Dreaming of Cold Weather Coastal Birding

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.–Jacques Yves Cousteau

Cormorant Portrait, Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, Mustang Island, Texas
Neotropic Cormorant, Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, Mustang Island, Texas. Unperturbed, this bird fished a few feet from the photographer. Neotropic Cormorants are far more tolerant of humans than their Double-crested cousins. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

The time is almost here . . . the time when the wretched heat finally breaks once and for all, and we can look forward to the longest stretch of pleasant weather on the Texas calendar. And the place to spend this glorious time is undoubtably on the coast.

Long-billed Curlew, Indian Point Beach, Corpus Christi, Texas
Displaying Long-billed Curlew, Indian Point Beach, Corpus Christi, Texas. This bird was trying unsuccessfully to communicate with me. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Once those blue northers start blowing in, it’s off to the field at every opportunity! We’re already hatching plans for visits to Frenchtown Road, Galveston, and Mustang Island. Beaches, estuaries, and lagoons, here we come!

American White Pelicans Discover a School of Fish, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas
American White Pelicans Discover a School of Fish, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. White Pelicans steam along the shallows single-file until they encounter a school of fish—when they form a ring of co-operative feeding. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.

©2015 Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.