Port Aransas Christmas Bird Count
I was born in the small coastal town of Port Aransas, Texas. (Well, I was actually born in Corpus Christi, where the nearest hospital is.) So I have strong ties there, and I try to support the Port Aransas birding community by volunteering my time whenever I can. One way I do is by participating in their Christmas Bird Count. This year it was on Monday, December 16. I spent the morning birding with Clay Taylor out in the gulf on one of UTMSI's boats piloted by Frank Ernst. I spent the afternoon in the Nature Preserve at Charlie's Pasture with Warren Pulich Jr. and Beau Hardegree. Here are some highlights:
- finding a Le Conte's Sparrow behind my parents' house just before sunrise
- chasing a Northern Gannet that we thought might be a booby on the open Gulf at 37 knots and watching the bird stay easily ahead of us
- getting "pulled over" by a Border Patrol speedboat so they could ask what we were doing
- seeing Peregrine Falcons on abandoned oil rig platforms
- finding Nelson's Sparrows on the mud flats in Charlie's Pasture
- enjoying the company of Port Aransas birders
The unofficial species total for the day was 180. Attached are my iNat observations. Most of the same photos and a few more are on Flickr here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikael_behrens/sets/72157638767086525/
Can't wait until next year!
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mikaelbתיאור
For the Port Aransas CBC, I always check around my parents' house a little bit around dawn. Every other year I find something interesting, and this year it was this Le Conte's Sparrow in the dunes behind the yard. I've never seen one here, although I've never looked too hard. This one was perched in Camphorweed and responded to pishing.
Taken during the Port Aransas Christmas Bird Count.
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These are a few of almost 400 American White Pelicans that were in the water around the edge of the south jetty. Taken during the Port Aransas Christmas Bird Count. Special thanks to Frank Ernst, boat pilot for the UTMSI, for taking us out to find birds in the gulf on such a beautiful morning!
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שחף בונפרטה (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)מתצפת.ת
mikaelbתיאור
Taken during the Port Aransas Christmas Bird Count. Special thanks to Frank Ernst, boat pilot for the UTMSI, for taking us out to find birds in the gulf on such a beautiful morning!
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Taken during the Port Aransas Christmas Bird Count. Special thanks to Frank Ernst, boat pilot for the UTMSI, for taking us out to find birds in the gulf on such a beautiful morning!
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בז נודד (Falco peregrinus)מתצפת.ת
mikaelbתיאור
This photos shows the sometimes dramatic difference in size between the smaller male and large female. Taken during the Port Aransas Christmas Bird Count. Special thanks to Frank Ernst, boat pilot for the UTMSI, for taking us out to find birds in the gulf on such a beautiful morning!
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סולה מצויה (Morus bassanus)מתצפת.ת
mikaelbתיאור
We saw several Northern Gannets while out on the boat. All were flying and is the only photo I got. At one point we were chasing another gannet which we thought might have been a booby. (It wasn't.) We ended up going 37 knots alongside the flying bird which was easily keeping us just behind it. Taken during the Port Aransas Christmas Bird Count. Special thanks to Frank Ernst, boat pilot for the UTMSI, for taking us out to find birds in the gulf on such a beautiful morning!
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נציים (משפחה Accipitridae)מתצפת.ת
mikaelbתיאור
The pointy wings and dihedral flight shape of this bird made me really try to make it into something else! Taken during the Port Aransas Christmas Bird Count.
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We estimated there were at least 7 Nelson's Sparrow in one small area of Black Mangroves in Charlie's Pasture. Unfortunately we had to leave the boardwalk to see them, something I only do once a year for the CBC when we have permission to do so. Taken during the Port Aransas Christmas Bird Count.
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