WildBird

Texas Dreams

Texas Dreams By Nathan Cornwell Age 12 Before we flew to our family reunion in summer of 2004, we learned that our flight stopped off in Houston on our way back. It had always been our dream to go to Texas, so Jacob, Mom and I eagerly made plans for a side trip to Bolivar Flats. We were able to procure lodging in Port Bolivar in a rental cabin with a seaside view. Our adventure began in the San Jacinto Battleground Monument with Laughing Gulls, Boat-Tailed Grackles and Sandwich Terns. We saw a White Ibis flying against the romantic backdrop of an oil refinery and drove on to Galveston. There we saw Little Blue Herons, Wilson’s Plovers, White-Rumped Sandpipers, and Royal Terns. Also Ticks. Lots of ticks. After our Galveston adventures we drove on to Bolivar Flats. Our elite birding spots we visited included High Island, Eubanks Woods, and the Boy Scout Woods Sanctuary. Our lifers there were birds like Anhingas, Eurasian Collared-Doves, Great-Tailed Grackles, Tricolored Herons, and a Yellow-Throated Vireo. We even found alligators at High Island. As good as those stops were, they were nothing compared to Anahuac NWR. Our Anahuac day began with a visit to the South Bayou tract. The birds there were only herons, but we saw several species of butterfly, including Giant Swallowtails. After that we drove on to the main preserve. Almost immediately we began seeing life birds. The insanity began with about 13 Common Moorhens and a Glossy Ibis. After a stop at the viewing blind at Shoveler Pond where we saw a Purple Gallinule up close and personal, we proceeded to find no less than 9 Least Bitterns. After our first one, Mom said that she would probably never see one again. She must have blessed us or something. Of course, our cabin was no less a birding site. Our feeder attracted several different species, such as White-Winged doves, Inca Doves, and even a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron. (Feeding on the lawn, of course.) But the most incredible thing was the dawn. Clapper Rails were running around looking for bugs on the front lawn in full view! We even saw one or two King Rails. Our cabin was located next to a Jetty, so one evening we decided to check it out. The mudflats were crawling with birds. We found Black-Bellied Plovers, American Golden-Plovers, and even a Hudsonian Godwit on those flats. It was an amazing trip. We will definitely return, as mom said, ‘when, not if’.

WildBird on the Fly!
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