Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 73F (23C) / Lo 64F (18C)
Except for some early morning fog yesterday, the past seven days have been sunny with bright blue skies and comfy temps. Today’s high actually feels more like 77F (25C) according to the forecast … sure felt downright hot during my beach walk this morning. But at our pad, we still seek out the sun when we sit outdoors.
On a clear day, you can see Aransas Pass across the water, but when we went for a walk in Port Aransas yesterday morning, you could just make out the ferry terminus on our side of the Corpus Christi Channel.
Nary a complaint from us; we’re loving this December weather and making the most of it white it lasts. I hear we might get some rain by this weekend. And that will be OK too — aside from the fact that Texas is still in a drought, I could use the time indoors to reorganize some cabinets now that Mui has completed his TV box-to-storage conversion … but that’s for another post.
A foggy, moody morning from our pad at GWRVR yesterday might qualify for the B&W theme …
… but it would be the exception, not the norm … our days have been looking
mostly like this ever since December rolled around on the calendar.
So, if we’ve been enjoying such colorful days, what’s B&W at our pad? Well, the birds for one thing. The roseate spoonbill that came to visit last week has been a no show since then, leaving the pond for a Snowy Egret to visit instead. Normally, this egret is very shy, flying off at the slightest movement it senses, but it has started to tolerate my presence on the patio. Today it actually posed for me.
I’ve named our visitor “Shuffler” because of the way it shuffles its bright yellow shoes in the mud along the edge of the pond, stirring up who knows what tasty tidbits to feed on. It’s something I had not noticed about egrets before, but it sure seems to be working for this bird.
A snowy egret that I have named “Shuffler” is a regular visitor to our pond.
The calm waters of the pond double my birding pleasure with all kinds of reflections.
If that’s the white part of the B&W theme, where does the black come in? It’s surely not the grackles that seem to be a permanent fixture at GWRVR, but rather two new visitors — a pair of American Coots that showed up this morning. They spent much of the day scrounging along the edge of the pond, going for occasional swims or for walks on the grass that rims the water. At one point they came right up to our pad, giving me a few minutes of their company.
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This snowy egret not only tolerates my presence, but a pair of American Coots as well.
Not everything that floats is a duck — the American Coot is proof of that.
Swimming up to our pad, the pair eventually …
… comes ashore and poses for me before heading off to scrounge in the grass.
I processed a few other photos I took around the pad today to fit the B&W theme …
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There are plenty of fish in our pond — too big for the birds to prey on,
but they provide good entertainment when they lazily swim back and forth
close to the surface, jumping out of the water Occasionally.
A spider web trimmed with dew pearls.
Aaah! I see “747” — our resident great blue heron — has decided to pay us a visit. I think I’ll go say hi ;-)
© 2004-2015 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.
Well. I didn't know that coots were not ducks. Silly me. Love the egret of course, and the reflections are gorgeous even on gray days, but that sunny day reflection made me want to jump in the motorhome and head for Texas! Gorgeous. So nice that you have quiet time to enjoy the birds that come to visit. I know coots are rather "common", at least according to Judy, but I love their white bills. When we were kayaking recently, there were literally thousands of them on Pelican Bay near home.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you only have two coots at your pond. Those things are everywhere in great numbers! They remind me of being in Nepal (red forehead dots). Your egret is a stunner! I'd admire the web trimmed with dew pearls, but I know there's a spider lurking in it or near it and, while I can "do" most everything else, I simply CANNOT abide a spider.
ReplyDeleteNickie, the coots are plentiful at the nearby wildlife refuges, but first time visiting our pond. We'll see if they stay and if any of their friends join them here.
ReplyDeleteSure am enving your weather. We've had mostly wind and rain for the past 5 weeks until yesterday. Fabulous pictures all around as usual.The view from your pad is gorgeous sun or fog.
ReplyDeleteLovely reflection photos, Erin:) The golf course where we stayed in Borrego Springs had quite the gathering of coots in the ponds. Hopefully, only a few continue to visit and you don't get overrun. The spider web is very neat!
ReplyDeleteYou have such a way with photos, Erin. I love your theme of black-and-white. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeletePaul is still in Houston and is loving the weather also. I am back in Ohio, and believe it or not, it is going to be 65 this entire weekend. I love this part of global warming.
Nice "flock" of feathered friends you have there! :c)
ReplyDeleteErin and Mui, Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. It was great to meet you all in person instead of stalking you on the internet. We enjoyed the visit and hope to see you all sometime down the road. Safe travels, Doug & Teri Picard.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by and chatting Doug and Teri; here's to safe travels.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! This is the best part of staying at GWRVR, wildlife visits. Thanks for these great pictures of the locals, they bring good memories of our stay there.
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