Rockport is located just across a narrow bay from Padre Island on the Gulf Coast in southern Texas. This whole area is appreciated by birders for its huge numbers of birds supported year round and being a stopping point for thousand of migrating birds in spring and fall. Steve (S. Bates) has been in Rockport, TX since last July. Tom and I arrived here in January. None of us are ‘birders’ as we know little about them and have not pursued bird photography with any seriousness. Our bird photography is largely the photography of ‘opportunity’. If we are fortunate to have an opportunity to photograph one of these gorgeous creatures within the limits of our lens we will do so. When it works we get all excited! Below is a collection of photographs that have opportunistically crossed our paths while staying in Rockport. Our apologies to our wonderful birding friends if we have mis-identified one of these birds. Let me know and I will set it right.
White Ibis adults and juveniles (the juveniles are molted brown)
Tricolor Great Heron
Male and female adult Whooping Cranes. They migrate north in the summer. Photographs of the Whooping Cranes were taken using a borrowed Canon 600mm prime lens.
Red-billed Coot Moorhen
Roseate Spoonbills, referred to as ‘rosies’ around here
Brown Pelicans
Cooper Hawk
American White Pelicans
Female Cardinal
Brown Pelicans
Red-headed Aythya americana (salt water diving duck)
Cooper Hawk
American Coot
Great Egret
Great-tailed Crackle
Brown Pelican
Brown Pelican
White Ibis
Brown Pelican
Tri-colored Heron
Tri-colored Heron with Sheephead fish
Red-headed Aythya
Laughing Seagull with Sheepshead
Great Egret in breeding plumage
Sanderling
Roseate Spoonbill
Brown Pelican
Whooping Crane
Tri-colored Heron
American Pelican
Pied-billed Grebe
Herons atop tall live oaks where they have. built their nests
Colt (juvenile) Whooping Crane
Colt Whooping Crane
Colt Whooping Crane (dancing!)
Brown Pelican waiting for his lunch at a fish cleaning station
Snowy Egret
American Finch
Brown Pelican (here’s lookin’ at ya baby!)
Roseate Spoonbill
Long-billed Curlew
Tri-colored Heron
Morning Dove at Steve’s feeder
Whooping Cranes
Great Egret
Male Cardinal
American Pelicans
Long-billed Curlew
Herons atop live oaks
Adult Whooping Cranes with their juvenile ‘colt’
Whooping Cranes
Whooping Cranes
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
American Pelican
Front bird is a Kingfisher and the back bird is a Laughing Gull
Brown Pelican
Coot
Osprey
American Pelican taking food from a Brown Pelican
Osprey (we think)
Tri-colored Heron
Turkey Vulture (where a hundred hang out on a nearby microwave tower)
Snowy egret
Whooping Cranes with a coyote nearby (he does not consider them prey and they ignore him)
Snowy Egret
Roseate Spoonbill
Great Egret
Crackle
Roseate Spoonbill
Wilson’s Snipe (we think)
Split-tailed Fly Catcher
Split-tail Fly Catcher
Tufted or crested Tit-mouse (lots of discussion on this one’s identity)
You might imagine the conversation in trying to name these birds. We have reference cards. “Well, that one has yellow feet so that makes it a . . . Now that bill curves down so that suggests it is . . . That red face makes it a . . . Hmmmmm . . . . . not sure about that hawk. . . . “