Island Time

Happy 4/20 from South Padre Island!

We've been here since Saturday, weathering one more huge thunderstorm downpour, but otherwise had fairly decent weather.

Turns out this weekend was the 12th annual Beach-N-Biker Fest here, which resembles Sturgis in much the way a tabby cat resembles a mountain lion. Each night of the Fest offers a concert, and Saturday night's headliner was the Georgia Satellites, who were last relevant when Rocky battled Drago and Alex P. Keaton walked the halls of Leland U. Which also gives you an idea of the average age of the Fest'ers. Saturday night was pretty tame around here.

Birding has primarily revolved around two unlikely places, Sheepshead Street and the South Padre Island Convention Center. Sheepshead has several vacant and overgrown lots that are maintained by a local land trust, which has set up water drips to attract birds. The oasis of green draws all kinds of migrants, from warblers to cuckoos, and we've had a slow but steady stream of new birds from there.

The Convention Center has lush landscaping that also has turned into a Bird Magnet. The Center allows Birders to park in their lot and walk around the grounds, and it is hugely popular; we stopped by today at 11am, and there were probably 50 people there. Aside from the popularity, the other problem is that they allow people to put up memorial signs for deceased friends and family. So, every 10 feet, there is a waist-high sign of a dead person, which we find both a bit of a downer and a hazardous obstacle:

Photo from thedauphins.net

But, there are many, many birds to be found in this Migrant Trap. So, we tolerate it.

We went off-island only once, attempting to find our first Aplomado Falcon, yet another bird on the Endangered Species list. They're struggling due to habitat loss and pesticides, and so breeding programs and preserves are set up to help them recover. They tend to have large territories, and so can be hard to locate; we've been to Texas at least 5 times and never found one.

This trip promised to be no different at first. We first drove back and forth for about 20 miles along the highway near where they had been reported. Then, we tried a dirt road where they had been seen, but almost got stuck due to mud from recent storms, and had to back up 1/4 mile to turn around. Finally, we said to ourselves, "Hey, Selves, this thing called the Internet might be helpful here!" And, a quick search later, we found the magic words, "Breeding platform located at milepost X near the AT&T cell tower". And, voila:

If you do happen to be in the vicinity, I recommend a side trip to the Palo Alto Battlefield NHP, which documents the first battle of the US-Mexican War in 1846. They do a good job of explaining the event, and their grounds are also a good place to find Cassin's Sparrow. If you care. Which I know you do.

Otherwise, we've pretty much hung out here, stopping to check the beaches and bushes for whatever may come by, as migration season is always full of surprises. For instance, just a week ago, we were wondering where all the Franklin's Gulls were, as we had yet to see one. Just so happens, they're here:

Click photo for the full Glory of Gulls

Tomorrow is eagerly anticipated by Birders around here, as the weather forecast is for winds from the Northeast until 3AM. This should slow down the birds, so we may have some interesting finds in the morning!

Go Warriors!
Me