Stick A Fork In Us...

We're Done!!  We led our final bird walk at Goose Island State Park on New Year's Eve. We had a great group of ten people and located 53 different species of birds which is the most we've seen in our two months here.

Yesterday we led our final "Woods Walk". The feeding station that we've been maintaining is starting to see more action, and I finally got a picture of the resident Buff-bellied Hummingbird that feeds there.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

The rarest bird that we found during our walks was a Black Scoter. This sea duck isn't expected in Texas, but we had one (and briefly two) that stayed at the park for two weeks. Not a really fancy looking bird, but it sure got some folks excited!

Black Scoter

We get a lot of new birders on our walks, and by far the most popular birds are the big and/or colorful ones. Getting a Roseate Spoonbill in the scope can turn a "maybe" bird watcher into an excited birder.

Roseate Spoonbill

A cooperative White Ibis standing on the observation platform hand-rail is also a popular sight.

White Ibis

We've given our "Bird Host" sign to the couple who will begin bird walks next week, and we're getting packed up to roll out of here on New Year's Day.

We plan to return next year and look forward to picking up where we left off.

Happy New Year!!

Mark