Birding in the Aftermath of the Storm

Wednesday, 16 April
Gulf Waters RV Resort (GWRVR) — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 59F (12C) / Hi 70F (21C)

We went from warm and humid, to cold and stormy in the span of minutes!  That was on Monday.  The cold front blew in right around 1:00p, dropping the temperatures like a rock from 76F to 54F (24C to 12C).  The winds picked up fast, blowing what would be a Force 6 (strong breeze) on the Beaufort Scale, with gusts in the Force 8 (fresh gale) range through the night and into the wee hours of the morning.

The pond that fronts our site saw plenty of bird action during the storm.  It was impossible to hold the camera steady in the wind, so I had to make do with shooting through the windshield.  The still shots don’t reflect the ferocity of the storm, but I’m posting them for those who are bandwidth challenged for the video.

Bird Ballet in the wind!

The storm started to abate Tuesday morning.  Since then, we’ve had plenty of blue skies and sunshine, and comfortable temps with low humidity ... perfect conditions to wander around the ponds at GWRVR and go to some of the Port Aransas birding centers to see what we could see.

Right here in our own backyard …

Left: Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks
Right: Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egret

At Charlie’s Pasture …

Roseate Spoonbills

Roseate Spoonbills

Caracaras

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret

At Paradise Pond …

(first time seeing these birds, so if I messed up the ID’s, do leave a comment)

Left: Summer Tanager
Right: Scarlet Tanager

Left: Female Scarlet Tanager
[could be a summer tanager or something else entirely]

Right: Indigo Bunting

Swainson’s Thrush

All but the cattle egret are new-to-me species … I’d say it was a good couple of days of birding on that basis alone.  We’ll be going out periodically to see what other new birds we can find.

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14 comments:

  1. SherryApril 16, 2014 at 5:14 PM

    WOW Erin you hit the jack pot. I've always wanted to be in a bird fall out and I think you might have been. Fabulous pictures and thanks for them since I'm one of the band width challenged. You are in a GREAT place for birds that is for sure. I can see I should put this one on my list. I love your weather information. How in the world did you do that? It really shows graphically what was happening. Just great!! What a wonderful post.

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    Replies
    1. ErinApril 16, 2014 at 5:20 PM

      The weather information comes from a new app a friend told us about ... it's called Wind Alert and it's available from iTunes.

      Delete
  2. Travels with EmmaApril 16, 2014 at 6:09 PM

    I thought sure that storm would produce a fallout here, but alas, it did not. I spotted a second year male summer tanager this morning. It's kind of mottled red and yellow. Interesting to see.

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  3. The Z'sApril 16, 2014 at 9:17 PM

    Judy,
    I took some shots of those blurry juvenile Summer Tanagers this morning. Very interesting to see. I'll try to post them eventually, but it will be awhile. Mui is planning a little soirée and may need an extra set of hands ;)
    Saw my first pie billed grebe today, along with a yellow breasted chat. New birds are so fun.
    Fallout here has been pretty great!

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  4. Chuck and Anneke's RV travelsApril 16, 2014 at 9:22 PM

    Great pictures:) We hit 37 last night:(

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  5. stillhowlynApril 16, 2014 at 10:50 PM

    Great bird shots. I think you saw more spoonbills than we did in the Everglades. Sadly, no rain in sunny NoCal..

    ReplyDelete
  6. SisApril 17, 2014 at 6:21 AM

    Geçmiş olsun. Bize de bugün ve yarın için şiddetli yağmur veriyor. Öncesinde mutlaka kuvvetli bir rüzgar olur. Çatımız bacamız akar artık. :-(

    ReplyDelete
  7. John and Pam (ohtheplacestheygo.wordpress.com)April 17, 2014 at 9:29 AM

    Love, love your shot of the spoonbills together. They are just the coolest birds, so pretty when they fly over.

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    Replies
    1. ErinApril 17, 2014 at 9:39 AM

      They sure are. I didn't take the DSLR with me this time, so I didn't attempt any birds in flight photos ... maybe next time.

      Delete
  8. Paul and Marti DahlApril 17, 2014 at 10:43 AM

    I always find it amazing how those palm fronds stay attached in high winds. You'd think they'd be blown to Timbuktu in no time! Not to mention the birds feathers...

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  9. AnonymousApril 17, 2014 at 11:48 AM

    Love ALL the bird photos especially the spoonbills and of course the tiny colorful birdies that I saw here as well.
    We are still experiencing the winds here and all awnings in. This place is definitely on our list this winter/spring.

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  10. Paul and Marsha Weaver OCT. 17, 2009April 17, 2014 at 2:01 PM

    The trees bending is enough proof for me.

    What a beautiful backyard y'all have. I never saw a Tanager before and now today I have seen many...your blog and Judy's..lol

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  11. Sue MaloneApril 17, 2014 at 4:35 PM

    Amazing birds, Erin. I never saw a cattle egret or the reddish egret on our travels this winter. Loved the roseate spoonbills, of course. They are such silly looking birds and just so wonderful. I have never seen an indigo bunting either. sigh. I saw the storm heading your way and wondered how you were doing. Life here is spring time busy...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Barbara and RonApril 18, 2014 at 1:05 AM

    My favorite is the Roseate Spoonbills. It looks like someone spilled paint on them. I've only seen them from afar.

    ReplyDelete

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