Road Trip: FeatherFest 2013

FeatherFest Galveston 2013

My first trip was the coldest day and I'm on a boat!

Apparently Jay isn't cold at all, jerk.

The trip was a good one all the same. Unlike this guy!

This car looks kinda cool,
and a little out of place.

Our destination Deer Island, is in site...

This nesting site is home to breeding

Brown Pelicans.

The Brown Pelican was nearly wiped out in the 70s due the pesticide DDT. Their miraculous recovery is a great success story and their numbers are at their previous levels :)

Now it's time to do what we do best......BIRDWATCH!!!

This little spit of dirt looks like a sea gull orphanage.

On my way back I spotted a Bald Eagle!

And this guy spotted me...

Wondering what I got got good to eat in my
car, no doubt!!!

He wasn't the only beggar on the ferry either.

And again another lazy bum!

I on the other hand head back out in the wee hours of the morning. I have to ride the 5:30 am ferry to Galveston, to get on the Shore Bird Trip Bus and take the ferry back to Bolivar?

It all was more than worth it when I found out our trip was being lead by Author and shorebird expert, Kevin Karlson.

And he autographed my copy of his book The Shorebird Guide!

Shorebirds here we come!

We saw tons of birds but if your not looking...

You won't see them.

This is Clapper Rail and he usually wonders through weeds and most people never see him.

These are Blue-Wing Teal, their good at hiding too!

Sometimes you don't need to see anything just feel the calm.

We checked out Fort Travis for Shore birds that are migrating to northern fresh water shores.

In 1816, Frances Xavier Mina, while on an expedition for Spain, constructed an earthen levee to protect himself and his men from the Karankawa Indians.

It's so nice to have spring back.

Even the worms didn't mind getting eaten :p

SHORE-birds finally

There are different kinds of gulls, terns, plovers, sandpipers and egrets. Take this egret for one, it's a Reddish Egret. And sometimes there are different phases, plumages, and morphs of each.

And believe it or not I am beginning to learn some of this. For instance this is also a Reddish Egret (white morph). I can tell it apart from the Great Egret, that is white also. Someday I tell you all about it :)

Even this guy helped me learn this and that and what-not.

He showed me that the Red Knot is a type of sandpiper. Now it's no longer a what-not.

Lot's of helpful, fun knowledgable people. I have never seen a Barn Owl. And didn't imagine it looked like this!

Everette and Ashley came to spend the weekend. I was happy to see them and now Dad had some company.

Oscar and Gizmo we're happy to see them too.

Even Pedro, though they we're not gonna play ball.

See Everette's face, that is a "yeah right" face, when I asked if he was gonna make me breakfast at 4:00 in the morning.

Well here we go again and I'm hungry!

Today is Rail Walk Day.

The Yellow Rail is a small long beaked

quail-like bird that spends it's entire life hidden in marsh grass. Well we're looking for one.

It kinda looks like this King Rail but it is much more elusive.

Do you know how hard it is to walk "briskly" in knee high wet marsh grass?

This guy makes it look easy, trust me it's not. I am laying down in the mud behind him.

At one point during this ordeal a dark shadowy thing flew up and disappeared again in the grasses. I will never do this again so that shadowy thing is going on my life list as a well earned Yellow Rail sighting.