Port Aransas, July 5-7 2013

I spent the weekend in Port Aransas for the holiday weekend. It's a notoriously crowded time to be here, and not very interesting bird-wise. But I made it to three of the main birding spots and still enjoyed seeing the expected birds and finding a few unexpected things.

On July 5, Paradise Pond had a male and female Painted Bunting, and a heard-only Summer Tanager. The tanager was flagged as unexpected by eBird, so I recorded the call on my iPhone. Here's the observation on iNaturalist with the recording:

http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/323948

Many Black Terns are moving through the area. They were present at the Turnbull Birding Center by the dozen, and were also visible from the pavilion of the Charlie's Pasture Nature Preserve.

A hot afternoon visit to the Turnbull Birding Center on July 6 was unexpectedly fun. There were three Magnificent Frigatebirds flying over the water and dipping into it periodically. There were at least 15 Ruddy Ducks -- even parents with ducklings. I didn't know they breed here. American Coot and Common Gallinule chicks were also fun to see. And there was one Lesser Scaup in basic plumage. See the second photo on the iNaturalist observation here:

http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/323081

Based on the second photo, it might be in a molt and currently unable to fly.

Here are my eBird observations:

July 5, Turnbull Birding Center
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14576275

July 5, Paradise Pond
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14582471

July 6 Wetland Park
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14582470

July 6 Charlie's Pasture
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14582708

July 6 Paradise Pond
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14582910

I've been increasingly interested in dragonflies lately, and was excited to get a few photos of them on the trip. The town seemed to be full of Blue Dashers. At the Turnbull Birding Center there were a few more species, and a special thanks to Greg Lasley for pointing out the Needham's Skimmers and how to distinguish them from Golden-winged.

Posted on 07 July, 2013 21:53 by mikaelb mikaelb

Observations

Photos / Sounds

No photos or sounds

What

Common Green Darner (Anax junius)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 10:01 AM CDT

Description

2

Photos / Sounds

What

Four-spotted Pennant (Brachymesia gravida)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 08:08 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 08:13 AM CDT

Description

Port Aransas seems FULL of this species right now. They're all over the place. This one's a female.

Photos / Sounds

What

Sea Mullet (Mugil cephalus)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 08:30 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 08:52 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 09:03 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 09:04 AM CDT

Description

Port Aransas seems FULL of this species right now. They're all over the place. This one's a male.

Photos / Sounds

What

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 09:07 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 09:10 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 09:13 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 09:31 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 09:40 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 09:55 AM CDT

Description

Female

Photos / Sounds

What

Lookdown (Selene vomer)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 03:43 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 2013

Place

Texas, US (Google, OSM)

Photos / Sounds

What

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 04:24 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 04:26 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 09:06 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 09:18 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Dwarf Glasswort (Salicornia bigelovii)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 09:25 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 09:30 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 10:01 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 02:12 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

American Coot (Fulica americana)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 02:19 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 03:07 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta ssp. elegans)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 6, 2013 03:10 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 7, 2013 09:56 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 7, 2013 09:48 AM CDT

Description

This tiny long narrow shell was about 1 to 1.5 inches long. As you can see, it was very much alive. I found it in the surf.

Photos / Sounds

What

Texas Coquina (Donax texasianus)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 7, 2013 09:52 AM CDT

Description

I assume these are Donax texasianus. Does anyone know for sure? We've always known these little colorful shells at the water's edge as Coquinas.

Photos / Sounds

What

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 5, 2013 09:30 AM CDT

Description

The bird was heard-only, calling not singing. The recording is faint, made with my iPhone.

Photos / Sounds

What

American Snoutbean (Rhynchosia americana)

Observer

mikaelb

Date

July 7, 2013 05:54 PM CDT

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