Marisol and I had a great time birding at the bird sanctuaries near Gavelston and Port Arthur TX this past week, adding almost 20 new birds to our lists, including the loggerhead shrike, roseate spoonbill, tri-colored heron, summer tanager, and the hooded and Kentucky warblers. We’re usually happy to see one new bird during one of our field trips.
Here, as we discovered, the most efficient way to see birds is to sit on a bench near one of the sanctuary “drips”—basically a bird bath/fountain/shower—and wait for the birds to come to you.
At times, more than a half dozen birds would visit a drip at the same time.
Winnie, our birding base, was a 3.5-hour drive from Austin.
The whole town is full of birders now, because many migrating birds stop in the area on their way north.
One thing new we learned is that there are lots of alligators in this part of Texas. We saw six in one canal next to one of our birding trails.
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| Lady Bird Johnson's Wildflower Center |
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| Lots of alligators in eastern Texas |
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| Bird sanctuary drip |
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| Bird sanctuary drip audience |
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| Birding blind near Austin |
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| LBJ's Wildflower Center |
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| LBJ's Wildflower Center |
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| Sanctuary birders |
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