Birds of Corpus Christi

 The area around Corpus Christi is a well know destination for migratory birds. I thought it might be  interesting to see what different types I could spot in our campground. There are all kinds of ducks and shore birds like the sandpiper but I only include those we don't usually see at home. This is a female Great Blue Heron.

All of these photos were taken within 100' of our motor home unless indicated otherwise. On the sign for our campground it says "a birders paradise". It was lots of fun trying to figure out what each bird was. This one is an immature Great Blue Heron.

This is a mature male Great Blue Heron. Don't the 3 look different? It took some research to find what each was for sure. I borrowed a birding book from a neighbour and spent hours trying to figure out what all these birds were. It was actually fun; maybe I'm turning into one of those weird "birders". This species migrates south from as far north as Alaska.

This bird, although it looks the same is actually a Little Blue Heron. Whats the difference you ask? No idea, except it is smaller; hmm, maybe thats a clue. It doesn't migrate either so you won't see it very far north.

This white beauty is a Great Egret. Its about the same size as the Great Blue Heron. I'm not sure what the difference between a heron and an egret is, maybe the colour? It migrates down from the northern states in winter.

 This is a Snowy Egret, which is much smaller than the Great Egret. This one has breeding plumage which makes it all lacy and fluffy. Because of their beautiful plumage, they were almost hunted to extinction but have come back. They migrate down from the northern coasts of the US.

This is also a Snowy Egret. I took the first picture in early December and this one in February. Notice it no longer has the lacy plumage because its out of the breeding season. Now, how would you know they are the same species? This birding is harder than it looks.

If you recall my blog from Florida last year, I had a picture of an Anhinga. When I saw these birds, I said "Aha", I know these. Wrong-o. My in depth research concluded that they are "Double-crested Cormorants". Don't ask me to explain the difference, just trust me on this one. What confused me was that they spread their wings to catch the sun, the same as the Anhingas did. It appears that both species lack oil glands for preening and need to dry in the sun. They summer as far north as Alaska and Newfoundland.

 OK, your turn. Whats this? I'll give you a hint; its the same bird as in the next photo. Not likely you say. From the bill and the fact that the picture in the birding book looks exactly like this one, I was able to determine that this was an immature White Ibis. It is from the familia Threskiornithidae. I just threw that in so you don't think I'm making all this up.

I shot this picture out of our bedroom window in the motor home. The sound of opening the window caused them to fly. They are fully white; I don't know why so many wading birds are white, perhaps there was a lot of snow this far south millions of years ago. Or not.

This is a Roseate Spoonbill. This one I knew. Although I had spotted some other times, I could never get a picture so this is the best I got, at dusk with maximum magnification. You can tell from the bill.

This is the only photo which wasn't taken within 100' of our motor home. It was actually taken at the Aquarium we visited awhile back. I just wanted to show you what an actual Roseate Spoonbill looked like close up. Kinda ugly, huh.

This is a White Pelican. Big deal. You see them everywhere. That doesn't matter, as a dedicated researcher I can't just focus on the exotic and impressive now can I? Besides, they are really big; their wingspan can reach 96". The thing I didn't know about them was that they don't dive for fish. They fly over low and scare the fish into the shallows where they scoop them up in their bills.

The last bird in my little ornithological opus is the Brown Pelican. Its a bit smaller than the White Pelican with a wingspan up to 90" which is still big. This pelican is an expert diver and likes to dive into the surf for fish. Good thing he's not doing that here, the waters only a couple of feet deep in this bay. I've enjoyed the research and the interesting facts about these flying wonders although my main reason for doing this blog is to show pictures of exotic birds in azure seas kissed by trade winds carrying the scent of bouganviellia, while you shovel snow. Ha Ha.

Maritime Museum

In downtown Corpus Christi near the waterfront is an area that has a few museums, parks and other points of interest. In one area, about 2 blocks square, are a number of older homes that have some architectural or historical significance. They have been moved to this area and restored. As a result, this area looks like an old town with beautifully restored homes, yards and walkways. This is typical of what most of them look like.

There were a number of different styles of house dating back before the civil war. They were all beautifully restored and furnished.

They are still adding new buildings and there is room for a lot more in the future. This is what some of them look like before the restoration is done. A lot of work to be done.

Just down the street is the Maritime Museum. This freighter was going by as we went into the museum. Kind of a maritime picture which suits the museum, right?

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He crossed the Atlantic in 3 ships and discovered North America. As we all know, he was sponsored by Queen Isabella of Spain and sailed under a Spanish flag. In 1992, the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, Spain had exact replicas made of the 3 ships and sailed them to the U.S.. After all the voyages and ceremonies were over, Spain donated the ships to Corpus Christi. They sat in harbour as tourist attractions until a couple years ago when a barge broke loose and damaged 2 of the ships. They have been placed here for restoration. This is the Pinta.

This is the Santa Maria. When it was brought into dry dock it was found to be in bad shape so they have started a major restoration to save it. To be as historically accurate as possible, these ships were built of pine, the same as the originals. Back then, ships weren't expected to last much more than 10 years so were usually built of the cheapest wood. These were built about 10 years ago and are badly rotted.

The third ship, the Ninia, is still floating at another pier and is expected to last longer as long as it stays wet. They seem way too small to be crossing the ocean and must have bobbed like crazy in big waves. Not for me.

Inside the museum they have a big section on ship wrecks which happened along the Texas coast and have been researched and artifacts retrieved. There are hundreds of items on display and well documented histories of the ships and their wrecks. These anchors were from a Spanish galleon which sank in the 1600's.

There is a section on fossils and underwater predators. This pteradon was as big as a person and had a 20' wing span. If he wants your french fries at the beach, just let him have them!

In the maritime animal exhibit there were thousands of different fish and sea shells. This crab is huge. The sign says their arms get up to 12' total length. This ones about 10'. Thats a King Crab!

There is an area about early human habitation. I found this diorama beautiful. It shows early man looking on North America for the first time. Imagine how awe inspiring that would have been.

From this balcony at the museum you can see the Gulf of Mexico and the Lexington carrier behind me. Behind the glass enclosure on the left is the Aquarium and behind that are the $1.00 margaritas. This shows how all the major attractions are so close. Our RV park is about 10  minutes away. Very handy.