Laughing Gulls

Laughing Gulls on Pilings

No, I'm not in the Arkansas Ozarks at the moment.  Instead, I'm visiting my folks down on the Texas coast.  This shot was taken along the Lighthouse Point along the channel between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas.

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Laughing Gulls

Birding Center Birds

Jo and I saw many birds during our brief visit to the Birding Center: Roseate Spoonbills, Black-necked Stilts, Avocets, Long-billed Curlews, Blue-winged Teal, Reddish Egrets, Dowitchers and numerous Willets and Sandpipers to name a few.

While the birds were within easy viewing range, most were too far away to capture with our camera. Only a couple came close enough to the observation pier for me to photograph.

Great Egret

Common Moorhen

Birding Center Birds

Birding Center

Port Aransas is on the northern end of Mustang Island, one of a string of barrier islands separating the Texas coast from the Gulf of Mexico. The Birding Center is on the back (inland) side of the island. It's surrounded by a fresh water lagoon that is cut off from the bay beyond and receives a steady supply of clean fresh water from the city's waster water treatment plant.

"Boots" is the Center's resident alligator. He's lived in the lagoon since before the Birding Center was built. On the day we visited, Boots chose to stay hunkered down in the mud under the pier, though one eye is open and I suspect he's well aware of what's happening around him. I wasn't tempted to dangle my toes in the water to test this suspicion.

Boots has been seen capturing an occasional slow seagull, but his main "job" is controlling the nutria population in the lagoon. From time to time, smaller gators have been released into the lagoon, but they soon disappear. Many suspect -- but no one has actually proven -- that the lagoon is only large enough for one fat and happy gator.

The Center consists of a pier that extends into the lagoon. It has a raise observation deck and two powerful scopes, one on the raised deck and one that is wheelchair accessible on the lower level.


The Birding Center in Port Aransas is named after Leonabelle Turnbull. Before her retirement to Corpus Christi, Belle was considered the island's resident birding expert. For many years she conducted interpretive tours at the Birding Center -- and for a lot more years than that, Belle has been Jo's mother.

Birding Center

No Pets

It appears the prohibition against pets is strict enforced.

Chomp! Chomp!

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and commenting.

My apologies for not being able to keep up with visiting your blogs, but my computer time is limited until Jo and I get back home.

We were planning to head home on Wednesday, but the weather forecast looks terrible, as if we might end up driving through some really severe weather. Hopefully, the situation will improve on Thursday.

No Pets