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

Flamingoes, Fishing the Jetty, and more Birding at Port Aransas

Our friends Dan and Barb arrived and wanted to see the flamingoes. While they had seen them in zoos, they had never seen them in the wild and so they could add them to their birding life list. They started it after they retired and have taken a picture of each bird and added it to the list. They have spotted over two hundred and seventy birds and that’s a lot of pictures!

We drove to Charles Pasture, North, and the flamingoes were still there, (and they still are today). What was great was that they were the closest we have ever seen them and have some pretty good images! After the flamingoes we next went to the Leorna Turnbill birding Center looking for the clapper rail but no luck.

Still, we got some great pics and especially a Wilson’s snipe, a willet eating a blue crab and a white ibis also eating a crab meal. A white ibis also joined the crab feast.

I really got a kick out how the willet stunned the crab and then swallowed it tail first so the claw would be closed.

Later we made another trip Port Aransas but this time we added fishing to the day’s agenda. We had hoped that the sheepshead had moved in, but nothing was happening. The fishing was mediocre as the fish were tiny. Dave caught five small grunts and I caught four small catfish.

While we fished, Betty, Renita, and Jane watched the huge tankers entering the shipping channel. Some were accompanied by bottlenose dolphins, which were of course bow riding. After fishing we went to eat at a Mexican restaurant and after lunch, we decided to go birding. Without our good cameras the pictures were not the best. Hoping for a clapper rail we were again thwarted, spotting both the sora and Virgina but not the rail we wanted. Still the huge alligator was sunning, and the water was covered with ducks as hunting season has started and the ducks like the refuge.

pictured is a redish egret. It extends its wings while wading after fish in what is described a as drunken walk. Today several fronts are moving towards us and perhaps they will bring the sheepshead into the jetty and back bays. They come into the rocks and bays for spawning. Hope they come in soon as we are running out of fish in the freezer! It was the worst fishing ever and the jetty had very few people on it. 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