Saturday, I fulfilled my ambition to ride my bike up the beach and look for plovers. I drove north a few miles from the Convention Centre and found a parking lot with public access to the beach and unloaded my bike. After packing my camera gear for the ride, I rode north for a couple … Read more
I spent the day soloing at the SPI Birding and Nature Center (BNC), and had a lovely time with the birds, and with the people there with me, enjoying the same. Javi Gonzalez is the resident biologist, or naturalist here and is always a joy to hang out with. The first bird that greeted me … Read more
Mustang Island is one of the long strips of dune islands, or barrier islands off the Gulf Coast of Texas that protect the mainland from the worst fury of the storms that regularly pound through the region. It is one of the smaller of these islands, extending from Port Aransas to Corpus Christi. My visit … Read more
Having spent Monday night at the Narrows RV Park near Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, I was ready to begin closing the gap to see my good friends in Payette Idaho. They served breakfast at the RV park, and I took advantage of their grub before saying goodbye to Malheur. There is a lonely Juniper tree … Read more
The clear blue skies I enjoyed in Burns Oregon on Saturday and Sunday degraded to a gloomy gray on Monday. Still, the gloom was not so deep as to dampen the enjoyment during my tour of the Visitor Center at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. I told myself after my last visit to Malheur that I … Read more
Someone kindly pointed out that the Scrub-Jay in this post is a California, not a Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay. I will make corrections to the gallery at my next opportunity. My decision to visit the Malheur area required a long drive from Joseph to Burns that took me six hours of drive-time. I think there were five … Read more
Bodega Bay is only 34 miles from my Point Reyes Camp near Point Reyes. Years ago I stopped at The Tides Restaurant and enjoyed their good food and a ring-side seat watching birds and wildlife a couple dozen feet below on the harbor’s waters. I found more of the same on this visit. After breakfast … Read more
I’ve made it no secret. My mission is to experience as much of the vernal migration through south Texas as I can. South Padre Island is the best place I know to meet these birds. It lies at the crossroads of their trip from Mexico, Central and South America, before they scatter with the winds … Read more
In the coming weeks, I intend to spend as much of my time on South Padre Island as I can. Spring migrant birds could begin trickling into Texas any time. I like my chances of meeting these migrating birds at South Padre Island (SPI), and the more often I can visit, the more my chances … Read more
Just 10 miles inland from Boca Chica Beach is Palmito Hill, another of my favorite birding locations. On my way to the beach, I stopped to scout the birding opportunities. It yielded a White-Tailed Hawk. I found a pair of them there in January, and it seems they were still in the area. Later, the mouth of the Rio Grande provided some excitement of its own.
