The Snowy Plover in Galveston

When I was at the beach the other day, I found myself thinking about Leaf Lady Gail's post on the Snowy Plover. So, I came home and did some research.



Here's a website for The International Snowy Plover Survey. Apparently, this endangered bird's statistics are well documented along the Pacific coast where Gail lives, and now scientists are using those methods to study the Gulf Coast and Mexico where their numbers are thought to be declining also.



I see Snowy Plovers all the time, and never realized they were endangered. The book Bird Life of Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast says that the only nesting evidence of these birds here are the fledglings sighted with their parents. No one has actually seen a nest. A 2004 Census counted 491 pairs along the Texas Coast. Counting these little guys seems to be difficult because of the constant changing of their habitat.



They like to nest in dry dunes near the tidal flats where they feed. This picture was taken at the east end of the island along the Houston ship channel, which is considered a bird sanctuary because of all the tidal sand flats and pools.



Hurricanes wipe out huge sections of these flats, washing the sand into the Houston ship channel.



Then we dredge up the sand from the bottom of the ship channel to rebuild the beaches. This is a section of East Beach that is just before the tidal flats. There was a sign saying that they're rebuilding it for sea turtles and endangered birds.



Here's a view of the reconstruction of East Beach from the tidal flats. The ship channel is to the left. The Gulf is straight ahead on the other side of the dunes.



It will probably take a while for the tidal flats to reform. Each time I go, they seem to be growing. I wasn't able to find a more current census to see if the population is declining. The 2004 Census was supposed to be a baseline for future reference.

Beach Birds

I've moved close to downtown Houston now, and the good thing about this is that I'm on the side of town close to the ship channel and all the birding trails. Also, I'm only about 40 minutes from the Galveston beaches [it took me about an hour and a half before]. These pics were taken in Galveston.



I went to hike along the birding trails in Seabrook, but it turned into a mosquito fest. I didn't get any good pics from that trip. My hike turned into a jog, and it was an itchy ride home. I'm waiting for cooler weather before I go back. It's still in the 80's around here.



These last two were taken at sunset. The one above looks like they have pink butts :]

Gone But Not Forgotten

I took these photos back in February on my last trip to Galveston. I've been meaning to post them for sometime now, but have been very distracted lately.


This was taken at the east end of the island where the bird sanctuary used to be. Somebody named Chris spray painted the words "gone but not forgotten" on the steps. The clean up process after Hurricane Ike is going to take a while, but the birds are making do. There are more photos of birds on my other blog.


This is where my favorite restaurant used to be. I'd park at the east end of the island, and walk about 2 or 3 miles, eat lunch, and then walk back.


A bit crowded here.


Making a home among the wreckage.

Peek-A-Boo

This little guy lives outside my kitchen window.

We need a new theme for the month of December, like winter wind, evergreen, or global warming. I don't know. That's the best I could come up right now. Just a thought ;]

"Robin's Breakfast" by Mary Taitt

A Postcard from Hamilton: At Grindstone Marsh

Blue jay, grey squirrel, mallards and cardinal, all tame because they
were fed by visitors along the Grindstone Marsh trail in Hamilton.
Photos by me (Mary Taitt).

LeafLady's Egret

photo by LeafLady (Gail).