Post #7 of The Great Texas Birding Adventure

Previous Post #6 Baa Baa Sheepshead, Have you any Birds?

About the Area

The South Padre Island Convention Center grounds include three main attractions for birders.

Laguna Madre Nature Trail

The Laguna Madre Nature Trail head starts right next to the whaling wall. This 1,500-foot boardwalk is spread across acres of marshland, where many coastal and migratory birds can be seen year around. The boardwalk allows birders and photographers to get up-close and personal to the birds. Birds here are generally accustomed to people walking near them.

Water Feature

With limited nearby freshwater, the water feature is a much visited spot for migrating birds.

Woodland Habitat

Providing a safe spot to rest and hunt insects, the clumps of trees in the back of the Convention Center can be hopping with warblers, flycatchers, buntings, orioles and vireos during migration.

Birding the Convention Center

A WARBLER IN MOURNING

As we walked from the parking lot (no fees, free parking), the first group of birders we encountered shared that there was a Mourning Warbler being observed in the back. My expectations for LIFE BIRDS on this trip was not very high and Mourning Warbler was one that I thought I might have a possibility of seeing. With adrenaline pumping I scurried towards the back while trying to get my binoculars strapped on correctly and getting my camera settings checked. As frequently happens in these situations, there were lots of people pointing in different directions and just as many people saying, “Where is it?“. Being a birder first, and bird photographer second, I NEEDED TO SEE IT FIRST, then try to photograph it. I got on the bird fairly quickly with my bins (SCORE #3 for the trip) and then attempted to get my camera to focus on this tiny, continually in motion, hiding behind twigs and leaves, bundle of yellow, green and gray feathers. I alternated between auto-focus and manual-focus trying desperately to get this treasure. After it finally flitted away, not to be seen (by me) again, I scoured through the images on the tiny LCD panel on the back of my camera. I was not very optimistic, but I hoped a little cropping and contrast adjustments might get me at least an identifiable shot of this life bird.

We spent another 30 minutes looking through the trees to try and refind the Mourning Warbler and did manage to see some other species.

Next, we headed out the Laguna Madre Nature Trail boardwalk and immediately found a Northern Waterthrush creeping along the edge of the water.

As we watched the Waterthrush, a group of Black Skimmers flew right over us. We watched as they banked and flew right back again, skimming along the water. While I have seen hundreds of skimmers, I never get tired of watching them slice through the water in search of something tasty to eat.

• 

• 

• 

• 

As we walked along the boardwalk, we could see several shorebirds working through the exposed mudflats including Pectoral Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Stilt Sandpiper. The WRSA was lifer #4 for the day and trip and would be the last lifer for me on this adventure.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Other birds seen along the boardwalk included Neotropical Cormorant, Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron and a couple of Least Terns.

• 

• 

• 

• 

It was hard to pull ourselves away from the Convention Center, but it was now low tide and we wanted to see the mudflats of Laguna Madre and access to it was just north of us.

Next Post – The Laguna Madre Mudflats