Baby it’s Cold Outside…

Picking a winter destination is always a bit of a challenge especially since we don’t like to spend winter in the same location every year. While we recognize the advantages of spending winters in the same place we just prefer to switch it up. The biggest downsides in choosing this are that we don’t have the winter group of friends we see every year and the fact that reservations are harder to secure than consistently staying in the same place each winter.

Normally we switch from east coast back to the west coast with an occasional stop in south Texas for winter. Where we pick has a lot to do with weather and hoping to spend winters in warmer locales. One thing we always check out is the Farmer’s Almanac which seems to have an uncanny knack of predicting winter forecasts.

Using the Almanac we have spent a lot of pleasant winters in various locations. This year’s Almanac said that south Texas was going to be both drier than normal and warmer than normal so that is where we booked our winter stay. Well after having been here nearly a month and a half we can safely say they got it wrong this year on both accounts.

Yes we have had some nice warm days but overall it has been cooler than normal even though we have never dipped below freezing. It has also been much wetter than normal with frequent rainy days many times one after another. With frequent cold fronts passing through, frequent rains and the typical windy days found along the coast we have been home bound more than we like.

Fortunately we have the beach just a few steps from our door and a really nice nature trial nearby as well. So on those times of the day when it isn’t raining and not too windy and cold we can take a few miles stroll along the beach or go birdwatching at the nature trail.

We had originally booked another month in March,but would have had to move sites. After seeing the very tight site and it’s proximity to an RV with lots of children staying the winter (say, right next door) we decided to cancel March and will move inland for month.

Inland winter temperatures are normally colder at night but also warmer during the day, usually some 10 degrees or so on both extremes. Also with March being early spring around here we are looking forward to some warmer days on the horizon. Sharon is also looking forward  to staying at the resort which has a fitness center, pool and pickleball. We are also glad there will be several state parks and nature areas nearby to enjoy so we think the month will pass by quickly.

Photos today were taken at the Laguna Nature Trial on South Padre Island of some of the many birds we have encountered while walking the boardwalk…

NOTE: We are currently in South Padre Island TX until March 1st…

Birding the Laguna Madre Nature Trail TX

One thing we always enjoy is visiting the Laguna Madre Nature Trail at the South Padre Island Convention Center. Once in the parking lot, visitors are  greeted by a wall painting of whales and dolphins. Just around the corner of this building is the start of the Laguna Madre Nature Trail.

Unlike the South Padre Island Birding & Nature Center located next door, this adventure is FREE! It includes a 1500 ft. boardwalk spanning over both salt and freshwater wetlands. The boardwalk is adjacent to a Central Power and Light Company station.The company built the boardwalk as part of a mitigation project due to wetland destruction caused by the construction of underground power lines.

This boardwalk allows visitors to view four acres of marshland. Many coastal and migratory birds as well as some small alligators can be seen.. Sharon and I will walk this boardwalk multiple times a week in search of different species of birds. While views of the marsh are nice, another portion of the boardwalks slices through a Mangrove Swamp then ends at the Laguna Madre Bay.

Where the boardwalk ends is a great spot for seeing multitudes of birds especially during low tide. Found here are many birds associated with the salt water shorelines and flats as well as freshwater species since the freshwater ponds are discharging into the sea water here as well.

While the boardwalk isn’t very long we will often spend an hour or more just checking out the sights while taking photographs of our favorites. I’ll probably ask Sharon to pen a blog about this trail as well so she can share some of her favorite photos taken here.

NOTE: We are currently in South Padre Island TX until March 1st…