Some Whooping Crane Information And Resources

While I was on the Texas coast I had the privilege of seeing and photographing some Whooping cranes.

There are about 400 Whooping cranes in the wild and seeing four of them, well it was just simply awesome.

Refuge Watch is a website that I frequently check. Today they posted a link to an AP article about a young whooper that was bitten by a poisonous snake five years ago.

At the bottom of the article there is a link to another article that talks about the whoopers and the blue crabs that are their primary food source while wintering on the Texas coast.

birdRockport.com features the reports of Tom Stehn, the Whooping Crane Coordinator at Aransas NWR. His last post is dated March 15. So far this year, there has only been one whooper death in their wintering grounds. Compared to last year when 23 died, I would say this has been a very good year for the whoopers.

I hope to return to the Texas coast next year. Perhaps I will take one of the boat trips that promise that you can see and photograph whoopers. Plans are what you make until you know what you have done, so we shall see.

White Ibis

This White ibis was doing pretty good! He caught crab after crab in a very short period of time.

Photos taken at Goose Island State Park.

The Last of the Winter Texas Coast Shorebirds

Going to wrap up the shorebirds with this post.

First up is a Willet

Last year I saw Dunlins on the beach with the Ruddy turnstones and Sanderlings. This year I mostly saw them in groups, and taking a snooze.


Last year I did not see Black-bellied plovers. This year I saw them frequently. I probably should do a separate post about the differences from what I saw last year, as opposed to this year.

Sanderling and Ruddy Turnstone

Two of the busiest shorebirds are the Sanderling and the Ruddy turnstone.

The Sanderlings seem to be almost continuous motion. There is usually a small group of them and they dart back and forth. They will forage in an area and then for no apparent reason they will fly off down the beach. There is actually a purpose to it. They are seeking stranded mollusks or crustaceans which have been left behind by receding waves.

The Ruddy turnstone also generally in small flocks. Their diet is more diverse, but they quite often also seek food left behind by receding waves.


Both photos were taken at Goose Island State Park.

Long-billed Curlew

Nebraska weather is a shock to the system after a month and a half on the Texas coast. Hit dense fog about 80 or 90 miles from home. Because of the fog it was a bit difficult to see some things, but there is still some snow in shaded areas and areas where the snow has melted looks pretty sloppy. Couldn't see very far down country (gravel) roads, but they looked pretty muddy also. I would suspect most of the farmers are hoping for some dry, warm, and probably windy weather, so that their fields will be dry enough for planting, when that time comes around. Alternatively they might have to consider planting rice this year!

I spent a day at Padre Island National Seashore in mid-February. The National Seashore is at the north end of Padre Island. I captured this Long-billed curlew foraging.

He puts that long bill to good use


And gets his prey

One Very Ugly Duck

I had spent the day at Goose Island State Park and as I left the park I decided to check out the surrounding area. The tide was out and I spotted this Muscovy duck at waters edge.

He is apparently rather tame, which is from what I have read, common. He started to come toward me (I was photographing from the car).



He stared at me as he came up the little incline to where I was parked and eventually went behind the car and into an adjacent yard.

Little Blue Heron

The last of the Texas coast herons!





The fish he was catching were really tiny!

Reddish Egret

Staying in the heron/egret family. This Reddish egret was busy when I came across him and he paid me absolutely no nevermind!

Tricolored heron

Don't know why, but it always suprises me how small a Tricolored heron is. Found this guy one day when I was exploring back roads that weren't on any of the birding "hotspots' lists. Some days you do better finding your own "hotspots".

Great Egret

Great egrets are also common on the Texas coast. Caught this guy "fishing" at Goose Island State Park.