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Our friends were late arriving on Sunday and so we didn't reach High Island until noon. The Smith Oaks rookery was very busy - with both birds and people.
There weren't only birds and people either, because a large alligator was lurking across from the first observation platform
Nearby there were a couple of Common Moorhens and Blue-winged Teal.
As usual, the first area with nests was largely occupied by Neotropic Cormorants.
Several Snowy Egrets were prowling near the water's edge.
Since our previous visit the number of Roseate Spoonbills had increased significantly.
For me, as I'm sure for many other people, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the rookery is to watch Roseate Spoonbills as they fly into and out of the nesting areas.
By far the most numerous of the nesting birds on this visit were again Great Egrets, most looking splendid in their breeding plumage.
It is always great fun watching these magnificent birds as they fly back to the rookery with nesting materials.
Some of the materials the Egrets bring in are impressively large.
Others are, well, much less impressive.
Whatever the size of the contributions, each bird's partner is waiting at the chosen site to take charge of the materials and add them carefully to the growing nest.
The Great Egrets and Spoonbills made a nice contrast with the numerous Black Vultures that kept passing overhead.
After an hour at the rookery we left High Island to fit in another visit to Anahuac NWR before we headed for home.
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After leaving Anahuac on Saturday, we paid a brief visit to Smith Oaks in High Island.
I was amazed to see that the rookery was already busy with hundreds of nesting birds.
There were some Roseate Spoonbills, but only a few and they hadn't started nest-building yet.
In contrast, there were scores and scores of both Double-crested and Neotropic Cormorants, some of which were nesting.
Here's a Neotropic Cormorant, identified by the white line at the base of its bill.
Outnumbering all other species were Great Egrets. They were in full breeding plumage and had adopted their green faces.
Several pairs were busy mating.
One of the wonderful things about Smith Oaks is that you always get wonderful looks at Great Egrets (and, later, other large waders) as they fly in and out of the rookery.
I love watching them as they come in to land on top of the trees.
On Sunday many of the Egrets were flying in with twigs and branches that they had collected for nest-building.
It's fun to watch the way the birds waiting at the nest-site react when their partners fly in with their contributions.
It's fun, too, to see the care with which the birds place the twigs and branches.
I hope we'll be able to visit High Island several times in April, by which time the rookery should be absolutely packed with nesting Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Cormorants and other large birds. It's the best springtime show in Texas, bar none.
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If Great Egrets were the most numerous birds at the Smith Oaks rookery, they were by no means the only ones there.
Scattered throughout the island opposite the observation decks were Snowy Egrets, distinguished by their smaller size, their black bills and their yellow feet.
Scores of Neotropic Cormorants were also present. Some were perched in the trees while others were bringing in nesting materials.
As always at the rookery, Roseate Spoonbills put on quite a show.
They often seem ungainly as they try to settle or stand on branches.
However, there is certainly nothing ungainly about them once they take to the air!
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