Royal Tern

2024-04-15 South Padre Island

After a brief peek at the bird action at the SPI Convention Centre this morning, I enjoyed breakfast at my new ‘favorite’ cafe (Josephine’s) on South Padre Island this morning.…

2021-05-08 SPI’s Friday Beaches

I spent much of my last day on South Padre Island on the sandy flat beach north of the Convention Centre. Until this day, I’d neglected this habitat for gulls,…

2021-04-22 SPI On A Slow Thursday

My stay at the Convention Centre was relatively brief this Thursday. There was a lull in the migration, but even on a slow day, good things can occur here. In…

2021-01-19 A Day on South Padre Island

A visit to the Lower Rio Grande Valley without spending time on South Padre Island would be silly. Tuesday I paid the island my respects. It came as no surprise…

2020-03-17 Aransas By Sea

I arrived at 215 North Fulton Beach Road in Fulton, Texas at 8:30am. Our departure aboard the Skimmer was scheduled for 9am, so I had some time to assemble my…

2020-03-16 Aransas NWR Day 2

“Wow” hardly seems sufficient to describe my morning! I stayed in Austwell Sunday night, and I was only 12 miles from Aransas NWR, so I could achieve an early launch…

2015-07-08 Saltworks

It’s always a pleasure to hang with the science team when they march through the levees at the Saltworks to survey the terns and skimmers nesting there. I’ve been lucky…