March 26th

A rainy day, so we drove out to South Padre Island on a very foggy narrow strip of land with large black mangrove tidal flats and marshes.  Very oceanic day with the fog.  We were looking for camping spots so we checked out Park Centre RV resort in Port Isabel which was nice and on a channel with docks. 

Port Isabel is a small village on the Laguna Madre, the body of water between Texas mainland and Padre Island.   It is a working town morphing into a resort town but not quite there yet.  Then we went south across a very long bridge to Isla Blanca State Park and it was even nicer.  I don’t think we would get into either place if it wasn’t the end of the season but as it is they both had room.  There is a birding and nature centre on the island that we want to check out as well if we stay here.   

Great Horned Owl nesting by Visitor Centre.

We headed back and after lunch I ventured out on my own to the Sabal Palm Audubon Centre and Sanctuary. This is a 557 acre sanctuary with one of the largest remaining stands of Sabal Palm forest in the country.  It also features one of the last historic sugarcane plantation homes along the Rio Grande which serves as a visitor centre.  The sanctuary is a joint partnership between Audubon and the Gorgas Science Foundation (historic preservation group).

New birds included the Hooded Oriole, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Golden Fronted Woodpecker, and Chachalaca.  The Chachalacas came into a bird feeding station along a trail just before dusk and the other birds scattered.  They resemble and act just like a bunch of velociraptors (although they eat seeds) and were a delight to watch.

Chachalacas

Cardinal, White winged doves and a Green Jay

Queen Anne Plantation mansion now Visitor Centre