Oh, Oh...Almost Paradise!!!

At Port A, on Mustang Island, where so much hurricane damage took place in August of 2017, I try to get there often to see the changes and repair work happening. And now that it's migration season at its busiest, I try to get there a couple times a week. On Monday, I drove there to two birding hot spots and then took a side road to the beach...

...along the ship channel, dozens of cargo ships were out, anchored, waiting for the channel pilots to board and take them through the waterway to Ingleside, or Corpus Christi with their loads [or empty; picking up loads to take to all ports of the world]. As I drove along the shoreline, a shrimp boat was coming in. And, 100s of royal terns [and laughing gulls] were sitting along the way...a few were displaying and courting!! I love watching the ritual...the males are so relentless; never giving up.





At Paradise Pond, a lot of work is a continual battle. A whole lot of damage occurred here. While the birds don't seem to mind, there is human landscapers and birds to watch. I'll share some 'regulars' here today. A Black Bellied Whistling Duck, perched on a fallen tree is a Great Blue Heron, then just before some small grackles came in to chase the large Black Crowned Night Heron away, I was able to get a photo of it.  A White Ibis was in search of insects; or crustaceans among the fallen debris.  [This particular Ibis is coming into breeding colors - the black tip on the red beak is a tell-tale sign].


Before I left, walking out of the park to the car, I saw several other birds...orioles, thrushes, ducks, blackbirds, buntings, redstarts, warblers of many kinds, and butterflies A particular blossom caught my eye as I left - - there were seed tassels clinging to its petals:




Read more about the restoration of the village and birding hot spots HERE