The day started at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - and walking along the Heron trail we encountered this swamp rabbit.
This was a narrow path with swampy marsh lands on both sides. This Anhinga was up in the trees.
Below was a juvenile Yellow Crowned Night Heron...
..and the adult Yellow Crowned Night Heron was watching from up in the tree. Hmmm, what did they know that I didn't? Suddenly we heard a strange roar.
The male allegators in the marsh did not seem to like anyone in their territory. Frankly, I did not like being in it anymore either!
Nevertheless the Tri-colored Heron continued to fish there.
Moving to a different spot, the guide called up this Brown Crested Flycatcher.
What is this peeking around the grass?
It is a Purple Gallinule.
Across the pasture was a White-Tailed Hawk, is it building a nest?
This is the Coral Bean, a lovely wildflower that I would like to have in my yard.
This is the juvenile Little Blue Heron.
I liked the reflections of the branches!
OOGH!! Off in the distance was this awful beast, the scourge of Texas: a feral hog. They are absolutely destructive to everything in their path, and even eating the Whooping Cranes in the park. Horrible when you also consider that they can weigh up to 700 pounds or more when fully grown, and be as vicious as any bear.
This was a surprise - a Least Grebe swimming around in the pond. He was so cute, and tiny, only about 10" long.
Across the pond this juvenile Green Heron was well camouflaged! He will lose the front stripes as he gets older.
On the way from Aransas NWR to Goose Island State Park, we stopped to check out "Big Tree" in Lamar. It is a live oak thought to be over 1,000 years old and 35' in circumference.
Not sure what these are but they sure caught my eye.
So did the vibrant colors of this male Indigo Bunting!
He is also very tiny, not much bigger than the leaves he was foraging around in.
This is the female American Redstart.
She seems to love to have her picture taken!
American Redstarts have an unusual habit of fanning their tails, she looks like a miniature turkey!
If I had a dollar for every White-Eyed Vireo we heard that day...
I was going to take a photo of the Indigo Bunting with the Red-Winged Blackbird for size comparison, and just as I snapped the shutter this House Sparrow jumped in.
Then as if on cue they all turned sideways to pose for another picture.
It was another great birding day... stay tuned for day 3 of my Rockport birding trip.
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