I'll begin my post with a bit of 'rubbish'...an old, and I believe abandoned, factory of some sort found along the "Old Brownsville Road" [not to confuse it with I-69 that is now used to get to Brownsville these days]....See the smoke stack? That's considered a hot spot, right? Even tho the heat has long been extinguished!!
Y'all know by now that I have a passion for photographing birds! And y'all know that we go often to some of the close-by areas. And y'all have seen several feathered photos I've shared here on this blog, while a few of you stop by to view the 'better' photos I take at
I'd Rather B Birdin'. This time 'round I thought I would share some of the scenery at our favorite places to go birdin'. What we call hot spots!! ---
Hilltop Community Nature Center - this area is northwest from the city. Actually, considering, it is still within the city limits, but several miles from the downtown area and our home. Within the community there is a school for learning and also an historical one-room school house dated back to the days of Nuecestown, Texas c. 1860s - 1870s [once called this before Corpus Christi acquired the area into the city limit boundaries].
I posted about the school here, showing photos of the interior and exterior. Anyway, the community has a blacktopped trail that meanders through the heavy wooded area. Walking the entire paved surfaces, you probably walk about 3 miles...up and down hills. You can get a good work-out on a hot, very humid, summer's day, trust me. Along the trails you can find stops along the way for birding, exercising [outdoor equipment], playground equipment, ballparks, and a large picnic grounds with BBQ pits and smokers [for smoking cuts of meat] all under a covered veranda. Several covered gazebos can be spotted along the way for those who observe birds hidden in the oak, palm, and willow trees.
Oso Bay and Hans Suter Park has more picnic areas and a trail that goes in one direction through a wooded area to the bay via a boardwalk along a feeder channel that water birds love! At the end of the boardwalk there is a large observation deck that looks out into the bay where you see ducks, storks, spoonbills, egrets, herons, pelicans, cormorants and osprey. Among other birds at any given time. Going in the other direction of the trail, it covers a winding trail that ends near a residential area and children's playground. Heavily wooded. The passerines [perching birds like cardinals, woodpeckers, buntings, mockingbirds, etc.] can be found. This photo above is taken from the boardwalk area that ends at the bay's shore.
Pollywog Ponds is also northwest, along Interstate 37. There are three ponds. Well, let me rephrase that...when we first began trekking this area in hopes of finding birds, there were three ponds at one time...so to speak...but one was long dried up. This past 5 years with the extreme drought a second of the three ponds dried up completely. [But last week, when we were there, the city is filling the 2nd one with water now that the drought seems to be lifted!] So, during the last few years, only the largest of the three ponds remained filled or partially filled. Once again, this area is heavily wooded before you get to the ponds. The Nueces River flows at the edge of the largest pond just a few feet from the pond bank. Only a trail that circles around the pond separates the pond water from the river. All along the trail on the south side, there is a drainage ditch that is sometimes filled with a slow moving brook. In this area, you can see several water birds and during the two migration seasons...a whole slew of different migratory birds with the likes of kingbirds, flycatchers, kingfishers, migrating ducks, owls [if lucky!!], herons, ibis, peewees, chuck wills widows [kinda like a whippoorwill, but not!], buntings, orioles, hawks, etc. This is one of my favorite areas because of the dark, heavily wooded area...so quiet and a road less traveled!! Oh...and this is the ONLY place so far I've seen a snake...a cottonmouth...swimming in the water.
Lakeview Park is within the city limits and only a few miles from home. It's a very family friendly park. The permanent residents here are ducks [including the muscovy ducks] and geese. But at some times during the migratory season, cormorants, egrets, warblers can be spotted. This too has been kept replenished with water from the city...the lake is formed only by fresh water and dries up easily if not for the city keeping it filled during the drought we've experienced.
Hazel Bazemore Park can be found in a little town about 25 miles [give or take a few miles] from Corpus Christi. Of course it too is north and west of the city [can only go north or west from town...otherwise if you headed south or east from the city of Corpus Christi you'd be in the Gulf!!] This park is home to the world renowned Hawk Migration path!! People from all over the world [but seriously, mostly locals] come here to watch the hawk migration. This year alone, the count from the expert counters dated Thursday October 2nd, [from
Texas Birding News] - - hawks, eagles, kites, and osprey was
"48,000 hawks came through on Monday between 8:30 and noon." I personally have been there during the migration counting [but not this year], and to watch high above the kettles of hawks flying overhead is phenomenal, BUT!!!---I can't fathom that any of this can really be an accurate count just for the fact that those that are counting....they click for each bird they view within their binocular range ---well, my belief is this- the whole idea of an accurate count can't be... just for the fact that these hawks and raptors are circling continually...how on earth can the count be a true total!!?!! Anyway this is the large Hawk Watch Platform. Within this area, there is a paved road that circles around with two ponds, the Nueces River, and another, smaller observation deck at ground level below the elevated hawk-watch platform. This year they also added a bird blind and hummingbird feeders galore, along with a new drip system for birds like Groove-billed Anis, mockingbirds, egrets, avocets, herons, ibis, kingfishers, warblers, osprey, caracara, anhingas, and more. Also seen here are white tailed deer if you're lucky to spot them!!
Blucher Park is a small park just a couple of blocks from the seawall in the downtown area of Corpus Christi that is a migratory haven! Both in Spring and Autumn. The Audubon Society holds a Springtime tour for the avid birders on each Sunday during the month of April. This is a phenomenal little area for about any bird you want to see. Eventually they all show up.
Paradise Pond was a beautiful eye-opening treasure when we first moved here to Texas!! A boardwalk takes you through the pond...years ago, it was like walking on water! The pond was filled. Turtles, herons, egrets were permanent residents. A lot of nesting was going on for sometime. It's a good area for migratory woodpeckers also. But then, something happened. The once beautiful, pristine water park dried up. I had to ask about this, and find out why.... Only two drip systems remained. A lot of birds disappeared. But, this drying up was caused by man, not drought. Port Aransas and the Parks Department wanted to drain the water, let it dry up, and then go in and dig up, dispose of, one plant that became all too invasive to the trees and plants that are indigenous to the area. The trees and plants of south Texas were suffocating and dying out because of the pepper plant!! Finally, after a three year dry spell, they are now slowly refilling the pond....filling it so much, then stopping the water flow until the ground is good and saturated, then opening up the water valve again. This process will take some time...but maybe real soon, the pond will be back to 'normal' and the migrants will return, happily.
Port Aransas Birding Center [aka Leonabelle Turnbull Nature Center] is another hot spot for the local bird enthusiasts! During migration the amount of different warblers seen is extraordinary. But, being a novice photographer, warblers can be quite a challenge to get a decent picture of them!!! Seriously, they don't sit still long enough most times to focus on them before they flit to another tree, or tree branch. But, walking toward the pond seen in this photo, you'll see all kinds of waterfowl year 'round! Some that aren't year 'round residents would be the likes of the Magnificent Frigatebird and the American Bittern along with luck you may see the elusive Least Bittern. Migratory ducks like the Cinnamon Teal, and the American Shovelers, blue winged teals, canvasback, etc. can be found in certain seasons. But the egrets, herons, stilts, coots and seagulls can be seen always.
These, above, are just the areas we frequent weekly; during the month. All within a short distance drive from home. There are some other areas that we try and get to during migration but farther driving time....Rockport Texas, Kingsville Texas, Bishop Texas, Alice Texas, Goliad Texas, Victoria Texas, Falfurrius Texas. Not to mention the entire Gulf of Mexico shore around our area, along the dunes and beaches. Oh and another favorite winter area...Goose Island near Lamar, Texas. Very infrequently some great birding along the coastal trails we travel to Brownville Texas, McAllen Texas and Edinburg Texas....and the Hill Country near Austin and Marble Falls. But the latter three are more than a day trip.
In an upcoming post, I plan to share some of the flora seen on these birding walks when the bird spotting is sparse to nil. Hopefully sometime soon.
Linking to: Rubbish Tuesday - Nature Notes - Our World Tuesday
THREE: My recent read is entitled Holy Fools; of which I'm about half way through. Written by Joanne Harris who also wrote a good story and made into a movie: "Chocolat". Her words flow so easily and the storyline is light with a bit of mystery and charm of a world between a carnival act, a love affair, and a gal who bore a child out of wedlock to end up hiding out in an abbey in the 1600s. All the twist and turns in her young adulthood and the man she once adored comes to life with a longing to not put the book down so the pages keep turning. For her, and the leading man, it's a love/hate relationship that, for now, reveals much turmoil and high emotions.
