High Island, Texas Birding

We hurried down the path keeping a wary eye out for alligators, (really)! Suddenly we turned a bend and there we got our first glimpse of the rookery. Before us was an island covered with birds, not just snowy egrets but roseate spoonbills all nesting in their finest breeding plumage. It really looked like a layer cake with the bright pink on the bottom, next a layer of the purest white, and topped with a thin layer of dark cormorants.

Reaching the viewing platform we both were speechless as the noises came alive with snowy egrets and roseate spoonbills all adding their clatter to the din. Male spoonbills were fighting over sticks for nests in a constant battle for home (nest), improvements.

Watching we saw egrets and rosettes turning their eggs as unpaired males displayed their breeding plumage and behavior. A beautiful male snowy egret spread his wedding veil feathers and bobbed in their timeless mating ritual.

Another birder pointed out the chicks in some of the snowy nests and Renita remarked on the large blue snowy eggs. The rosettes had larger white and brown mottled eggs which hadn’t yet hatched. She also pointed out the cattle egrets and cormorants nesting on the next island.

Below the constant bird scrum three alligators swam amidst the green algae, watching and waiting for an egg, or maybe even a chick or unwary bird to fall to their death. We both smiled as we had earlier walked past two alligators to reach the rookery and so we knew how the birds had to be on a constant vigil.

Later we returned to watch the evening flight as the missing parents reunited with their mates. Tricolors, American ibis, and little egrets all arrived and added to the din although they weren’t yet nesting. An American bittern flew in and the sky and islands were all alive with birds.

Returning home, (our fifth wheel), we both talked of the unforgettable sight we had just seen. So if you ever find yourself during April driving along interstate ten, In Texas, be sure to visit High Island. I know that we hope someday to return to this special place. Clear skies

 

ps special thanks to all the volunteers of the Houston Audubon Society, who keep this place special!