Baytown Again

.
On Sunday morning I persuaded Dee to go with me on a trip to Baytown Nature Center. I wanted to show her the Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers I had seen the previous week and I was also hoping we would see some of the uncommon birds that have been reported from there lately: Brown Booby, Groove-billed Ani, Least Grebe, Western Grebe and Eared Grebe.

Although the weather was good, birds were few and far between. We dipped on Mergansers and have to settle for several Ospreys instead.

This one was finishing off a fish meal when I spotted it. 

It stopped and gave me a good, hard look as I approached.

But then it went back to eating.

We spotted another Osprey as it was carrying its half-eaten prey to a convenient perch.

After quickly checking out the surrounding area, the bird went back to feeding.

We scanned the water for grebes but most of the birds we could see were too far away to ID without a scope, something I can never be bothered to carry. All we could see clearly, though, was a group of four Horned Grebes.

We were luckier at Turtle Pond, where the reported Least Grebe was visible, paddling about with four Pied-billed Grebes. As we couldn't get good looks from the hide, I followed a rough trail round the side of the pond and managed to get a recognizable if very poor photo of the Least.

The trail also gave me a look at two Black-crowned Night-Heron, a common enough bird in our area but one that I don't see very often.

As our visit to Baytown didn't turn out to be as productive as I had hoped, I may try to get down there again on Saturday to see if I have more luck then.
.

A New Birding Site

.
On my way home from Baytown on Sunday, I stopped off on Highland Shores Drive because I'd seen several reports suggesting that it was a very good birding spot.

Most of the birds were on the far side of the water but I could make out many of the larger wading birds together with Brown and American White Pelicans (below).

Eventually, one of the Brown Pelicans floated out to the middle of the water. 

When a group of American White Pelicans lifted off, I was hoping they would head my way.

Unfortunately, only a couple came anywhere near where I was standing.

As is often the case, the Pelicans on the water were accompanied by a large raft of Cormorants. When some of the latter flew my way, I saw they were Neotropic.

Just when I'd given up hope of getting close views of any of the birds, a pair of Osprey decided to fish nearer the road.

A few minutes I was thrilled to see they were joined by a juvenile Bald Eagle, no doubt looking to steal fish from the Ospreys.

Perhaps because of the Eagle's presence, the Ospreys moved on and soon all three birds were far away on the other side of the water.

I headed home, pleased to have found a new birding site, and one that I'll be visiting again before too long.
.

A Good Morning at Baytown

.
Sunday morning at Baytown Nature Center was cold and windy! (When I arrived at 7:30, the temperature was 39F and the wind was well over 10 mph.) So I wasn't expecting too much bird activity.

I started by looking for the Brown Booby on the utility pylons that stretch across the bay. No luck! In fact, there were no birds at all on the pylons, although the end of the promontory did have an obliging Osprey.

When I first spotted it, it was on the grass, perhaps sheltering from the wind.

 

A few minutes later, it moved to a series of different perches along the water's edge.

 

I scanned Crystal Bay for Grebes, Loons and Hooded Mergansers. Again, no luck. However, I did get some good looks at a Red-breasted Merganser, always a nice bird to watch.

A walk around the loop trail turned up only common birds, such as Northern Mockingbirds, Blue Jays and Red-winged Blackbirds (below).

A Spotted Sandpiper was the only shorebird.

Brown Pelicans looked impressive against the rich blue sky.

The pond near the gazebo had a nice group of Roseate Spoonbills.

A White Ibis was hanging out with the Spoonbills.

While I was watching, it caught several small crabs.

Back at the Egret Tidal Flats a great Blue Heron was looking very stately as it prowled through the water.

A Snowy Egret flew to the other side of the road when I stopped by the pond.

Surprisingly, given how skittish they normally are, four Great Egrets seemed unconcerned by my presence.

So, too, did a Spoonbill.

As I was photographing the Egrets, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Yes! It was a group of eight Hooded Mergansers, the males looking spectacular with their black and white hoods.

Several of the males were competing for the attention of one of the females. Their display consisted of raising their chests out of the water, throwing back their heads and bobbing forward, while calling loudly.

Sad to say, the female didn't seem to be impressed.

After leaving Baytown, I headed north towards Highlands, where there is a birding site that I'd heard good reports of but had never visited. But I'll blog about that in a few days.
.

Last Week

.
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that turned up a while ago is still busy working on the tree in our neighbor's front yard.

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a sporadic visitor to our feeders.

An Orange-crowned Warbler is a much more frequent visitor and comes to the suet constantly throughout the day.

Our year-round residents visit the feeders frequently, too. I rarely see our male Downy Woodpecker but the female is often on our new suet feeder.

It is almost impossible to watch our backyard feeders for five minutes without seeing some of our Carolina Chickadees and Carolina Wrens (below).

 

Northern Cardinals tend to come to feed very early and very late each day.

 

We have an awful lot of squirrels at present. As soon as we put birdfood on the fence or on any accessible feeder, squirrels turn up. As you can see, they feel quite at home in our yards.
 

CyFair Campus

Many winter species have now arrived on the CyFair campus, including Ruby-crowned Kinglets, White-throated Sparrows, Pine Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers and American Goldfinch.

Our many resident Northern Mockingbirds are visible - and audible - wherever you walk on the campus and our Great Egret (below) is usually not difficult to spot.

Our Red-tailed Hawks are not difficult to spot either. 

Among the brds that appear sporadically are American Robins and Eastern Phoebes (below).

On Sunday I had a very productive visit to Baytown Nature Center, followed by a good hour's birding at a new site on the east side of Houston. I'll post about these later this week.
.