Sunday morning, we checked Crane City on our way to Aransas NWR. There were not quite as many cranes as we usually see, but still enough to enjoy.
We saw 10 whoopers while we were riding around the refuge. Two of them were hanging around the marsh at Heron Flats and eight of them were spotted along the auto tour. The most whoopers that we have seen on refuge.
We saw a Bald Eagle perched above the eagle nest. Hopefully, they have nested.
We saw lots of waterfowl, a couple of gators, and a hog at Jones Lake.
A Red-shouldered Hawk was perched in a tree when we got out of the truck at the Heron Flats Trail. We got pictures from the parking lot, then took more pictures as we got closer. It stayed on its perch as we walked by it allowing for a great photo op.
As we were leaving the refuge, we saw an American Kestrel and a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.
The evening was spent grilling ribs and listening to the elusive calls of the cranes.
Monday was a howling wind kind of day. We finally got out for a bit and drove to Crane City. All the cranes and critters were hunkered down, hiding from the wind.
When I went out to take a sunrise picture Tuesday morning, I heard and saw cranes flying around. Thank goodness for a breeze instead of a howling wind.
We checked on Crane City on our way to Padre Island National Seashore.
We saw all kinds of cool stuff on the Island, including a coyote and several groups of Sandhill Cranes.
We went by the Harley shop then to Sam's. Sam's was a mad house. We are not used to the hustle and bustle of the city. We were glad to get back to the bay and enjoy the quiet life.
Lauren took sunrise pictures on Wednesday morning, while I was still in bed.
We did our usual check on Crane City then headed to Aransas NWR. We hiked the Rail Trail before heading to Jones Lake.
We had heard that a gator had venison for his meal last Friday. When we got to the overlook at Jones Lake, we saw a gator and several vultures. The vultures kept finagling around the gator so we suspected they were wanting to help the gator with his leftovers. The vultures finally got brave and started eating on the deer carcass.
We anticipated that the gator was not going to go along with this, and he didn't. All the sudden he spun around with his mouth wide open, the vultures went airborne. The gator then pulled his leftovers underwater. My oh My!! What big teeth he has!!
We watched for a couple of hours. The vultures would try to steal the kill and the gator would snatch it back. It was like our very own National Geographic moments.
While all this was going on, a coyote made several appearances in the brush, wanting in on the buffet. He was smart enough to realize that the outcome may not be good for him if he indulged.
We took a walk at the tower board walk, stopped for a picnic snack at the lake, then headed back to the bay.
On the way home, we, (or rather Eagle Eye), spotted White-tailed kites. Our first sighting for this trip.
Thursday, we took a road trip to Port Aransas after making a stop at Crane City.
We ventured to a new place today, Port Aransas Nature Preserve. A short, but nice walk.
As we were walking to the Leonabelle Turnbull Nature Center boardwalk, we saw a Great Egret catch a snack.
We saw lots of colorful waterfowl and wading birds from the boardwalk. A lot of them were bathing.
The Whooping Crane family was out in the marsh foraging.
Friday, we got a few household chores done on this cold, windy day. It was a no picture taking kind of day.
A couple of Crested Caracaras had joined the vultures at Crane City Saturday morning.
We did a little bit of hiking and nature chasing at Aransas NWR, seeing 5 Whooping Cranes and some other cool stuff.
Jones Lake was disappointing. We only saw a gator, a couple of grebes, a hog, and a kestrel. Nothing like the excitement that we had the last time we were here.
On our way home, we saw a lone Whooping Crane. Very odd.
We got back and relaxed outside on this pretty day.
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