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Post date: Mar 29, 2013 8:27:19 PM
North Deer Island, with the town of Tiki Island in the background.
We're considering four research sites in Texas, separated by about 200 miles, so the second part of our site visits trip involved a lot more driving than the Florida portion. We flew into Houston, rented a car, and drove southeast to Texas City to meet up with Amanda Hackney. Amanda coordinates the coastal waterbirds program for Texas Audubon, and she took us on a whirlwind boat tour of Galveston Bay's pelican strongholds, North Deer Island and the poetically-named Marker 52 Spoil Island.
Laughing gulls roosting on the edge of North Deer
A passing container ship
Most of the oil entering or leaving the United States passes through Galveston Bay, so it's a pretty exciting place if you like oil. It's also a pretty exciting place if you like waterbirds. Amanda had put a yellow sign out on Marker 52 the day before, and already the pelican colony had assimilated it as a choice roosting spot.
Plenty of pelicans
We moved on down the coast to Sundown Island, which is located in Matagorda Bay about three hours south of Texas City. We neglected to notify the island warden of our visit, so we had to be content with a hazy view from shore. Port O'Connor is much more picturesque than Texas City, though, and we even managed to see a pelican without leaving dry land.
Looking out at Sundown Island
Our final stop of the trip was Shamrock Island, another hour further south in Corpus Christi Bay. The Nature Conservancy, which manages Shamrock, had hoped to bring us out to see the island, but weather and wind prevented the trip. Instead, we discussed site access over an aerial photo in the cozy TNC office in Corpus Christi. Not only is Shamrock Island the largest Reddish Egret breeding colony in Texas, but it also has rattlesnakes.
Shamrock Island... the pelican colony is located in the bottom left-hand corner
Working in such a huge variety of colonies will be a challenge, but it should make for an interesting summer. I can't wait to get started!
Greetings from Texas
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