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

Port Aransas, Bollards, A Bittern, and Black Drum

We hadn’t been to Port Aransas for a while and we have been meaning to go see the Bollard coverings. Each year volunteers cover the bollards, (posts that prevent cars from entering areas, with knitting that decorates them. The coverings are removed before spring break.

Dan and Barb had also planned on going so we got together and planned a mutual adventure. Arriving at the beach, after purchasing a beach permit, we started to walk, view, and photograph them, ( we did this several years ago and tried to just take pics of the newest ones).

We were surprised to see that there are now over four hundred covered bollards, and the walk turned into a pleasant form of exercise.

Here is another of our favorites!

After finishing our walk our next plan was to go birding at Charles Pasture and then the Leorna Turnbill Birding Center. We had just finished eating our picnic lunch at Charley’ Pasture when Renita spotted an American Bittern. They are extremely hard to spot as their camoflague is excellent. Renita had her camera and I had left mine in the car!

Dan also had his camera which has the same zoom lens we do and so they both followed the American Bittern as it walked and stopped looking for its prey! The large bird didn’t seem to care about us but it stayed in the brownish brush, making it difficult to focus.

Still, Dan and Renita both got some good shots, (the first two are Dans).

It turned out to be a new life bird for Barb and Dan, they already had a least bittern, one bird we have not yet seen. It was a fun day at Port Aransas! Thanks for sharing the day we us!

Another day Dave and I went fishing to one of our favorite places. I had an exceptional day catching three Black drum. Two measured just under thirty inches and a third was twenty six inches. I ended up taking two home, (I accidently dropped the other twenty nine inch fish overboard while trying to put it into the live well). While I have caught my limit of black drum, these were the three largest I have caught in a single day! Clear skies

A Clapper Rail, Kite Surfing at Port Aransas, and lots of Dolphins

After lots of pictures of the Flamingo, another birder told us about the two clapper rails. He had spotted them earlier and if we could see one it would be a new life bird! As he was talking the clapper rail walked out from under the boardwalk and put on quite a show.

The low tide had concentrated the fish and crabs in a very small tidal pool. The birds were having a feast, and the clapper rail was enjoying the smorgasbord. At one point we watched as it waded into the shallow pool and caught a small blue crab!

It carried the crab onto the mud flat, dropped it, and then proceeded to kill it before finishing off a fresh blue crab feast. We also watched as the snowy egrets, a little blue heron, black necked stilts, and even the grackles were gobbling up small minnows.

After our own lunch we went to the beach front and watched as three kite surfers enjoyed the strong winds and launched themselves high into the air. I asked if Renita would like a kite, harness and surfboard for Christmas, but she responded by wondering aloud if I was trying to get rid of her. It looked like so much fun and we are only seventy-three, what could go wrong?

Our last stop was at Browne Point where a pod of dolphins was eating their lunch and enjoying the day as dolphins always seem to do. Renita and several others were taking pictures with their cell phones. It was too cold and windy for me and I stayed put in the car, taking a picture of the sand sculture wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. It was a good end to the busy day. Clear skies

Another American Flamingo at Port Aransas

We hadn’t been to Port Aransas since last spring. It is one of our favorite places to bird. Having heard that an American flamingo was present, Renita looked it up and read that the three flamingos from last winter had left shortly after we headed north.

Then a single American flamingo appeared and took up residence at the Leorna Turnbill wetlands, (near the sewage waste plant). So, we headed across the ferry to Port Aransas hoping it was still there. There were two cars with us, Dave, Jane, Betty were in their white Ford truckalso drove along and Barb and Dan in their bright red jeep.

When we arrived, we walked to the start of the boardwalk, I immediately looked for a clapper rail. It’s common there but we had never spotted it, The clapper rail feeds and then hides out in the thick swamp vegetation. Not seeing it Renita spotted the flamingo, (I have such tunnel vision that I hadn’t noticed the large pink bird! It was as close as we have ever been to one and so all thoughts of the clapper rail disappeared, it was flamingo picture time.

The bird was almost surrounded by a flock of American White Pelicans, and they seemed to shun the bright pink bird. As it feed they moved in mass away from it. The flamingo fed by extending its long neck so that its head was in the water and then moving it back and forth in the soft mud.

It. flew to the other side of the marsh and rested for a bit, so we turned around, walked back to a busy flock of feeding birds and looked for a clapper rail. Another photographer told us it had just disappeared below the boardwalk and sure enough it graced us with its presence. But that is for another post! Meanwhile the flamingo decided it was still hungry and flew back to the waiting group of fellow birders. Turning back to it we both took more pictures and watched as it moved across the exposed mud flat. It again put its head into the water, and we decided to leave and meet at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Port Aransas. A flock of roseate spoonbills joined the feeding frenzy and Renita was able to take pictures of the flamingo and roseates in the same frame!

Another birding enthusiast later remarked that the day was just like an early Christmas, and we all agreed! Clear skies

Leorna Turnbill Birding Center October 28th, 2023

From Charley’s pasture we next drove to the Leorna Turnbill Birding Center. As usual the parking lot was almost full and after parking, we headed to the first viewing Tower. We noticed a birder with a huge lens that was attempting to take pictures of a Northern Parula and Common Yellowthroats. We stopped and got some great pictures ourselves.

Another bird that posed was a Lesser Yellowlegs and as we walked out, we watched a great egret hunting for its meal.

Another birder stopped to talk and told us that he had seen Sora, Virgina and Clapper rails.

That got my attention as we have yet to add a clapper rail to our life list.

Would we have two new birds in one day? We never did see the clapper rail. Reaching the first fork in the elevated boardwalk we turned towards the second Tower, Underneath the Tower, a night crowned heron perched,

and the huge resident alligator was lying in the tower’s shade. It started to come out from under the tower, and Renita took quite a few pictures.

American White Pelicans, shovelers and mottled ducks were crowded together, along with blue-winged teals and White ibis.

Still looking for a clapper rail, I left the tower and walked further along the boardwalk but didn’t spot one. We had had a pleasant morning and so we left for our winter spot. It’s always fun to have such a good birding partner, to share our discoveries, and to learn from the knowledgeable birders that live in Port Aransas. Clear skies

Flamingos At Charles Pasture, Port Aransas, Texas

We were watching the local Corpus Christi News, when the story switched to Flamingos along the Coastal Bend. Having already heard of ones being spotted on the Bolivar Pennisula we both sat up when the announcer mentioned Port Aransas! He further said that three of the birds were currently at Charles Pasture! Renita and I turned to each other and said, “We are going to Charles Pasture!”. The next morning, we got up early, loaded up the binoculars, cameras, and Renita packed a lunch. Taking the scenic route, along the coast, we drove past feeding rosette spoonbills, kingfishers perched on a wire, and lots of feeding cormorants. We ignored them all, we were birders on a flamingo mission!

Having seen flamingos in zoos, we have never seen wild ones, and they must be wild to count on our lifetime bird list. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! The birds had been scattered north from their normal migration, from Cuba to Yucatan Pennisula, when they were caught up in Hurricane Idalia’s fierce winds. There were flung as far north as Wisconsin and all along the east coast. Luckily the traffic was light, and we were able to drive on the ferry. Crossing the Shipping Channel, we turned right at the ferry light and drove to Charles Pasture. However, there was just one car and only one birder. Walking quickly to intercept her I asked if she had seen the Flamingos. She said she had seen them the day before and that they were located at the south end of Charles Pasture. She kindly called up Google Maps on her phone, showing us where to find them. Thanking her, we drove through the Port, missed the South Charley’s Pasture sign and had to make a u turn. There was one spot left in the parking lot and in the distance, we could see a group of people at the far observation tower.

We donned our cameras and binoculars and hiked the well-made trail. At places the boardwalk was raised above the tidal waters, and it was a about one mile hike before we climbed the tower stairs. Reaching the top of the shaking tower, other birder’s pointed their location out to Renita who then helped me to spot the distant bright pink birds, (I had been looking further out. As we watched white egrets and rosette spoonbills landed in the same bay and it made a good comparison of the difference between the two pink birds.

It was a family group of two adults and one juvenile, who was a lighter pink. The birds were about three hundred yards away. Not a good distance but we could make out their distinctive features. As we watched them were feeding, they would occasionally lift their heads. Their beaks were unmistakable and their colors so much brighter than the rosette spoonbills. After an hour of watching them, we returned to our car and decided to stop At the Leorna Turnbill Birder Center. Buts those pictures deserve their own blog entry. A strong cold front is approaching, and we do not know if the flamingos will escape southward. It had been a great day with a new bird for our life list! Clear skies