Birding on a Sunny Morning

For the first time in a while, the wind has died down so we went over to the South Padre Island World Birding Centre to have a look around. This sign greets us at the entrance.

At the water feature just outside the door, these red-eared sliders were sunning themselves on a flat rock.

Along the boardwalk, this scruffy-looking, juvenile great blue heron was angling for a morning snack.

A little later we found him in a yoga pose in the grassy area.

Nestled in the mangrove shrubbery was this snoozing black-crowned night heron.

There were several very active clapper rails taking advantage of the very low tide.

There were lots of wigeons, coots, and the occasional black-necked stilt.

We think this is a lesser yellow-legs.

Hidden in the dead rushes was this least bittern. We would never have seen it if it wasn't pointed out to us.

These two baby gators were snoozing in the sun. Although we didn't see mama, we know she would most certainly be nearby.

We believe this is a female blue-wing teal. She was quite small.

There was lots of algae on this turtle.

Other birds we spotted were redheads, Caspian and royal terns, a couple of reddish egrets, tricolour herons, a belted kingfisher, a juvenile black-crowned night-heron, and some laughing gulls. 'Twas a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours on a bright, sunny day.