April 18, 2016 (Monday)
One day last week I walked to our mailbox and as I checked the mail I looked up the street and saw a flock of white birds fluttering above the street and slowly migrating to the lawn of a house. I thought to myself, “sea gulls.” From time to time we see them in our neighborhood.
It was not, however, sea gulls. It was a small flock of White Ibis. An Ibis is quite a different bird from a sea gull. It is much larger and its unique appearance is nothing like a gull. Later that day the little flock moved to our back yard, and I got a much better close-up look. There were about ten of them foraging in the short grass of our lawn. Here’s a picture of a White Ibis:
Not everyone gets to see such a sight in their own yard. I guess you could say it’s one of the perks of living in Rockport, Texas.
Not that we are all bird watchers. Some are. Our good friends, Dale and Ann Pogue, are bird watchers and so far in life have documented seeing 650 species of birds. The rest of us just enjoy the free shows occasionally presented to us in nature.
Rockport is famous for being the winter home of Whooping Cranes, but Austwell is really the town that deserves the reputation. Unless one has accidentally seen a stray Whooping Crane south and west of town, he has had to do the same as all tourists do and visit the Aransas Wildlife Refuge in order to see the big birds. The best way to see them is from the deck of one of the special boats that take tour groups up the Intercoastal Canal.
There is a however a crane that resembles the Whooping Crane. It, too, is very tall and impressive. It’s the Sandhill Crane. If a person is fortunate, he may seen an entire flock of them foraging near the road. One day some years ago in Ingleside, I heard a flock of them making their unique sounds at dusk, and as they flew over me, I could see that there were far too many to count. What a sight! What a sound!
A casual drive by the bays of the area will give people a view of the White Pelican and the Brown Pelican, both in the air on on the water, individually and in flocks. They are very big birds, and many folks think they are beautiful.
Take a look out the window as you drive by the Valero Gas Station and you will probably see a Great Blue Heron. If you are fortunate you may even see him swallowing a fish.
It’s not hard to spot white Egrets beside the highways of the area, and also the Roseate Spoonbills. Most folks think they are Flamingos when they first see them.
These are just a few of the waterfowl that people around here see on a daily basis, without even searching for them. There are many more similar birds, and lots of birds passing through in their annual migrations. A birdwatcher told me one day that Rockport is “Mecca” for birdwatchers. If you prefer smaller birds, a special celebration of humming birds is held here every September. You can see them by the thousands.
I have not really discussed a broad topic in this blog; I’ve just shared a knee-jerk response to the daily sights and sounds of this beautiful part of Texas. I love living here.