A few more photos from The Smith Oaks Rookery
A few more photos from Rollover Bay
~Wrapping Up at High Island & Rollover Bay
All posts by Sheila
~A Ride Along the Bolivar Peninsula
March, 2015 in Texas…
On the second day, of our two day stay near Hight Island, Texas we decided to take a ride to the Gulf of Mexico. We drove along the Bolivar Peninsula until we reached the Galveston ferry and retraced our drive back toward High Island. We were not interested in going into Galveston.
As we crossed over Rollover Pass we noticed what looked like birds near the shoreline of the south end of Rollover Bay. I am glad we turned into this parking lot, where people were fishing, some were birding, but mostly they were enjoying this bay that leads into the Gulf of Mexico.
A couple tidbits of interesting history about Rollover Pass – it is a man-made strait that cuts through private property on the Bolivar Peninsula and links the Gulf of Mexico with Rollover Bay and East Bay in Galveston. Rollover Pass earned its name from the practice of smugglers who, from the days of Spanish rule through prohibition, avoided the Galveston customs station by rolling barrels of import or export merchandise over the narrowest park of the peninsula.
Today people visit this area, from all over the world, to camp, fish and bird. We must have hit this area just when a few hundred birds decided they needed a rest. We saw Gulls, Terns, Pelicans, Egrets, Dowitchers, Godwits, Avocets, Willets and I am sure some that I missed. Migrating birds as they rested at Rollover Bay on this day, March 24, 2015.
More photos to follow of our time spent at Rollover Bay, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas.
Sharing with:
~Charlotte at Prairie Birder for “Feathers on Friday”
at https://prairiebirder.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/feathers-on-friday-144/#comment-7176
~April is National Poetry Month
~Video-The Rookery At Smith Oaks~
This is my first attempt at posting a video, please let me know if you have any trouble viewing.
While visiting The Rookery at Smith Oaks on March 24, 2015, Howard captured the area on video using his iPhone. Look closely and you will see, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Neotropic Cormorants. Birds were arriving everyday to this nesting area.
I hope you enjoy seeing the nesting birds. Listen closely and you will hear frogs, lots of frogs.
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~Snowy Egret~
I don’t know why I left The Rookery with so few Snowy photos. The Neotropic Cormorants, Great Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills outnumbered the Snowy Egrets (while we were there). I don’t remember seeing that many Snowy Egrets.
The Cormorants and the Great Egrets were well on their way to building their nests, sitting on them and a few had laid eggs, while the Snowy Egrets and the Spoonbills seemed to be just hanging out. I think the Spoonbills had just arrived at The Rookery. We were there on March 24, 2015 . I understand life there is hopping these days! What fun it would be to see the chicks!
Until next time…
I wish you good hair days!
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