Watching an American Alligator eat a huge Gar

Our salt life time stay came to an end and it was time to move on. It would be a bit longer drive than we normally take as it would be 140 mi to our next destination at Brazos Bend State Park. 

I have fond memories of Brazos Bend State Park. This is one of the first parks that I was in charge of as a biologist in the Natural Resources section of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. I was assigned to work this new park acquisition before it opened to the public and did an initial biological survey of all the species in it. I eventually wrote the Natural Resources Plan for the park. So, I knew this would be a great place to bring Sharon now that she's interested  in photography. 

There are lots of trails in this park with many  birds and alligators to see. The two best trails in the park are the ones around 40-acre Lake and around Elm Lake. These are short (less than two miles) loop hikes, but if visitors walk slowly and pay attention, there are lots and lots of birds and alligators. 

 

Every morning, we would walk one of the lakes and it would never fail to disappoint. We would seemingly see something different every time we walked and now being further east the amount of green is overwhelming. While walking around Elm Lake one morning, we ran into a ranger who was explaining to us that they were draining a nearby lake. Where we stopped to talk with him there were lots of alligators in corner of the lake being drained. It was the perfect opportunity for them to feed upon the Alligator Gar seeking deeper water.

After the ranger left, we decided to stay to watch the alligators when suddenly there was a commotion and an about 10-ft alligator thrashed in the murky water to capture a 4 ft. Alligator Gar. This was a true National Geographic moment as we saw and heard the alligator toss the fish up in the air while after each toss crunching through the scales and bones. We truly felt us if we were right in the midst of a National Geographic episode. 

Our park was not too far from Richmond and Rosenberg, Texas, so we made our way up there a few times to do a little grocery shopping and laundry. We also made a trip up to Sugarland, Texas which is just in the southwest corner of Houston where we went to  the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium. If you haven't heard of them, they are a beer emporium with about a hundred taps of beers! It's fun to go to locations in different states as they on Mondays specials are offered on locally brewed beers.

As I pen this it just stopped raining and we are supposed to move this morning. The forecast is for more rain the next 3 days no matter where we go so, I guess it will be onward into the soggy road of retirement...

Goose Island State Park TX

 

Our time was up at Mustang Island State Park and it was time to move over to Goose Island State Park a mere 43 miles away. This is another coastal stop with our site (Number 6) right on the bay. Once we were set up we were less than 20 feet from the water's edge. Our plan was to continue to enjoy the spring migration of warblers, do a lot of fishing and to enjoy the salt life for another week before leaving. 

Our first outing to see migrating birds was a bust as the north winds have finally given way to southerly winds and all the migrating birds magically disappeared moving further north toward their final destinations.  

Since there would be no more migration birding for us we found a couple of walks and also enjoyed seeing the local birds of the area. We were entertained by all the sea birds and photographed a beautiful Painted Bunting who posed nicely for us. Watching a White-eyed Vireo taking a bath was also a delight.

 

My fishing for the week was well, pretty weak. I was mostly fishing and not catching. I did have fun catching my own bait with a cast net and fishing off of the really long pier here at Goose Island State Park. Even though I only caught a few fish to eat I still enjoyed my fishing vacation. While I fished Sharon would enjoy walking in the park to watch the marsh birds and plentiful deer.

 

We did make a day trip over to see the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is known mostly for being the wintering grounds for the endangered Whooping Cranes but we visited to enjoy the marsh walks and the driving loop to savor the sights. 

While we were treated to sights of many marsh birds and a few alligators, the highlight was seeing a Wild Boar in the park. These animals are descendants from Eurasian Wild Boars brought over by the explorers in the early days of people inhabiting the area. They differ from Feral Hogs in that they have long tails and an elongated snout. Pretty cool that we had spotted it in deep grass grazing for a while.

Another day trip took us over to Port Aransas to walk the Jettys. Port Aransas was our go to summer vacation location when we lived in Texas. We spent many a weekend there in the summer during the 1970 to 1990's. Much of it remains the same while a good part of it has changed with the addition of condos and the like. 

One fun thing to do when in Port Aransas is to take the free auto ferry over to Aransas Pass. While on this short ferry ride we saw some dolphins frolicking in the boat's wake.

Goose Island State Park is a short drive from Rockport Texas as well. We spent a few evenings enjoying happy hour at the Rock Bottom Pub who has craft beer for $4 every day at happy hour and some beers (including Sharon's favorite, Hopadillo IPA) for only two bucks on Tuesdays! Also since we were close to the coast we bought a lot of fresh gulf shrimp. We made at least four different shrimp dishes while here to enjoy the fresh seafood we have craved for some time.

 

We had a laid back but great coastal stay however our time has come to move on once again...

Mustang Island State Park TX

When it became time to leave Laredo we headed about 165 miles up the coast to Mustang Island State Park. The drive was mostly uneventful other than we unfortunately now have a new rock chip in our windshield thanks to a big ass truck. We'll have to get it fixed in the near future. (Sigh.)

 

The campsite we're staying at is located behind the dunes, just beyond the Gulf of Mexico. Therefore our backyard is a sea of sea grasses. Walking to the beach is possible as it's only about 400 yd away. The campsites are a little close together because they each share a driveway but otherwise is very nice.

 

Our main reason to stay here was that it's the tail end of peak bird migration so we were hoping to see a lot of colorful birds to photograph and enjoy. This area is well known as a migratory bird hotspot . Of course we  also planned to spend some time on the beach and enjoy the proximity of Corpus Christi. 

We went to many places to birdwatch. The two best places were the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center and an area known as The Willows. The Birding Center is about a 15-minute drive, but the Willows is only 5 minutes away  so I would go bird there early in the morning before Sharon woke up. 

Needless to say, we saw lots of interesting birds so Sharon and I both took lots of photographs of really pretty little migrating birds. We also ventured out to do a few hikes in the area that included some boardwalks. We always enjoy a stay along the coast. Sharon has always felt that the sights, sounds and smells of the ocean are so good for the soul.

We also went to downtown Corpus Christi  where we walked around enjoying the city vibe. Brightly colored murals were plentiful. There were tree lined streets with lots of restaurants and bars. We appreciated the shade as we are still adapting to the Texas heat and humidity.

We also visited a few establishments for libations and fine dining. As you may know, we love our craft beer, but I would feel remiss if I didn't warn that Beachball Brewing is a place you might want to miss as the beers were overpriced and weren't very good in our opinion.

On the other end of the spectrum, I would highly recommend Paul's Seafood shop as we enjoyed a nice seafood dinner at a very favorable price. His fresh seafood for sale to take home is also worthy of investigating. Check their Facebook page for specials! 

It was another great stay, but once again it became time to move on. Hopefully our readers enjoy seeing lots of birds, otherwise they may want to skip our pictures this time, ha-ha.