New Year

Nice way to spend the last day of the year; sitting on the beach with the kids, watching the grandkids play in the water.

Happy New Year!

And here is the family that is not currently visiting us

Matt and Lindsay, Alex, and Austin in Colorado.

Having a good time with the kids

Becky and family arrived last Sunday. Doing things together each day, we’ve visited, eaten, played on the beach, driven, shelled, pizza’d, aquariumed, birded, shopped, toe ringed, Dairy Queened, sword fought, bikini bought, and toy helicoptered. So far.

Red Tailed Hawk

Jon's truck

Why would he paint his truck like an African Safari Jeep? We’re not in Africa. We’re in Texas. There aren’t any zebras here. All we have are gulls…

Clarification

Optical illusion. It looks like you can see right through the building but you can’t. Really, the facing just blew off without compromising the integrity of the structure.

Saturday

The wind that blew night before last? The one that blew up our satellite dish? It did worse than that to the building down the street.

Cool and rainy. The weather seems too cool here, but I looked at the national weather forecast for tomorrow, and we probably shouldn’t complain. We’re not blue or purple.

Birded a little this morning. Got some Red-breasted Mergansers. Didn’t get the Monk Parakeets, again. Got Eared Grebes in the surf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2NwKjypVrY

Christmas

 

Mild weather until yesterday when a big wind storm blew in in the middle of the night.  We got up and put in the bedroom slide right away to quiet it down so we could sleep the rest of the night.  We tried to put the television satellite dish down too, but it was already blown up.  We may be making a trip north toward Houston in a few weeks to see our satellite dish repair guy.

 

Next morning the wind was still blowing so hard from the west we put in the port side slide too.  But all that weather went away last night.  This morning dawned bright and sunny and cold.  Forty degrees.  It should warm back up over the next few days to where it’s supposed to be; sixty or seventy.

 

A good get-together last night, Christmas eve.  Forty or fifty people.  We did dinner in the Welcome Center then had the gift exchange.

 

A pleasant day today.  Merry Christmas to all.

 

 

Red Shouldered Hawk

Mustang Island

There is one highway that runs the length of the island. There are drainage ditches along the road, but the island is flat and barely above sea level. When it rains, there is no place for the water to go so it just stands there until it soaks into the ground. The ground is already soaked, so I guess it’s just waiting for the water table to recede.

Port Aransas ferry

 

How about a trip on the Port Aransas Ferry?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcPE7mMLs3Q

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W7xPnQfwfw

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z-I9uzcknM

 

 

FW: The Office

Any walk to the beach requires us to walk right through Bigfoot’s “Office”; that wide spot at the top of the boardwalk. If the weather is good, good chance you’ll find Chris (Bigfoot) there, ready for some pleasant conversation.

Trip reports

 

We’ve been having some trouble with our email.  Some of our incoming gets bounced.  About half of our outgoing gets bounced.  It looks like the outgoing is working again, so I’m going to resend a couple trip reports.  Sorry for the duplication for those who get them twice.

 

 

Monday

Email trouble.

2009 Summer Trip

 

There are two more big bird lists to get through.  The summer trip list and the year list.  Here is the 2009 summer trip list.  It’s kind of long.  262 birds.

1	Snow Goose	Louisiana	11/10/2009	interstate 10
2	Cackling Goose	Alberta	8/20/2009	hinton koa
3	Canada Goose	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park
4	Wood Duck	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
5	Gadwall	Colorado	9/19/2009	pawnee national grasslands
6	American Wigeon	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
7	Mallard	Colorado	7/11/2009	la junta
8	Mottled Duck	Florida	10/29/2009	naples area
9	Blue-winged Teal	Colorado	7/18/2009	st vrain state park
10	Northern Shoveler	Colorado	9/19/2009	pawnee national grasslands
11	Green-winged Teal	Texas	11/11/2009	port aransas
12	Redhead	Texas	11/11/2009	port aransas
13	Ring-necked Duck	Alberta	8/18/2009	jasper national park
14	Common Goldeneye	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
15	Hooded Merganser	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
16	Common Merganser	Montana	8/3/2009	yellowstone river
17	Ruddy Duck	Texas	11/11/2009	port aransas
18	Ring-necked Pheasant	North Dakota	8/24/2009	new england
19	Sharp-tailed Grouse	North Dakota	8/23/2009	dickinson
20	Wild Turkey	Tennessee	10/5/2009	clarksville area
21	Northern Bobwhite	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
22	Common Loon	Alberta	8/11/2009	vermilion lakes
23	Pied-billed Grebe	Colorado	7/22/2009	st vrain state park
24	Western Grebe	Colorado	7/22/2009	st vrain state park
25	Clark's Grebe	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park
26	Masked Booby	Florida	10/20/2009	fort jefferson trip
27	Brown Booby	Florida	10/20/2009	fort jefferson trip
28	American White Pelican	Colorado	7/14/2009	chatfield state park
29	Brown Pelican	South Carolina	10/11/2009	Hilton Head Island
30	Neotropic Cormorant	Texas	11/11/2009	port aransas
31	Double-crested Cormorant	Colorado	7/14/2009	chatfield state park
32	Anhinga	Georgia	10/8/2009	george l smith state park
33	Magnificent Frigatebird	Florida	10/17/2009	keys
34	Great Blue Heron	Colorado	7/17/2009	chatfield state park
35	Great Egret	Colorado	7/18/2009	st vrain state park
36	Snowy Egret	Colorado	7/18/2009	st vrain state park
37	Little Blue Heron	South Carolina	10/10/2009	Hilton Head Island
38	Tricolored Heron	Florida	10/19/2009	key west botanic gardens
39	Reddish Egret	Florida	10/31/2009	south central florida.  white morph
40	Cattle Egret	Texas	7/9/2009	amarillo
41	Green Heron	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
42	Black-crowned Night-Heron	Colorado	7/19/2009	st vrain state park
43	Yellow-crowned Night-Heron	Florida	10/23/2009	bluewater key
44	White Ibis	South Carolina	10/11/2009	Hilton Head Island
45	Glossy Ibis	Florida	10/14/2009	st augustine area
46	White-faced Ibis	Idaho	7/31/2009	Interstate 15
47	Roseate Spoonbill	Florida	10/31/2009	south central florida.
48	Wood Stork	Georgia	10/7/2009	george l smith state park
49	Black Vulture	Texas	7/7/2009	north of corpus christi
50	Turkey Vulture	Texas	7/7/2009	north of corpus christi
51	Osprey	Colorado	7/18/2009	st vrain state park
52	Snail Kite	Florida	10/31/2009	south central florida.  Storm Water Management Area 5.
53	Mississippi Kite	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park.  pair
54	Bald Eagle	Montana	8/3/2009	yellowstone river
55	Northern Harrier	Colorado	7/19/2009	st vrain state park
56	Sharp-shinned Hawk	Missouri	10/2/2009	kansas city
57	Cooper's Hawk	Colorado	8/31/2009	chatfield
58	Red-shouldered Hawk	Florida	10/15/2009	anastasia state park
59	Broad-winged Hawk	Florida	10/21/2009	little hamaca park walk
60	Swainson's Hawk	Texas	7/9/2009	amarillo
61	Red-tailed Hawk	Colorado	7/12/2009	colorado springs
62	Ferruginous Hawk	Colorado	9/19/2009	pawnee national grasslands
63	Golden Eagle	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park.  took a great blue heron out of the air
64	Crested Caracara	Texas	11/11/2009	holiday beach
65	American Kestrel	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park. one
66	Merlin	Florida	10/31/2009	south central florida.
67	Peregrine Falcon	Montana	8/4/2009	garrison
68	Prairie Falcon	Montana	8/22/2009	shelby
69	Clapper Rail	Florida	10/15/2009	st augustine area.  rv park little sit.
70	Common Moorhen	Florida	10/16/2009	lion country safari
71	American Coot	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
72	Limpkin	Florida	10/31/2009	south central florida.  road 29
73	Sandhill Crane	Florida	10/31/2009	south central florida.
74	Black-bellied Plover	South Carolina	10/11/2009	Hilton Head Island
75	Wilson's Plover	Florida	10/27/2009	everglades
76	Semipalmated Plover	Florida	10/14/2009	st augustine area
77	Killdeer	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
78	Black-necked Stilt	Utah	7/29/2009	springville
79	American Avocet	Texas	11/11/2009	port aransas
80	Spotted Sandpiper	Colorado	7/18/2009	st vrain state park
81	Solitary Sandpiper	Florida	10/31/2009	south central florida.
82	Greater Yellowlegs	Alberta	8/21/2009	lethbridge
83	Willet	Florida	10/14/2009	st augustine area
84	Lesser Yellowlegs	Alberta	8/21/2009	lethbridge
85	Whimbrel	Florida	10/20/2009	fort jefferson trip
86	Long-billed Curlew	Texas	7/7/2009	gulf waters
87	Ruddy Turnstone	Florida	10/14/2009	st augustine area
88	Sanderling	Florida	10/14/2009	st augustine area
89	Western Sandpiper	Florida	10/21/2009	little hamaca park walk
90	Least Sandpiper	Florida	10/27/2009	everglades
91	Baird's Sandpiper	South Dakota	8/25/2009	badlands national park
92	Dunlin	Florida	10/27/2009	everglades
93	Short-billed Dowitcher	Florida	10/24/2009	Bahia Honda State Park
94	Long-billed Dowitcher	Texas	11/11/2009	port aransas
95	Wilson's Snipe	Colorado	9/17/2009	st vrain state park
96	Laughing Gull	South Carolina	10/11/2009	Hilton Head Island
97	Franklin's Gull	Colorado	9/24/2009	walden pond
98	Ring-billed Gull	Colorado	7/21/2009	st vrain state park
99	California Gull	Utah	7/29/2009	springville
100	Caspian Tern	Florida	10/27/2009	everglades
101	Forster's Tern	Alabama	11/9/2009	interstate 10
102	Royal Tern	South Carolina	10/11/2009	Hilton Head Island
103	Sandwich Tern	South Carolina	10/11/2009	Hilton Head Island
104	Black Skimmer	South Carolina	10/11/2009	Hilton Head Island
105	Rock Pigeon	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
106	White-crowned Pigeon	Florida	10/26/2009	miami area
107	Eurasian Collared-Dove	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
108	White-winged Dove	Texas	7/7/2009	corpus christi
109	Mourning Dove	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
110	Common Ground-Dove	Florida	10/15/2009	st augustine area.  rv park little sit.
111	Yellow-billed Cuckoo	Georgia	10/8/2009	george l smith state park
112	Eastern Screech-Owl	Florida	10/29/2009	naples area
113	Great Horned Owl	Colorado	7/21/2009	st vrain state park
114	Barred Owl	Georgia	10/8/2009	george l smith state park
115	Common Nighthawk	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
116	Chimney Swift	Illinois	10/3/2009	horseshoe lake state park
117	Vaux's Swift	Montana	8/5/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
118	White-throated Swift	Colorado	7/25/2009	glenwood springs
119	Ruby-throated Hummingbird	Florida	10/14/2009	st augustine area
120	Black-chinned Hummingbird	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
121	Broad-tailed Hummingbird	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
122	Rufous Hummingbird	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park
123	Belted Kingfisher	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park
124	Golden-fronted Woodpecker	Texas	7/7/2009	north of corpus christi
125	Red-bellied Woodpecker	Tennessee	10/5/2009	madison bell state park
126	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Montana	8/5/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
127	Ladder-backed Woodpecker	Texas	7/9/2009	lake colorado city state park
128	Downy Woodpecker	Montana	8/4/2009	garrison
129	Hairy Woodpecker	Florida	10/27/2009	everglades
130	American Three-toed Woodpecker	Montana	8/6/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
131	Northern Flicker	Colorado	7/19/2009	st vrain state park. red shafted
132	Pileated Woodpecker	Montana	8/6/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
133	Olive-sided Flycatcher	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
134	Western Wood-Pewee	Colorado	7/17/2009	chatfield state park
135	Eastern Wood-Pewee	Florida	10/14/2009	st augustine area
136	Alder Flycatcher	Alberta	8/14/2009	cave and basin trail
137	Willow Flycatcher	Montana	8/6/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
138	Least Flycatcher	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
139	Hammond's Flycatcher	Montana	8/6/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
140	Dusky Flycatcher	Idaho	7/31/2009	craters of the moon
141	Eastern Phoebe	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
142	Say's Phoebe	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
143	Western Kingbird	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
144	Eastern Kingbird	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park
145	Scissor-tailed Flycatcher	Texas	7/7/2009	north of corpus christi
146	Loggerhead Shrike	Colorado	9/17/2009	st vrain state park
147	White-eyed Vireo	Georgia	10/7/2009	george l smith state park
148	Yellow-throated Vireo	Florida	10/27/2009	everglades
149	Warbling Vireo	Montana	8/3/2009	yellowstone river
150	Philadelphia Vireo	Georgia	10/6/2009	cartersville koa
151	Red-eyed Vireo	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
152	Gray Jay	Alberta	8/13/2009	banff national park
153	Steller's Jay	Colorado	7/26/2009	glenwood springs
154	Blue Jay	Montana	8/5/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
155	Western Scrub-Jay	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park
156	Pinyon Jay	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park. about 50
157	Clark's Nutcracker	Idaho	7/31/2009	craters of the moon
158	Black-billed Magpie	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
159	American Crow	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
160	Fish Crow	Georgia	10/10/2009	george l smith state park
161	Chihuahuan Raven	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
162	Common Raven	Colorado	7/17/2009	chatfield state park
163	Horned Lark	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park
164	Tree Swallow	Colorado	7/14/2009	chatfield state park
165	Violet-green Swallow	Colorado	7/26/2009	glenwood springs
166	Northern Rough-winged Swallow	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park
167	Bank Swallow	Colorado	7/22/2009	st vrain state park
168	Cliff Swallow	Texas	7/7/2009	north of corpus christi
169	Barn Swallow	Texas	7/7/2009	mustang island
170	Carolina Chickadee	Illinois	10/3/2009	horseshoe lake state park
171	Black-capped Chickadee	Colorado	7/14/2009	chatfield state park
172	Mountain Chickadee	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
173	Boreal Chickadee	Alberta	8/19/2009	edith cavell trail. heard.  over and over.  saw one fly.
174	Tufted Titmouse	Tennessee	10/6/2009	madison bell state park
175	Bushtit	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
176	Red-breasted Nuthatch	Montana	8/5/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
177	White-breasted Nuthatch	South Dakota	8/25/2009	badlands national park
178	Cactus Wren	Texas	7/9/2009	lake colorado city state park
179	Rock Wren	Colorado	7/16/2009	chatfield state park
180	Canyon Wren	Colorado	9/9/2009	castlewood canyon
181	Carolina Wren	Missouri	10/4/2009	Webster's Groves
182	House Wren	Colorado	7/16/2009	chatfield state park
183	Golden-crowned Kinglet	Alberta	8/14/2009	cave and basin trail
184	Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Alberta	8/14/2009	cave and basin trail
185	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
186	Eastern Bluebird	Tennessee	10/5/2009	madison bell state park
187	Western Bluebird	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
188	Mountain Bluebird	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park
189	Townsend's Solitaire	Montana	8/3/2009	yellowstone river
190	Swainson's Thrush	Alberta	8/12/2009	cave and basin marsh
191	Hermit Thrush	South Carolina	10/12/2009	Audubon Newhall Nature Preserve
192	Wood Thrush	South Carolina	10/12/2009	Audubon Newhall Nature Preserve
193	American Robin	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park
194	Gray Catbird	Montana	8/4/2009	garrison
195	Northern Mockingbird	Texas	7/7/2009	north of corpus christi
196	Sage Thrasher	Idaho	7/31/2009	craters of the moon
197	Brown Thrasher	Georgia	10/8/2009	george l smith state park
198	Curve-billed Thrasher	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
199	European Starling	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
200	Common Myna	Florida	10/27/2009	miami area
201	Cedar Waxwing	Colorado	7/25/2009	glenwood springs
202	Tennessee Warbler	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
203	Orange-crowned Warbler	Montana	8/5/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
204	Northern Parula	Florida	10/19/2009	key west botanic gardens
205	Yellow Warbler	Colorado	7/19/2009	st vrain state park
206	Black-throated Blue Warbler	South Carolina	10/12/2009	Audubon Newhall Nature Preserve. male
207	Yellow-rumped Warbler	Texas	7/8/2009	hill country
208	Black-throated Gray Warbler	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park
209	Townsend's Warbler	Montana	8/5/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
210	Yellow-throated Warbler	Florida	10/27/2009	everglades
211	Pine Warbler	Georgia	10/6/2009	cartersville koa
212	Prairie Warbler	Georgia	10/8/2009	george l smith state park
213	Palm Warbler	Georgia	10/8/2009	george l smith state park
214	Black-and-white Warbler	Georgia	10/10/2009	george l smith state park
215	American Redstart	Montana	8/6/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
216	Ovenbird	Florida	10/24/2009	Bahia Honda State Park
217	Northern Waterthrush	Florida	10/19/2009	key west botanic gardens
218	Common Yellowthroat	Colorado	7/19/2009	st vrain state park
219	Wilson's Warbler	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
220	Summer Tanager	Georgia	10/8/2009	george l smith state park
221	Western Tanager	Colorado	7/25/2009	glenwood springs
222	Green-tailed Towhee	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park
223	Spotted Towhee	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
224	Eastern Towhee	South Carolina	10/13/2009	Hilton Head Island
225	Canyon Towhee	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
226	Chipping Sparrow	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
227	Clay-colored Sparrow	Colorado	9/17/2009	st vrain state park
228	Brewer's Sparrow	Idaho	7/31/2009	craters of the moon
229	Vesper Sparrow	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
230	Lark Sparrow	Texas	7/8/2009	highway 87 north of San Angelo
231	Black-throated Sparrow	Texas	7/9/2009	lake colorado city state park
232	Lark Bunting	Colorado	9/19/2009	pawnee national grasslands
233	Savannah Sparrow	Alberta	8/11/2009	banff national park
234	Grasshopper Sparrow	Colorado	7/12/2009	cheyenne mountain state park
235	Song Sparrow	Montana	8/3/2009	yellowstone river
236	Lincoln's Sparrow	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip
237	Dark-eyed Junco	Montana	8/5/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
238	McCown's Longspur	Colorado	9/19/2009	pawnee national grasslands
239	Northern Cardinal	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
240	Rose-breasted Grosbeak	Alberta	8/16/2009	inglewood bird sanctuary trip.
241	Lazuli Bunting	Idaho	7/31/2009	craters of the moon
242	Indigo Bunting	Florida	10/19/2009	key west botanic gardens. female
243	Red-winged Blackbird	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
244	Eastern Meadowlark	Texas	11/11/2009	tivoli area
245	Western Meadowlark	Texas	7/9/2009	amarillo
246	Yellow-headed Blackbird	Colorado	7/18/2009	st vrain state park
247	Brewer's Blackbird	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park
248	Common Grackle	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park
249	Boat-tailed Grackle	South Carolina	10/10/2009	Hilton Head Island
250	Great-tailed Grackle	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
251	Brown-headed Cowbird	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
252	Orchard Oriole	Colorado	7/19/2009	st vrain state park
253	Bullock's Oriole	Texas	7/8/2009	lake colorado city state park
254	Pine Grosbeak	Colorado	7/27/2009	glenwood springs
255	Cassin's Finch	Idaho	7/31/2009	craters of the moon
256	House Finch	Colorado	7/11/2009	john martin reservoir state park
257	Pine Siskin	Colorado	7/28/2009	rifle gap state park
258	Lesser Goldfinch	Texas	7/7/2009	buckhorn lake rv park
259	American Goldfinch	Colorado	7/14/2009	chatfield state park
260	Evening Grosbeak	Montana	8/5/2009	hungry horse and glacier national park
261	House Sparrow	Texas	7/7/2009	corpus christi
262	Eurasian Tree Sparrow	Missouri	10/4/2009	Webster's Groves