Smith Oaks

Houston Audubon High Island Bird Sanctuaries

Last week between fronts, the weather was clear, and the air temperature climbed to the mid seventies, so we loaded up and made a short road trip to the Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary. It had been a while since we had been to the sanctuaries in High Island. The improvements the Houston Audubon Society has made were quite surprising. There are more clean marked trails, numerous perches and walkways for watching or taking pictures and clean restroom facilities. This time of year isn’t perfect for migrating species, but I was focusing on getting a few shots of some roseate spoonbills. Spoonies are abundant throughout the year up and down the Texas coast. Migratory species are more prominent March through May, especially the day after a frontal boundary crosses the Gulf Coast. The strong north winds give them a reason to pause for rest in the sanctuary until the wind subsides. Then it is off to the northern territories with a fresh set of wings. As we entered the Smith Oaks site, we heard the loud grunts of hundreds of cormorants. These are one of the most destructive birds on the Gulf Coast. They can eat many times their weight in legal game fish in a single day. Mixed in with the black divers were some white herons perched on the trees out in the pond. Way back to one side of the rookery, we found what we came to see: fifteen to twenty roseate spoonbills standing in a group of branches off to one side. Most of them were soaking up the sunshine perched on one leg with their long spoon-shaped bills resting on their backs. Some were spreading their wings arguing over whose branch it was to perch on. I managed to get a few shot of the spoonbills and then moved on down the levy.

On a fallen tree, I spotted a common moorhen with its bright red beak.

I also saw some egrets and white herons

We did not see any alligators as this was their hibernating season. To my surprise we came across a colony of red-headed vultures. There were a bunch of them on the newly created overhead walkways.

The half moon was bright in the afternoon blue sky.

A brimstone butterfly crossed our path attracted by the red shrimp plant.

On the way back down Highway 87 toward the ferry, we crossed the newly filled in Rollover Pass. What a shame. A cut life line for the fishery in East Bay. Obviously a political land grab! Back at the ferry, I took a pic of a ship owned by Kirby as it moved toward the channel entrance.

All in all, it was a fun trip with my lovely bride on a beautiful February afternoon.

If you have never been to the High Island Bird Sanctuaries, I would highly recommend a trip during the peak months of March, April or May. There is no telling what kind of colorful migratory bird you may see. There is a small fee which you can find out more about on their website. https://houstonaudubon.org/sanctuaries/high-island/smith-oaks.html

On our way back through Galveston we treated ourselves to a meal at a restaurant where we had never eaten but had been wanting to try for a while. http://www.gypsyjoynt.com

It has a new location where the old CiCi’s pizza used to be. It was quite good with a very creative menu and some outstanding desserts!

Our goal for the day was to just get away together. We wanted to leave behind the social media, e-mails, spam calls on our cell phones, internet and twenty-four hour news cycles full of covid sanctions and politics on radio and television. We got some vitamin D and fresh air and witnessed some beautiful nature created by our awesome God. No distractions. Just a quiet place as we were pretty much the only ones at the sanctuary that day. We saw three other people there throughout the afternoon. God wants us to spend time in a quiet space thanking him for his beauty, grace and mercy. You may not be able to make a trip like this daily, but you can set aside a quiet time anywhere and anytime and use it to decompress. This is what Jesus did in Matthew 14:23.

I hope you enjoyed the pics and the information from a fun day trip.

God bless you and thanks for reading my blog.

Sincerely,

Tim Lumpkin

Blog: Legacy-outdoors.net

YouTube: Legacy-outdoors

Instagram: @tlump10