddy Turnstones
Ruddy Turnstone
Adult Brown Pelicans
Juvenile Brown Pelican
Sunset at the beach, enjoyed by us and this Great Blue Heron
Palm tree at sunset

Nearby Aransas National Wildlife Refuge with its Whooping Cranes and American Alligators was within easy reach. So was Rockport Beach. Though planned on short notice, our hours there are remembered vividly, thanks to a “mini-fallout.” No worries, we were not exposed to any radioactive particles poisoning the atmosphere. If you are not a birder, let me explain this strange term.

When migratory birds encounter challenging weather, they will sometimes “fall out,” meaning that they interrupt their migration and drop out of the sky to seek shelter or food or both. Fallouts may occur anywhere, but are most likely along major migration corridors, and Texas is located along the Central Flyway. Many birds migrate at night. They leave the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico in the evening and cross the Gulf of Mexico at nighttime. The Texas coast will be the first land they encounter the following morning, and if the wind shifts from a tailwind to a headwind, they will need to rest and refuel.

When we started our walk on Rockport Beach, we could see breeding colonies of resident Great Blue Herons and Roseate Spoonbills on some small islands. Year-round Laughing Gulls (Leucophaeus atricilla) were the most prevalent birds. True to their names, their vocalizations do sound like laughter (listen here for some recordings). When given by hundreds, if not thousands, of gull throats, the sound becomes deafening. These handsome, black-headed gulls not only laugh, but their movements on the ground resemble dance moves. I will always remember them as Laughing-and-Dancing Gulls and we heard and saw them everywhere at or near the coast.

Laughing (and dancing) Gulls
Laughing (and dancing) Gulls
Laughing (and dancing) Gulls
Laughing (and dancing) Gulls

By the time we turned around to head back to the car in the early afternoon, more birds had arrived. I’m calling it a “mini-fallout,” as the numbers of additional birds amounted to handfuls or dozens, and not hundreds or more, as might be the case in a major fallout. But I was gladdened to see newly arrived shorebirds and terns. As well as two, then five, then dozens of Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger), a species new to me (I’m not sure if they were resident or migratory birds as at least some seem to live at the coast year-round). An example of a bird with a descriptive name, these graceful flyers with a white body, long black wings, orange legs and orange-and-black beaks skim the water’s surface for food. According to Cornell,

Skimmers feed by opening the bill and dropping the long, narrow lower mandible into the water, skimming along until they feel a fish. Then they relax the neck, quickly closing their jaws and whipping the fish out of the water. Because they feed by essentially by touch, they can even forage at night. The world’s three species of skimmers are the only birds on earth that feed in this manner.

Rockport Beach
Breeding colony of herons and spoonbills
Another “hang on to your hat” kind of day
Some people love the wind
American Oystercatcher with a similar color palette as the skimmers
Black Skimmers
Black Skimmers
“Resting skimmers often put their entire bodies, including head and bill, on the sand, probably to keep cool and to give their neck muscles a break from supporting their large bills.” (Cornell)

After wonder-filled experiences at Goose Island State Park, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Rockport Beach, and a few other local spots, it was time to move on. I had originally hoped to drive northeast to Galveston Island and to visit High Island, Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, and Brazos Bend State Park, but we also wanted to make it to the Rio Grande Valley in the opposite direction. Alas, we didn’t have time to do both. Furthermore, the weather forecast for that eastern stretch of coast predicted several inches of rain. So, with some regret, which also resulted from not being able to visit friends in Houston, we decided to follow the coast south to see what we would find.

Thank you so much for reading.

This is part 5 of a series of posts about our road trip to Texas.

For part 1, click here, for part 2, click here, for part 3, click here, for part 4, click here.

48 thoughts on “On the Road–Part 5”

  2. Imagine that: Arenaria interpres was new on my trip, too; no surprise, given that I’m not a birder and had never heard of any kind of turnstone, ruddy or not. I’ll be showing the one I saw in a post a couple of weeks from now. And speaking of newly arrived shorebirds, as you did, you know what they say: one good tern deserves another. Or maybe I’m just being gullible.

    Sorry you didn’t manage to go north as well as south along the Texas coast. It’s rare on a big trip that we get to do everything we hoped we might.

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    • Thank you for the puns, Steve. I’m glad you also made the acquaintance of Arenia interpres. I looked, but never saw them turn over any stones.

      What you say about travel and the impossibility or at least improbability to see it all is so true. As I mentioned before, we could easily have spent at least 3 more weeks exploring. And even then, we probably would have missed some worthwhile destinations.

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  3. You were so lucky, Tanja, finding a campsite that protected you from the wind. You presented quite a few birds that I haven’t seen before. The black skimmer with its red beak impressed me a lot.

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    • We knew how lucky we were, Peter, each time we stepped outside “our” protected little enclosure. Which is one of the reasons we ended up staying one more night than originally intended.

      I loved getting to meet new birds and the Black Skimmers were really fascinating to watch, both here, and at another destination. I could have watched them for hours.

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  5. Tanja, I’m sorry I’ve been so behind on being here! What a way to return! I LOVE your photos. THANK YOU for sharing your trip with us. I’m sure you know how much I love your camping site and photos! I’ll think of the laughing and dancing gulls when I see one again! Keep enjoying every moment in nature. I hope to catch up on all of your posts soon! Love and blessings, Karla

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  6. Liebe Tanja, all diese Orte, diese Vögel, all das ist in meinen Erinnerungen für immer. Es ist so schön, Deinen Reisebericht zu lesen, Deine Bilder zu sehen. Black Skimmer sind außergewöhnlich, es ist spannend, sie zu beobachten, wenn sie im schnellen Flug das Wasser mit ihrem Schnabel teilen und schwupps haben sie einen Fisch gefangen auf diese seltsdame Art und WEise, Ich habe viele Stunden damit verbracht, Black Skimmer beim Fische fangen zu fotografieren. Sie sind schnell 😉
    Liebe Grüße
    MAren

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    • Ich glaube (und hoffe), daß auch wir immer von diesen Erinnerungen zehren werden, liebe Maren. Es waren drei intensive und faszinierende Wochen, die wir in Texas erlebt haben, und die ich jetzt beim Bloggen nochmals nachlebe.

      Es war faszinierend, den Black Skimmern zuzuschauen. Leider sind meine fotografischen Kenntnisse zu begrenzt, um schnelle Vögel im Flug festzuhalten.

      Nächster Halt–Leonabelle Turnbull . . .

      Bis dann,

      Tanja

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      • Das war mein Lieblingsort und die Common Ford Ranch in Austin mit der renaturierten Gebirgsprärie.
        Ich wünsche Dir weiterhin ganz viel Spaß bei Deiner Aufarbeitung der Texasreise im BLog. Man reist immer dreimal, einmal gibt es die sagenhafte Zeit der Vorbereitung, dann die Reise selbst und dann die Aufarbeitung im Blog, wenn vorhanden. Ich genieße alle drei Stadien 😉
        LG
        Maren

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      • Das mit dem Dreimalerleben stimmt, liebe Maren. Das ist auch gut so, besonders wenn es so viele neue Eindrücke gibt, die frau mehr als einmal verdauen muß.
        In Austin waren wir leider nicht, wie gesagt war unsere Zeit zu begrenzt und wir mußten so einiges ausfallen lassen. Aber so geht es ja meistens beim Reisen.
        Bis demnächst,
        Tanja

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  7. Great post and pix… love all the wildlife. Didn’t know birds migrated at night, so interesting! And yes, certainly did look like a “hang on to your hat” kind of day…surprised that one person took a sailboat out on a day like that! 😨😂😎

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    • Thank you, Darryl. It was windy nearly every day, at least at the coast, so we got used to hanging on to our hats. And we surprised to learn that some people live for those windy days by taking their surfboards out and riding the waves . . .

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  8. Yes, the wind along the gulf coast never ends! Long haired folk, keep it all in a tight ponytail!

    You’re so right about the lightening bugs, they sparkle. We always have a few, but not as many as there used to be. We we were younger (20s) and camping in the Davis Mountains (West Texas)–it’s gorgeous, btw, I recall one trip where we camped near a wash and that night, the bugs were so sparkly, it was like a blanket of sequins. Or something. I honestly don’t have words to describe it, but I remember it well.

    Glad you have had such a great trip, looking forward to more!

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    • Thank you, Tina.

      What worked best for my mid-length hair was to tie it into a ponytail and to wear a beanie-style hat without a visor, so it wouldn’t take be blown off by the wind, But that’s not necessarily the best when the temperature is in the 80s or 90s.

      What nice memories of lightning bugs you have. “Blanket of sequins” is a very lyrical way of describing the sense of wonder one feels in their sparkling presence. I’m glad you have some where you live now.

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  9. It tickled me to see you featuring the laughing gulls. You’re right that they can create quite a racket, particularly when a group of them is squabbling over a shrimp or fish. Sometimes I work next to a local channel, and dozens will follow the shrimp boats in, picking up the cull as the men sort their catch.

    My sense is that the mid-coast is the best place to see birds like the ruddy turnstone and skimmers. I’ve seen a few of both, but not in the Galveston area: although I think they might be more common over on Bolivar. They’re such attractive birds, and I’m glad you had the chance to see them. Of course, no matter how much we see, we’re always missing something; given that reality, it’s best to do as you did, and enjoy the gifts we’re given.

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    • Thanks for your comment, Linda. It’s so true that we can never see everything we want during a trip, unless we have unlimited time.

      Visiting Galveston Island and some of the other locales farther east would have, no doubt, been interesting. High Island is supposed to be a wonderful place to observe warblers during migration, especially in the third week of April. And obviously some of your favorite destinations lie in that part of the state.

      The turnstones were so pretty and the skimmers so fascinating to see. We saw more skimmers on South Padre Island, probably even more than mid-coast. The benefits of having more time is to be able to observe more, and I wish we could have simply sat longer in some of the places we visited.

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    • Thank you, Gavin. There was so much to see and hear and learn. We could easily have stayed several more weeks, and even then would have probably had to skip some areas. I’m sure Galveston Island would have been fascinating to visit.
      Best,
      Tanja

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  11. Ich bin immer wieder amüsiert über die Verhaltensweisen von Tieren. Die tanzenden und lachenden Möwen und die Black skimmers bringen mir ein Grinsen ins Gesicht! Du hattest wirklich eine tolle Reise!

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  14. Hello Tanja,
    I’m greatly enjoying ‘following’ your adventure. You have been blessed with many wonderful moments & encounters! Reading about the Laughing Gulls made me smile and it was very exciting to see that the Ruddy Turnstones migrate via the Atlantic as well. (Our migrating birds come via the Asia-Pacific Flyway, including Whimbrels and Ruddy Turnstones. But I digress!)

    It must have been exciting to experience the mini-fallout. Thanks again, for sharing your trip with us☺️

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    • I appreciate you following along on our Texas adventure, Takami.

      It’s always special when the same bird species can be found on different continents and along different flyways. It serves as a reminder of how everything and everybody is connected, and an admonition to look at the big picture rather than continue the navel gazing we do as individuals and nations. Alas, we don’t seem to be able to heed Nature’s examples.

      Thank you again,

      Tanja

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  15. I enjoy watching skimmers “in action” over the water but having never seen them settled I had no idea they have a passing resemblance to my all-time favourite bird, the wonderful oystercatcher. Whenever I watch skimmers fishing I’m always concerned that they may encounter a hidden obstruction just below the surface of the water and damage their beaks. Ouch, my eyes are watering just thinking about it!

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    • Ouch, indeed. One hopes that the skimmers can sense the water’s depth and, consequently, avoid collisions. We really enjoyed watching them rest, bathe, and fly.

      It wasn’t until saw the skimmers and oystercatcher next to one another that their similarities struck me.

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  16. Glad to hear your camping experience at Goose Island was positive. Probably forgot to mention that south Texas trips should always come with a hefty amount of bug spray ha. Great feathered finds while there. Did you take the boardwalk/pier at the end of the park – there are “shell” bars off to the left that tends to draw a lot of good birds like the Oystercatcher. The water is surprising shallow on that side and you can wade quite a ways out to them. Then again, if there was some wicked wind there, that might have been a bit uncomfortable. Enjoying reading about your adventures Tanja!

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    • Thank you for reading and commenting, Brian.
      I did walk out on the boardwalk on the left, but the water was too high to wade in it. I did not see any oystercatchers there but a surprising-to-me Common Loon. Somehow, that was not on my radar.

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      • every once in a while we will see one out towards the end of the boardwalk – this year it wasn’t there for us. There was a Goldeneye out there which was nice not having to chance that one down the rest of the trip ha.

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  18. Ah, here are all the birds! Thanks for explaining the phrase fallout, I’ve never heard that before. Cool that you got to (sort of) witness one. Those are very unique gulls, I’ve never seen ones with those markings. Also, I love the photo of the heron at sunset!

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