Still Celebrating – Rockport, Texas – Day 1

In keeping with our plan to celebrate our 40^th anniversary for the entire year, we headed to the Texas coast. 

This trip had been planned for a while but it was going to be an RV stay, at Goose Island State Park.  Since our travel trailer has been sold (it took about 5 weeks), those plans were cancelled and Mark started looking for an Airbnb in Rockport.

Rockport is about a four-hour drive from our house. We weren't supposed to arrive at our Airbnb until 4:00 pm, so we decided to make a stop at Lake Corpus Christi State Park.  Note to file: Do not go to a popular state park on Easter Sunday!  The park was packed with families having picnics.  We spent only a few minutes in the park and got back on the road. 

Since we were still a little early we decided to have an late lunch/early dinner in Rockport.  The only restaurant we could find open on Easter Sunday was a Chinese buffet.  We have eaten here a couple of times and it was very good.

We didn’t have any trouble finding our Airbnb.  It was a very cute little cottage about a block from Aransas Bay. 

One bedroom, two full baths, two screened porches and a nice back yard.

Living room/Kitchen

One of the bathrooms

An enormous shower!

Porch #1

Porch #2

After getting settled in we headed out for a little birding.  Our first stop was the nearby Linda Castro Nature Sanctuary where we saw some nice birds.

There is a small water drip at this location and we saw a couple of warblers taking advantage of it. 

Black-and-white Warbler

Northern Parula

There is a large pond at this reserve, and we enjoyed seeing a couple of species of colorful dragonflies. 

Eastern Amberwing

Red-tailed Pennant

Of course we had to drive out to Goose Island for a little birding before the sun set.  Goose is only a few miles from Rockport.  We didn't have a whole lot of light left but we still found a few birds. We started at a bird feeding area where we saw a Brown Thrasher, uncommon at this location.

Brown Thrasher

Down at the beach area we saw the usual gulls and waterbirds. The common Laughing Gulls had regained the black hoods that they lose during the winter, and a couple of birds were showing a pink blush on their breasts which is an indication of breeding season. 

Gulls, Terns and a Pelican

Sunset over Copano Bay 

Next - A trip to a birding center