Louisiana-Texas Days 1 & 2

We got off to a fun start with 127 species so far. And enough new birds to bring the grand total to 317. Not too shabby. And we are having a blast! Yesterday we took a swamp tour by boat. Alligators? Yes!

Alligator swimming at us – photo by Greg Miller

Here is one of several Summer Tanagers

Summer Tanager seen on boat tour – photo by Greg Miller

Bird highlights from yesterday were two species of kite: 1) Mississippi Kite and 2) Swallow-tailed Kite.

Today we spent all our time on Grand Isle right on the Mississippi River delta. Winds were howling out of the southeast and was not conducive for see small land birds. The shorebirds were excellent with 23 species! The highlight of the day was seeing a group of 19 Magnificent Frigatebirds hanging on the wind effortless. They appeared to be dangling by strings. They were not hovering or flapping their wings. They looked like they were stationary in 30mph winds! It was amazing to watch!

We saw over 100 species of birds today despite the winds! Here is a photo a Clapper Rail from inside our vehicle as we were driving the roads in Grand Isle State Park.

Clapper Rail feeding – photo by Greg Miller

I heard that Houston, TX got 10 inches of rain today and had severe flooding. On Grand Isle it was a sunny and windy day. I checked our destinations for tomorrow and the roads appear to be open. According to USGS maps, most of the heavy flooding was in Texas. I’ll check on conditions as we approach Texas destinations later this week.