Day 64-3 Mar 09-S.Padre Island, TX

Photos: 1. Black Skimmer. 2 & 3. Roseate Spoonbills. 4. Reddish Heron doing the 'Funky Feeding Frenzy' dance. 5. Snowy Egret--I love this photo. In this light it almost looks like an angel.

I apologize for the continuing string of bird photos...but they are DAMN good! Wait until we get to Florida...it will be all Alligator photos!

I was up and off to the nature walk again this morning. I look at it as my own personal fitness program. First, I have to get up early and that takes determination and energy. Then I have to get in the van and drive there and that takes concentration and motivation. Lastly, I have to endlessly walk the boardwalk, bending down, leaning over the railing, stepping up and down on the seating...all to take photos and I'm sure it's like a good arobics workout. The photos are secondary to the workout I get I think...physically and mentally. I'm a winner! Seriously, I love going there, especially on a day like today that was warm and sunny and little wind as the boardwalk goes out in the bay and it can be cool in the morning if the wind is blowing. By 9am I was starting to peel off the excess clothing and just enjoyed the sunshine. It seems that there is something new to see and photograph every day which is the best thing of all.

Today's surprise was a small flock of the Roseate Spoonbills vice just the pair that was there yesterday. I could see them all out in the bay and after an hour they still weren't showing any inclination to come in closer to the shoreline. I was busy taking photos of something else and then bent down to pack the camera away when one of the blessed BWs told me the Spoonbills had just flown in. While I missed the flight shots, I was excited to see 7 of them close to where we were standing in the blind. It is breeding season, or close to it, as the 2 males showed some very brilliant red/pink and were keeping a close eye on the females.

The new bird on the block today was a Black Skimmer. Skimmers are the birds that fly across the top of the water with their lower bill right in the water and as soon as they sense a minnow or small fish, their bill clamps shut. The lower bill is about 2 inches or so longer than the top one and is brilliant red where it joints the head.

There's always a variety of Herons & Egrets there and I could stand and watch them for hours as they fly, jump, and do their feeding frenzy in the shallows. The best clowns of all are the Pelicans and they compete with the other birds for fish except that they can eat the big ones. One fellow today was annoyed with a small heron getting too close and he reached out to try and give him a nip. You could hear the loud 'clomp' when his bill slammed shut on air vice the heron.

I was home by noon and once Wayne came back from the gym we packed up the van and went a couple of miles up the beach where the dunes are. It was wonderful..not many people in sight and I think we both ended up napping. I've gotten really good at scooping out the sand to accommodate various body parts and making a sand pillow..I go out like a light. We stayed for a couple of hours and then came home for a long shower and supper.

We called Gail & Graham tonight. They are just back after a 2-week trip to Costa Rica. Unfortunately they had a bad car accident on their first day there so the better part of the trip was spent recuperating. No serious injuries but enough to keep them on the sidelines for all of their holidays.

We hear that it's still cold at home but hopefully it will start to turn around in a couple of weeks. March is alway unpredictable but at least it's winter's last hurrah before Spring starts to arrive. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx