Wheeling through Paradise

We were still thirsting for a wave of spring migrant birds and followed migration forecasts religiously, using an app called Birdcast. Did it help us? No, it did not.   The maps and text were easily understood, and projections at the time we were researching possible fallouts, indicated that the weekend of April 23rd was looking real good for High Island! So spur of the moment, we booked another campground, this time on the Bolivar Peninsula about 20 miles from High Island, from April 23 to April 27. As it turned out, the fallout was the previous weekend, and birders were saying they just stood in one spot and warblers and other migrants came to them, rather than they having to search the birds out! Of course. Well, yes, we were disappointed that our timing was off, but we thoroughly enjoyed a second visit to the area. Our ride down to Bolivar Peninsula was eventful...a flat tire on our trailer. Timing was good, as it occurred by a truck stop, so we pulled right in and stared at the t

    We spent a wonderful two hours at Anahuac Wildlife Preserve right off High Island, Texas as well as a walk through Boy Scout Woods, and a drive on Bolivar Peninsula on April 8 and 9. A perfect way to wrap up our week on the island. Prothonotary Pond    Even though warblers were barely a presence, we made reservations to return on April 28 for another week when warbler migration should (operative word 'should') be in full swing. This time at Boy Scout Woods we took boardwalk trails, after walking the woods. The best woodland bird Michael saw was a hooded warbler; of course, I missed it! At Prothonotary Pond, no birds were seen including its namesake. But we enjoyed the beauty and then a trail through a neighbor's yard! Along the boardwalks, lookout platforms are provided, and one gave us very distant views of herons and egrets.  Prickly pear cactus was a surprise! Because we purchased a new battery for the truck, we made it through Anahuac without the truck dying on us.

Aren't you sometimes made speechless by the site of some glorious part of our natural world? Something that makes you stop in place while you utter something like "ohhh wow". Personally, we have had many of these moments, some small and some big during our lives. We had another big "moment" last night.  One highlight here on High Island is the rookery located in the Smith Oaks Sanctuary. This sanctuary is 177 acres of fields, woods, wetlands, and ponds, and of course, the rookery. There's a great boardwalk trail to follow, that meets up with the woodland trails. We were advised to visit the rookery about an hour or so before sunset. And when we walked up to the first viewing platform, well, you guessed it. It was an "oh wow" moment!  The rookery is located on an island in the middle of Claybottom Pond. It's a well-used location for roosting and nesting for thousands of waterbirds in spring and summer, including herons, egrets, cormorants, and s