Texas Coast Birds...

I spend a good bit of time outdoors, usually near water. While I am waiting for a fish to bit I watch the birds. It's how I pretend that I use all minutes of the day being productive. Most of the time the little birds are scampering and flying here, moving there and seem to be poking, searching for a bite to eat. I wonder how much time a bird has to spend eating each day? Is food easy to find? Is it tasty or are they like a human, "I just gobbled that down so I could keep on going" kind of thing. I might never know but here are photos of some Texas Coast Birds I made.

This looks like a blue heron only a bit smaller than the East Texas verity commonly seen on fish rich Sam Rayburn Lake. Maybe a young one, maybe having to hustle more for food. 

Sandpiper. They run along the beach at the edge of the waves poking and picking in the sand. 

Not sure what this is. He seems to be performing a physical therapy activity that I would called single leg stance. Did you know if you are in your 50s average SLS time should be 45 seconds, if in 60s it's 40 seconds and in your 70s you should do 27 seconds. 80 and above is 12 seconds. This guy actually had two legs, just resting and I don't know the birds age. 

This is a willet. Numbers have declined since the 60s despite protection by the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A meat eater mostly feeding on crabs, worms, clams and such they are good to eat by humans apparently hence the need for protection in 1918. Biggest threat these days is you know who, draining and building on the wetlands. 

I could not ID this fellow by it falls under the catch all name that my dad used to use "crane." 

More one SLS. That timber in the back ground would have made a good art project of some time but the tides that seems higher than normal buried it for the purpose of beach stabilization. 

As I recall I once spent an afternoon years ago drinking in a bar up the coast called the Ruddy Turnstone. As I view my photos I think I saw some of these but did not get a picture. Don't worry there are not any photos of that afternoon either. 

This photo by Mary. A bird skeleton. No birds harmed in these photos and none are swimming in my belly. Life is tough. Like the birds, keep moving.