Port Aransas, November 2025, an easy morning of birding and sightseeing

Our friends Dave and Jane invited us over for a day of fun at Port Aransas. They drove their van, they no longer travel with their diesel truck. It’s pretty fancy and different as we have never owned a van. The trip takes about twenty minutes, (if you don’t count the wait for the ferry, which was longer than usual this day). After crossing the ferry. we turned right and drove to the Leorna Turnbill Birding Center. They had read that a flamingo had returned to the park and as we walked to the first large salt marsh it was easy to see.

It had been seen at another marsh, far from the boardwalk, but we were lucky as it had flown closer. Of course, I felt foolish as I had only brought my phone, having left my camera and large lens at home in our fifth wheel trailer. The pictures aren’t great, and I even tried to take a small video of it as it fed by sweeping its large black bill back and forth along the muddy bottom. When feeding It sticks its whole head under water as it works back and forth along the bottom.

Of course, the American White Pelicans were present, along with Blue Wing Teal and Black Necked Stilts. Two Least Grebes, rare birds, fed below us, but I couldn’t get a picture of them before they disappeared into the tall rushes. We did not see any Whooping Cranes. We also did not see the large alligator as it was reported to be near the water tower. Our next stop was at the Jetty where we watched as ships came in and Dolphins fed. There were lots of people fishing on both the North and South Jetties, but we didn’t see them do any catching.The swells were large and a small boat, fishing near the end, rose up and down and almost disappeared into the trough. It would not be a good day for anyone with sea sickness, (I have been fortunate in that it has never bothered me). We did stop at the usual Mexican Restaurant for lunch. It’s so nice to have proper spicy food after the bland Mexican food served in most places in Star Valley. There were reporrs of a new bird, a Grooved Billed Ani. but we never saw it. It was a pleasant day, thanks Dave and Jane for inviting us along! Clear skies