South Padre Island

Port Isabel lighthouse is seen just before crossing the 2.6 mile causeway to South Padre Island, the world's longest barrier island.

 

 

Sea Turtle Inc is a rescue center for Kemp's ridley sea turtles. The number of turtles dropped from 40,000 in the 1940's to 250. Last year they had 7,000.  Meet resident sea turtle, Jerry.

 

The highlight of our visit to the island was our visit to the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, one of nine unique locations of the Rio Grand Valley World Birding Center. Here is a sampling of the many beautiful birds we saw.

 

                                         Tri-colored Heron                                  Reddish Egret (white morph)

       

           Sora                                                                                     Least Bittern

 

                                     Black-bellied Whistling Duck 

                                                                                                                                      Mottled Ducks
 

Blue Winged Teal and babies

 



                                             Purple Gallinule                                                     Yellow Crowned Heron

 



            

                                                      Green Backed                                                 Clapper Rail

 

                                               
                                             Greater Yellowlegs                                                       Lesser Yellowlegs

                                                                                      Black-necked Stilt

                                                                                   Tennessee Warbler



Goose Island State Park and Corpus Christi, Texas

Goose Island State Park is our first visit to the Texas coast, located south of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and north of Corpus Christi. This unique state park has wooded RV sites located on the mainland and bay front sites on it's island, appealing to birders and fishermen alike.  Once situated on our site off Aransas Bay, we visit the 1000 year old Big Tree, located in the park. During our five day stay we visit the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, the Texas State Aquarium, Mustang Island and the Padre Island National Seashore.

 

The Big Tree (a coastal live oak)

      

                                                     Laughing gull and black skimmers

 

 

Jim has been a birder all his life. Having only dabbled in this activity until now, this visit to Goose Island has just cemented my interest in birding. I must say acquiring a decent pair of binoculars (thank you, Jim!) has also made quite a difference. A wonderful guided tour by the local volunteer birding experts was invaluable.   

 

 

 

Brown pelicans

 

Stingray and dolphins at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi.

Laughing gulls at Mustang Island          

 

 

 Padre Island National Seashore

 

Taking the ferry at Aransas Pass

This phenomenal observation tower at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge took us above the trees. Next stop, South Padre Island...

 

 

 

Austin and San Antonio

 

Zilker Park -  Austin, Texas

 

Cooler days in Austin made for a very nice visit to Zilker Park and the state capital building in Austin, Texas

 

Warmer days in San Antonio allowed for fun visits to four missions along the Mission Trail, lunch at Mi Tierra and walks along the beautiful riverwalk.

The Alamo



The beautiful San Antonio Riverwalk can be accessed in town, as well as the Mission Trail and is enjoyed by walkers, boaters and bikers alike. The missions are amazing, reflecting so vividly the lives of those that lived from the mid 1600's through the 1700's.

 

                             

Wild Coreopsis and Indian Blanket