Coastal Trip 5: Galveston

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The ferry ride from Bolivar to Galveston was fun, as always. I kept looking for Magnificent Frigatebirds but saw nothing except Brown (and White) Pelicans and Laughing Gulls.

Well, that's not quite true. There were Great-tailed Grackles, too, including some males displaying.

Sporstmen's Road was much quieter for wading birds than usual. Apart from Willets, the only wader we saw was this Reddish Egret.

The jetties back from the road had lots of Dowitchers and Ruddy Turnstones, all too far away to photograph. An Osprey came a little closer as it flew across the road, carrying its lunch.

The ponds and wetland areas at Lafitte's Cove were extremely quiet. The drips were a little busier, although warblers were noticeably absent. Orchard Orioles, a Blue-headed Vireo and a Scarlet Tanager were lurking near one drip. A Blue Grosbeak was lurking in the trees also.

I missed a quick visit to the drip by a Northern Parula but got a snap of a Summer Tanager.

As the birding was fairly slow, we decided to head home. However, all being well, we'll do the Anahuac - High Island - Bolivar - Galveston loop again on April 18-19.
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Anahauc and the Bolivar-Galveston Ferry

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After the chaos of the Smith Oaks rookery, Anahuac NWR was remarkably quiet. The only birds we saw were White Ibis, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, American Coots, Common Gallinules, Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Harriers, Barn Swallows and a single Great Egret.

However, alligators were plentiful: We saw 15 adults while driving around Shovelers' Pond.

The most exciting sighting came when we stopped at the bridge leading to the boardwalk at Shovelers' Pond. In the water below the bridge were no fewer than 26 baby alligators. (As they were less than 2' long, I assume they had been born early last fall.) We and several other visitors watched fascinated as the babies chased small fish and tadpoles and even caught the occasional bug.

On our way back to the hotel, we took the Bolivar - Galveston ferry.

The Bolivar ferry landing area was busy with Laughing Gulls and displaying Great-tailed Grackles.

White Pelicans lined the breakwater and a couple swam past the ferry.

As the ferry crossed to Galveston, it was accompanied by an odd mixture of birds - Laughing Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants (below), Great-tailed Grackles and Rock Pigeons!

A few dolphins made up our last sighting of the day.

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