Day 4, cactus, Bishop City Park, South Texas

I am done with Gulls and Terns, at least from Day 4 of our 13-day trip. The 13 photos I have just posted very late tonight were all taken at Bishop City Park, on our way to Kingsville. Just a handful more photos and I will be able to start on Day 5, which was a day trip to the enormous King Ranch. One of the highlights of that day was seeing a pair of Ferruginous Pygmy Owls, at the end of our private tour of the Ranch, as well as some new birds for us, such as the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and the Vermilion Flycatcher. Perhaps the highlight for me was when I caught sight of a little Texas horned lizard near my feet, something I had longed to see for a few years. As far as animals go, two nice sightings were a Javelina/Collared Peccary and six exotic Nilgai antelope from India that had been imported to the King Ranch in 1930. We only got a fleeting glimpse of their rear ends as they raced away through the trees.

Day 4, 22 March, of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas, 19-31 March 2019, was a day of birding and also driving from Rockport, where we had stayed for three nights, to Kingsville. Earlier in the day, we had spent time at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Centre/the Port Aransas Nature Preserve. We loved this great Birding Centre, getting great views of the various bird species, looking down from the new boardwalk that has been built after Hurricane Harvey destroyed the previous one in 2017. Lots of birds; even a huge Alligator.

We spent some time on the beach at Mustang Island State Park, watching and listening to the Laughing Gulls. They are such fun to watch and to photograph. The Royal Terns are so beautiful, always looking quite regal in their posture. At one point, a man started feeding the Gulls down the beach, and they swarmed over and around him. Managed to get a couple of distant shots.

After our short walk along this beach, we continued our drive towards Kingville, where we were going to spend two nights at the Hampton Inn. We had time to stop at Bishop City Park before we reached Kingsville. We saw several Aloe vera plants growing when we walked around the large duck pond. I think the first time I saw these succulents was at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago in 2017. Quite spectacular. We did see a Northern Rough-winged Swallow there and a Couch's Kingbird.

"Bishop’s City Park is located just west of the U.S. Highway 77 Bypass on South Birch Avenue and features a community center, two baseball fields for little league and high school baseball, a covered basketball court and a large lot for recreational activities. In addition, the City Park also offers visitors a 0.6 mile hiking trail and a 9.1 acre lake in which waterfowl are frequent visitors. Several families of ducks and geese have also made their home under the park’s two observation decks built out over the lake."

www.bishoptx.com/our-community/parks/#prettyPhoto