Hans A Suter Wildlife Area

Oops!  I just realized I posted out of order again.  I still have a couple of August posts to make.  The weekend of August 31 I made a trip to Corpus Christi in search of another rarity, the Bar-tailed Godwit that had been seen around Oso Bay.  Whether or not my trip was a success depends on your definition.  I visited two more sites of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, which is the original purpose of this blog.  I did not get the added bonus of a rare bird sighting.  Not this time, anyway...     

Splashdown!  The America White Pelicans had already returned.  A local man at the wildlife area told me they arrived more than a month ago.  I'm learning not to take the descriptions of best season to visit these sites too literally.  The birds don't.  Winter species can be found in July.

   

This photo of Oso Bay was taken from the railing on Ennis Joslin Road.  I not only visited Hans Suter, I accessed the flats via a small footpath worn into the weeded area on the roadside.  That's Texas A&M on the other side.  I found egrets, herons, terns, gulls, and skimmers on the sand and in the shallows.
 

At first glance, I thought it was a Great Egret, but the bill was wrong.  It didn't have yellow feet, so it couldn't be a Snowy.  I studied my field guides and decided it must be a juvenile Little Blue Heron, but the leg color still wasn't quite right.  Then, I saw a similar bird on Hootin' Anni's blog.  Due to it's size and dark legs, I'm calling it a white-morph Reddish Egret.

The Great Egret is below, for comparison.  I found him near the overpass on Ocean Drive.

 I walked all the way from Hans Suter, up onto Ocean Drive and the bridge that crosses Oso Bay, to Texas A&M in search of the Godwit.  I didn't find him or the Marbled Godwits with which he'd been seen.         

One last visit to the boardwalk and viewing area at Hans Suter before I left rewarded me with views of the Great Blue Heron, pelicans, stilts, and sandpipers.  

This week, I'm linking up with I'd Rather B' Birdin'.


CTC069
Late afternoon 8/31 - midday 9/1/2014
90 deg F
Partly cloudy, windy
Species identified (17):  American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Willet, Western Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, Black-necked Stilt, Caspian Tern, Great Egret, Reddish Egret, Black Skimmer, Sanderling, White Ibis, Crested Caracara, Mottled Duck, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret