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After leaving High Island, we drove west along Bolivar Peninsula to catch the ferry to Galveston.
As usual, the Bolivar harbor was busy with Cormorants, Laughing Gulls, American White Pelicans and Brown Pelicans (below).
Apart from the usual hordes of Laughing Gulls, on this trip the ferry was followed by numbers of Royal Terns.
There were other terns also. At first I thought these were Forster's but then I noted their yellow-tipped bills and realized they were Sandwich Terns.
Once on Galveston, we did a quick drive along Sportsmens' Road. My first Reddish Egret of the year was too distant to photograph but a Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron were a little closer.
The roadside ditches were empty except for a couple of Willets and the only other bird we saw was a solitary White Ibis.
Although I had high hopes for Lafitte's Cove, it turned out to have only a few resident birds and even fewer migrants. In fact, the only migrants we spotted were a Gray Catbird, a Gray-cheeked Thrush and two Scalret Tanagers (below).
As this was our last birding stop, it meant that our trip ended with a whimper rather than a bang. We weren't too disappointed, though, because overall the trip had been quite productive: We had seen 90 species, of which almost half were new birds for the year.
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After largely dipping on birds on Bolivar, I wasn't too optimistic about Galveston. However, although birds were fairly scarce, there were some good ones.
I was too slow stopping and getting out of the car to get photos of a pair of White-tailed Kites on Stewart Road but three Sandhill Cranes on 8 Mile Road were more obliging.
Sportsmen Road is normally an excellent place for watching and photographing Egrets, Herons and other large wading birds. On this trip, though, there was only a single White Ibis in the channel next to the road.
Nearby was a rather forlorn-looking Osprey.
Our final stop was at the end of 8 Mile Road. In spite of the fact that the area was busy with anglers, there were several Ruddy Turnstones.
A solitary Willet also seemed to be oblivious to the people.
I was hoping that the site would still have the Common Loon that we'd seen there at the end of last year. Sure enough, there it was again.
Of course, I can't really be sure that it was the exact same bird but it seems likely to me!
By now it was time for lunch at our favorite Galveston restaurant, Mario's on the Seawall. And after that we would have to start the drive home. However, we'll no doubt be doing the same trip again at least twice in April, when spring migration should insure that we see many more birds than we managed this time.
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Mid-morning on Thursday we drove over to 11 Mile Road, where I had seen three Sandhill Cranes earlier that day. Of course, the birds had moved! We did get good looks at an Osprey and a White-tailed Kite, though.
There were Sandhills along 8 Mile Road but all were fairly distant from the road, so we took a quick trip along Sportsmen Road. Thanks to Dee's sharp eyes, this produced good looks at a group of three adult and two juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Herons.
The rocky area at the end of 8 Mile Road was still very busy with shorebirds. Willets seemed to be everywhere.
They are among the drabbest of all shorebirds - until they stretch their wings.
A sleepy-looking Ruddy Turnstone was resting with some of the Willets.
Mixed in with another group was a much less common bird, a Whimbrel.
Nearby was a Black-bellied Plover.
A solitary American Avocet and a Sanderling looked rather out-of-place next to all the brown and gray shorebirds.
A Tricolored Heron flew off when we drove a little closer but a family of American Oystercatchers stayed to let us admire them.
As with most young birds, the young Ostercatcher never stopped crying.
We noticed that it was banded.
The parents were not banded.
On our way back down 8 Mile Road, a single Sandhill Crane flew over.
Then we found what we had been looking for: A group of Sandhills reasonably close to the road.
I can't think of a better way to end a good birding weekend than by getting good looks at Sandhill Cranes.
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Thursday morning under dark skies I did a scouting drive to find Sandhill Cranes, so that Dee and I would know where to find them later.
There were plenty of other birds around on 8 Mile Road. One flock had a nice mix of Great and Snowy Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Roseate Spoonbill and White Ibis.
On Sportsmen Road, Ospreys seemed to be perched everywhere, eating their fish breakfasts.
A Belted Kingfisher was still fishing from a utility wire while another had already caught a crab.
Perhaps the best sighting along the roadside was a Red-breasted Merganser, always a treat to see.
The rocky area at the end of 8 Mile Road was busy with shorebirds, including Ruddy Turnstones and Least Sandpipers.
I decided to return there later, when the light would hopefully be better. However, a Common Loon just cried out to be photographed then and there.
There were a few Sandhill Cranes along 8 Mile Road but they were all very distant.
So I went over to 11 Mile Road, where I finally found a trio of Sandhills fairly close to the road.
After that, it was back to the motel to collect Dee and to do a more leisurely drive around the 8 Mile Road area.
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