Texas - National Seashore Padre Island - Bird Tour

We journeyed to North Padre Island and encamped for four days at the Malaquite Campsite.  $8.00 a night for a camping spot, no hookups whatsoever but the biggest amenity was the Gulf of Mexico and the sound of the wind and waves.  Long sandy beaches where you could watch people reef fishing.



don't know where this tree came from but the currents washed it ashore



white sandy beaches



this fellow was always quite successful with fishing

We took a two and a half hour bird watching tour with a volunteer birder.  We saw some birds that we don't get in Alberta.  It was a great way to spend some time and we enjoyed the company of a couple from Calgary.


Redhead Ducks





half a million Redhead ducks come to this area in winter





Forster's Terns



These were some of the birds we saw.  Unfortunately we weren't able to get a good picture of the white tailed hawk, they were too far away.

While viewing the Redhead ducks on one of two fresh water ponds in the park we were shown some of the debris that had been washed ashore as a result of a hurricane in the Gulf.



now that is some heavy metal!



Can you imagine the force that it took to cast these objects on the beach!

As we were scanning around we saw three large coyotes far afield.  They looked fairly healthy.

We were on a side road that isn't open to public driving but because we were escorted we were able to see behind the scenes so to speak.  One of the scenes was a target range for the Park Rangers that are licensed to carry guns.

Another of the areas we were driven to was the Laguna Madre Channel which has a greater salinity than the Dead Sea or the Great Salt Lake in Utah.



this island was formed when the channel was dredged to make it deeper for boats

The island can be rented but unfortunately everything you need has to be brought over by boat and everything you use has to be taken away by boat.  There is no water, power or sewer on the island.

We were also informed of the flag poles at the camping area.  This is quite a well known wind surfing area and the flags indicate the speed of the wind.  Red - 8 miles per hour, white - 16 miles per hour and blue - 24 miles per hour.

Another interesting tidbit was about the oak trees on the island.  Texas Live Oak trees grow in mottes that look like a mound.  They have a stunted look but we were told these trees are at least 75 years old.  They are a safe haven for a variety of wildlife.



this motte had been burnt at both ends from a fire and back fire so we got a glimpse of its innards

One other object that we saw on this bird tour was a freshwater turtle shell.  Noone was in the shell but later we did have the pleasure of seeing some live freshwater turtles.