Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Coastal Trip 4: Avocets and Rails

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We visited Rollover Pass again on Sunday morning and it was much busier with birds than it had been the previous day. Most of the birds were still pretty far from the beach but we were lucky enough to have a flock of American Avocets feeding close to the water's edge.

Avocets are always striking birds with their upturned bills and black-and-white wings.


However, they look even better in their breeding plumage.



On Sunday we were able to admire the full range of their plumage.









It was great fun to watch the flock stalking through the water ...


... and then dipping down to catch their prey.





After Rollover Pass, we drove west along Bolivar and turned down Yacht Basin Road, where we had heard several Clapper Rails (and briefly seen one) the day before. I was hoping that, if we sat quietly in the car for a few minutes, we might get better views.

Sure enough, within two or three minutes a Clapper Rail popped into sight and stayed in the open for a minute or more. 








Once the Rail had disappeared, we headed to the Galveston ferry.
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