After our visit to Rollover Pass we spent the night in Winnie. Sunday morning I was up before dawn to do some early morning birding at Anahuac. I like early morning birding - though I don't get to do it much - because I find the birds are generally more relaxed and are more tolerant of my presence. The only downside is that dim lighting makes taking clear photos more difficult.
The first birds I spotted on my drive around Shovelers' Pond were juvenile Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night Herons.
Green Herons were out and about, too.
Great Egrets usually fly off when you approach but this one was so relaxed that I was able to take photos from 7-8 feet away.
A couple of hundred Ibis were flying around or wading in the marshy areas. Some where adult White Ibis.
There were also a few Glossy Ibis and several White-faced ones.
Snowy Egrets were common, looking splendid in the early sunlight.
All of them were having to keep an eye out for alligators.
Most of the Whistling Ducks I could see were Fulvous rather than Black-bellied.
As on the previous day, I saw many adult and young Common Gallinules (formerly Moorhens).
This time, though, I also caught glimpses of a couple of Purple Gallinules.
There were at least 5 Least Bitterns, too, but I didn't manage to get photos of them.
In contrast, this Northern Mockingbird seemed happy to let me photograph it.
As I was leaving, numerous male Red-winged Blackbirds were perching, singing and displaying.
Eastern Kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were on the utility wires lining the entrance/exit road but they were sharing the wires with at least two Olive-sided Flycatchers.
So a short visit to Anahuac had once again provided lots of interesting sightings. That's why it's one of my favorite birding sites, particularly now that it has more or less fully recovered from the effects of Hurricane Ike.
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