I’m not real fond of South Padre Island, it’s fairly tacky and rather boring. But it has some excellent birding spots; the newish Birding Center is a great place to see the dramatic stuff up close, and there’s always something a little different to see there.
This was the first time I’ve seen the town, a lot of condos and hotels, without any hurricane damage being visible. In fact, this was the first trip I’ve been on the Gulf Coast with no damage apparent. This is unusual as in most years the coast gets hit pretty hard at least in one location.
Birds normally seen at the Birding Center are pretty much all the egrets and herons in the book, spoonbills, various ducks, pelicans, terns and gulls, and a favorite find anywhere, the Clapper Rail. Rails aren’t rare, but they are sneaky walking around in the marsh reeds. Best way to find them is to listen for their loud distinctive calls, then patiently wait to see them where the noise came from. I heard 5 of them today, and saw one. I’ve seen birders loudly clap their hands to entice them to call, and it seems to work. But, I follow a rule that says don’t annoy the birds. Besides, it looks silly especially when it fails.
It was nice to have a normal weather day in a week.