Hello! Its been a while! A little background first. I was recently awarded volunteer of the year by the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance for my continued leadership (4.5 years) with the San Marcos Bird Walk. When asked if there were any awards (gifts) I was interested in, I was insistent that I had everything I needed but I had never seen the endangered Whooping Cranes. To my gratitude they seemed to oblige and I wound up with a "sponsorship" to catch a guided boat tour. On short notice I learned the boat tours were being held through March and I had the first Saturday of Spring Break available to make it happen.
I stirred up early Saturday morning, left San Marcos around 5:30am, and made my way to Rockport, Texas. After an excessively foggy drive I checked in at the office to learn I'd have to come back and see if enough people show up for the boat to launch. No sweat. I took that time to wander around the Rockport Harbor. The weather was superb. Perfectly sunny and breezy at just the right temperature. I picked up some trash and saw some prehistoric looking water bugs that you don't notice until they all start to evade your steps. My phone rang and the trip was on!
I packed my bag with my camera and a couple lenses, my shade hat, sunscreen on my face, binoculars, one emergency contraband snackbar (no outside food allowed on the boat), and my jacket. Ready to go! We loaded the Wharf Cat and I found a corner by myself while everyone else was set on climbing to the upper-deck. As soon as we reversed out of our dock and began to exit the harbor I relocated to the bow.
I stirred up early Saturday morning, left San Marcos around 5:30am, and made my way to Rockport, Texas. After an excessively foggy drive I checked in at the office to learn I'd have to come back and see if enough people show up for the boat to launch. No sweat. I took that time to wander around the Rockport Harbor. The weather was superb. Perfectly sunny and breezy at just the right temperature. I picked up some trash and saw some prehistoric looking water bugs that you don't notice until they all start to evade your steps. My phone rang and the trip was on!
I packed my bag with my camera and a couple lenses, my shade hat, sunscreen on my face, binoculars, one emergency contraband snackbar (no outside food allowed on the boat), and my jacket. Ready to go! We loaded the Wharf Cat and I found a corner by myself while everyone else was set on climbing to the upper-deck. As soon as we reversed out of our dock and began to exit the harbor I relocated to the bow.
The boat ride was great, the wind blasted my face and I had a grand time just birdwatching. Back to my roots. I lead the monthly bird walk in San Marcos but otherwise I don't just hike around and go birdwatching like I used to. I also see birds differently than I used to. At some point birds turned into nothing more than a tally on a list but I'm happy that's not the case anymore. Maybe my distance from birding has helped me maintain a more cherished view. Now I enjoy a bird's presence no matter how common or foreign it is. Franklin's Gulls, Great Blue Herons, Neotropic Cormorants. Those aren't birds to write home about, but look at them, they're awesome and beautiful creatures! Every one of them! Once the mundane birds become a treat, imagine the excitement of seeing a Merganser, or an Oystercatcher. Imagine the excitme-OH MY GOD DOLPHINS!!
I found my way to the upper-deck and thought i'd get a little artistic with some photos of our boat captain who turned out to be a wonderful tour guide. I was also simply fascinated by the intercoastal waterway. It's just like a road made for boats. We saw a big barge transporting some large tanks. I learned that it's cheaper and safer than transporting those resources via truck or rail, and I believe it. It's a bit nerve wracking in regards to environmental risk but you can't argue it's not better to keep hazardous materials far away from people in cars.
Honorable mention to my whispies in this set. I generally do everything I can to keep hair out of my face but I reached a point on this boat tour where my hair turned into a face massage rather than nuisance. If only that were always the case.
Honorable mention to my whispies in this set. I generally do everything I can to keep hair out of my face but I reached a point on this boat tour where my hair turned into a face massage rather than nuisance. If only that were always the case.
Did you forget why I was on this trip? I GOT TO SEE THE ENDANGERED WHOOPING CRANES!! THEY WERE SO COOL!! Oh my goodness. What a treat. These photos and video were from the very last pair we saw on our way out of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The whole boat tour was simply a drive-by of the refuge. On both sides of the channel you would see these giant stark-white birds in twos and threes. They were mating pairs either with or without one young. Each group occupies a territory where they pretty much wade around the marsh and eat blue crabs all day. It was eerily impressive how evenly spaced out the groups spanned the refuge and I was surprised by how many Whooping Cranes we saw. Another birder on the boat counted close to 35 individuals. This flock, the only remaining wild flock in the world, is made up of about 310-315 birds. That's insane. In the 1940s only 15 birds remained. That's even more insane.
A connection was finally made. I work in water and environmental advocacy in the Texas Hill Country where we cherish every acre of habitat for our Golden-cheeked Warblers, every foot of water in the Edwards Aquifer for our salamanders, every spring bubble for our Texas Wildrice.The freshwater and habitat is just as important at the opposite end of this water's journey. Without clean flowing water in our rivers we can't have abundant blue crab in our bays and estuaries. Without abundant blue crab we can't have Whooping Cranes. Water is the key to life no matter where you go. It's our duty to protect our water resources at all costs. I see the importance from beginning to end.
A connection was finally made. I work in water and environmental advocacy in the Texas Hill Country where we cherish every acre of habitat for our Golden-cheeked Warblers, every foot of water in the Edwards Aquifer for our salamanders, every spring bubble for our Texas Wildrice.The freshwater and habitat is just as important at the opposite end of this water's journey. Without clean flowing water in our rivers we can't have abundant blue crab in our bays and estuaries. Without abundant blue crab we can't have Whooping Cranes. Water is the key to life no matter where you go. It's our duty to protect our water resources at all costs. I see the importance from beginning to end.
I was completely satisfied with the Whooping Crane boat tour. I would recommend it to anyone. Afterwards I ate a boat load of snacks as I made my way towards Goose Island State Park. I didn't know anything about it. It turned out to be a wonderful treat. It's a very small park, but there was a trail, Turk's Cap trail, among a stunning forest of coastal live oak. Those trees totally have a wacky Dr. Seuss thing going on. I loved it and I was so happy to walk among them. I assume the most frequented part of the park is the actual Goose Island, which is littered with RVs and fishing poles, neither of which are my preference. Nevertheless, I enjoyed their man-made wave break/marsh barrier where I saw some cute little shorebirds and picked up some trash for them. I had had enough though. I preferred being in the woods and was curious about this "Big Tree" I kept seeing signs for.
The "Big Tree" is simply amazing. It's about a mile or two from the main section of the park and sits in its own little sanctuary. This Coastal Live Oak is believed to be over 1,000 years old. I took a "bobcat" nap, my new word for taking naps outside, on a bench and had the tree to myself for a little while. I stared at it. I looked at all of its severed limbs, its crutches, I wondered if life gets harder for an old soul like this. Can these amazing organisms live forever? I looked at its green leaves, this beaut just got a fresh batch of life, it's Spring, it's time to grow. This old tree is still growing and still giving back. I found a gorgeous Northern Parula (shout out to Sasha Parula!) foraging through the Big Tree. Had that little bird just flown hundreds of miles across the ocean? This tree has been feeding the weary for a millennium. I'm happy I got to spend time with that tree. It fed my spirit.
Last thing. A friend, Bryan Calk, who is an exquisite birder and nature photographer helped me choose the Wharf Cat boat tour and recommended this nearby field to see Whooping Cranes. Thanks Bryan. It was a stone's throw from the Big Tree and it was a really slow afternoon so I parked my car barely off the side of the road and pulled out my spotting scope to get some final looks at these gorgeous Whooping Cranes. I LOVE the red mask on these birds. The way it splits and tapers off around the face. Absolutely stunning bird. I look forward to my next opportunity to see them. I encourage everyone interested to make this trip, it far exceeded my expectations.