Whooper Country Adventure (Texas) Part 3 - Goose Island State Park

© 2025 Alamo Birding Services LLC

By Mary Beth Stowe

A group of birds are standing in a field with a tower in the background.

Whooping Cranes surrounded by Black-bellied Whistling Ducks



But what a day the next day!! It was still bitter cold with the wind, but at least it wasn’t raining! Went straight to Lamar, taking East Main Street (aka Park Road 13) all the way to the bay where it turns into Lamar Beach Road. Parking spots are few and far between, so when I came to a huge lot for a public boat ramp, I parked there, stepped out of the car, and couldn’t believe my ears: the Whoopers were bugling nearby!! Needless to say I got The Monster (aka the big Sony) ready post haste and double-timed it over to the Little Pasture, where two huge Whoopers were close at hand near the feeders! Talk about frame-fillers! When they saw me coming they very leisurely made their way to the famous 4th Street Marsh until they figured I was harmless, then gradually made their way back to the feeder! With them was a mob of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, several Coots, and even a Common Gallinule! Sandhills were also there, of course, and it was fun filming the two together to get the size difference! 

Two white birds are standing next to each other in a field.

“She’s still there, Wally; you think it’s okay to venture out??”



Another pair was way in the back beside someone’s house, and before long a lady visiting from Missouri came up, along with a guy who sounded like he might have been Russian (and also talked as though he might have been a local)! She was a horticulturalist, and was heartbroken over the “fried” palm trees damaged by the deep freeze! She asked me if the roots were killed as well, and I had no idea, but she said that so long as the roots survived, the tree would grow back. As we chatted another group of Whoopers that was hidden started bugling, and before long they all came wheeling in to the pasture, making a total of ten Whoopers in one spot! We even had a little territorial action! That was very fun! 

Two white birds are dancing in a grassy field

The male swells up his crown so that it’s even more red and imposing!



We noticed a couple of color-banded birds that also had transmitters, and after inquiring with the Whooping Crane Conservation Association after I got home I found out that “both of the marked cranes are females originally marked as adults on the wintering grounds in Texas in January 2018. The B/Y/B bird was fitted with a new transmitter this winter after the first one failed.” Well, she was apparently still having a rough time of it based on the way one of the other Whoopers was treating her! While all this was going on the lady drew my attention to a close “merganser” that turned out to be a Redhead… ☺

Three white cranes are standing in a grassy field.

Here “Blue” is seen with another banded female, “White-Red-White”, whose mate may even be the bully!



After they left (the people, not the Whoopers) a lady from Houston arrived with whom I had the chance to explain crane identification (in the poor light she was having trouble discerning the Whooper's red cap, which was throwing her)! A Spotted Sandpiper wheeled in while we were talking; she tried to shoo it down my way so I could film it, but it ended up taking off...

Two cranes are standing in a grassy field.

Whooper (left) with Sandhill Cranes



Anyway, continued on to the Big Pasture, where yet two more Whoopers were grazing, along with lots more Sandhills! Black Vultures were hanging out with the cows, and I could make out some grackles way over there, but no sign of the reported crow. I even filmed the pigeon flock that was wheeling around, as they had a couple of interesting brown ones! Redhead rafts were behind me in the bay, along with the regular gulls. Drove up to the parking area for the Big Tree, took a quick walk (and pictures) around said tree, then walked back to the pasture with The Monster, getting some nice video of both flavors of vultures (and the Blacks hanging with the cow were classic)! No sign of the crow from this angle, either, but I did see a distant Osprey!

A large tree in a field with a wooden fence in the background

The 1000-year-old Big Tree, named the "Texas State Champion Virginia Live Oak" in 1969, until a larger oak was discovered in Brazoria County, Texas, in 2003!



Headed over to the 4th Street Marsh after that, picking up some female Ring-necked Ducks in a little pond on private property on the way (and no place to park).  An Anhinga flew up and over as I approached, and the one and only parking spot for the marsh was rather dicey (Heppy did a little 4-wheeling with that one ☺), but the original Whooper pair was visible from this spot as well, and they did do a little pair-bond display for me! There were also several Black-crowned Night Herons snoozing in there, but was sorely bummed that I wasn’t fast enough with the camera to catch the Alligator downing some kind of white bird! (I had heard the roar earlier, but didn’t connect the dots…) And the “white bird” was too small to be a Whooper… ☺ 

A swamp with tall grass and trees in the background

4th Street Marsh



After that headed in to the state park proper, where the volunteer pointed me towards the two bird feeding areas for a crack at the Fox Sparrow. I did happen to go by the park host who had some feeders going, and she confirmed that the Fox Sparrow was seen in the feeder area by the nature trail. So that was the first place I stopped, keeping my distance from another couple who had claimed the other picnic table, and enjoyed a plethora of feeder birds: mainly Cardinals and Red-winged Blackbirds, but also Lincoln’s, Chipping, and Field Sparrows, and Inca and White-winged Doves, but no Fox Sparrow. But, boy, those Cardinals were bullies! They’d chase the sparrows away with what sounded like a cross between a growl and a hiss! Heard an Eastern Bluebird somewhere, which was a nice addition. 

Two birds are standing next to each other at a bird feeder.

“Don’t even think it, honey!”



It started spitting before my hour was up, so I hightailed it back to the car (and breathed a prayer of thanks that Heppy started up okay – he sounded a little rough at the marsh) and continued exploring. Headed straight to Redfish Point, and was a little surprised to see no birds along the shoreline as the last time I was here the place was stuffed with skimmers, gulls, and terns (to say nothing of the night herons at the bridge)! I was getting hungry for my sandwich (despite snacking on kettle cooked potato and baked apple chips all morning) so I crawled to the end where the nature viewing area was, and listened to the radio while downing the Subway. In the meantime a Common Loon and Pintail were floating in the bay, and several dowitchers were wheeling around with the Willet pair; when I eventually got out there, they turned out to be Long-billed despite being on the shore! What I initially thought was a Reddish Egret turned out to be a Little Blue Heron (not the first time I’ve made that mistake)! 

A wooden bridge over a swamp with a city in the background

The observation deck



Headed down Trout Street to the pier, but with that arctic wind there was no way I was gonna walk out there! I did get some artsy shots of the fishing boats on a sparkling bay against some dark clouds. Headed to the new wildlife viewing area that was located in the picnic areas near the rec hall; nothing was up there except more vultures and a calling Sedge Wren. So I wandered around the picnic area where a Robin sat up, and got a lady Ladder-backed Woodpecker filmed. I tried to find this Cardinal singing a real weird song, but I spooked him before I spotted him… 

Two pictures of a woodpecker sitting on a tree branch

Ladder-backed Woodpeckers (male left, female right)



From there wanted to check out this other feeder area along Warbler Way, and while it was quiet when I first arrived, after a while there was a flurry of activity: many of the same players as at the other feeders, but in addition had a cute Orange-crowned Warbler trying to get something out of a tree knot, a Carolina Wren finding some leftover PB mixture, a flock of American Goldfinches wheeling in, and what was probably the best bird as it’s apparently a rarity up here: a Clay-colored Sparrow in with the other Spizellas! A Catbird fed nearby but very hidden in the brush, and a thrasher made a brief appearance that looked awfully rusty to me, but the only one I had been hearing all day was a Long-billed, so I let it go at that (although I saw later that someone did report a Brown Thrasher that day, so I made a return trip up there the next day)! 

Three birds are sitting on a green bird feeder

The bird in front may actually be a “Dixon’s” Titmouse (Black-crested/Tufted hybrid or a backcross), as its crest isn’t as black as the presumed pure Black-crested Titmouse behind him!



 After that hit all the Nature Trails, starting with the Turks Cap Trail near the Youth Group Area. They had their own Big Tree along this trail as well, and while it was quiet bird-wise, it was a lovely walk (I think a flock of waxwings flew over at some point). Tried out the tiny loop that started near the Warbler Way feeder area and cut through Live Oak Circle, and again fantasied about having a camper and just “doing” all the state parks that way – it just seems that campers are such friendly people overall!  Back at the car a couple of titmice were song-battling, and one of them let me film him with the Powershot! Next tried out the end of the Turks Cap Trail that started by the feeders there, and that’s really where the sun broke out! Ran into a couple with a friendly Airedale on that one!

A field of dry grass with trees in the background

Scenes along the Warbler Way Trail



It was time to head back after that, so stopped by the gas station to get ice and water, then headed “home”! With the added Clay-colored (it didn’t show up on the eBird list so I forgot about it) that made for an even 70 species for the day!


To be continued…

Michigan Photo Shoot Part 1 - Around Town

By Mary Beth Stowe • July 30, 2025
It was a long time getting to Detroit as my 7:15 flight to Dallas was delayed until 11:45, but thankfully the flight to Detroit was also delayed, so there was plenty of layover time at Dallas! Both flights were uneventful; neither of my seat mates were very talkative, so I wasn’t going to push any conversations and just took that as a green light to go ahead and relax!
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Day 6 - Mustang Island 2

By Mary Beth Stowe • June 16, 2025
Started out pre-dawn the next morning, adding a beent ing Common Nighthawk to the trip list right in the parking lot! There wasn’t a hint of any utility work, so I found The Willows fine, only it was as I suspected: a fancy residential area with a few trees that looked good as a migrant trap. No migrants around today (it was already in the 80s) so I found the hotspot designated as the area between Port Aransas and the state park, and just covered that stretch by stopping every half mile and scanning for falcons. There were still no occupants at the nesting platforms, but one stop did have a White-tailed Hawk perched on a gas well! That’s when I discovered (presumably) that I had left the foot for the cameras at the hotel, so I went blasting back (but not before stopping for a pair of Mottled Ducks and Black-necked Stilts), got back inside, and couldn’t find a trace. The nice front desk gal said she’d let me know if housekeeping found anything, but I figured it had to be buried somewhere ! And while checking the towel that I use to wrap The Monster, there it was, on the body of the camera instead of on the lens, where I usually put it! I felt so dumb – I told the gal I had found it, so we were both relieved, but I felt like I had wasted a half hour by coming back. But I had to remind myself that God’s timing is perfect, and everything is for a reason, even if it isn’t obvious at first!

Day 5: Mustang Island 1

By Mary Beth Stowe • June 9, 2025
When I realized I wanted to hit The Willows first (some good migrants had been seen there the day before), I was curious to see what direction Siri would take me, as it obviously would be different than my written directions that would take me directly to the state park. But as always, she wanted to take me into the heart of Houston rush hour traffic, but an alternate route appeared to zigzag towards Galveston, so I took that, only she kept trying to get me to take a totally different route!! Needless to say I got terribly turned around and ended up going a back way back to the tollway (and actually went through pretty nice suburban area – I got to thinking that I wouldn’t mind living there so long as I didn’t have to get on the freeway), and from there she took us the same way we came up until it was time to veer off towards Corpus, where we went through some hair-raising construction but finally made it safely to Padre Island! I wanted to head straight to the Willows (she was initially gonna bring us in from the north, but I guess she abandoned that idea), but stopped first at the state park to use the potties and make a sandwich. On the way up I saw the two Aplomado nesting platforms, and thought for sure I saw some birds in there, but headed on to the Willows with the idea of checking them more closely on the way back, only ran into some “Be Prepared to Stop” traffic (and they really meant it this time, too), so rather than fight that we decided to turn around and check out the beach access we had just driven by.

Day 4: Sheldon Lake State Park

By Mary Beth Stowe • May 27, 2025
It was indeed raining the next morning (and really blowing the night before), so I actually got to have the "real" breakfast before settling down to work on file processing! The initial forecast was heavy rain up till 11:00, but after an hour that drastically changed, and by 8:00 it had cleared up enough (with no heavy rain thereafter) to head on up to Garrett Road! Again, the beltway was a breeze, and after getting off on Garrett I quick-like got some ice (it melts in a hurry) and then headed down to the "boat ramp". It really wasn't a "boat ramp", but rather a huge parking area abutting a cypress swamp that rivaled anything in Florida — no wonder the Limpkins like it! I parked at the far end and set up shop (already several fishermen were at the other end, close to the road), and was wondering what all these red splotches on the cypress trunks were when it dawned on me (upon closer inspection) that they were the Apple Snail eggs! Again, no wonder the Limpkins like this place! And I didn't have to wait long, either: shortly one came sailing in, yelling as he did so, and landed right on the edge of the parking area! Another one came in shortly thereafter and chased the first one, and he was practically at my feet! Kay had confirmed where the babies had been, but when I went over to check, I couldn't find any — I suspect they're fledged by now. Besides the Limpkins (which really performed well, both on top of trees and close by) I was able to film a female Red-winged Blackbirds on the nest (and later poking around the ground with a missing foot), plus a pair of Great-tailed Grackles strutting around the joint. The first Neotropic Cormorant of the trip flew overhead, and somewhere what I suspected was a Great Blue Heron nest was hidden, as I could hear babies squawking. [Update: They may have actually been Cattle Egrets, as while in the process of creating video grabs, I caught a couple sailing by in the background of one of the Limpkin videos...] A Green and calico Little Blue Heron also came wheeling in, but closer to the road, and I didn't want to get too far away from the car. A ranger made the rounds with a bucket, picking up trash, and we got to talking about the Limpkins, which were "all over the place" now, according to him, and reported that birders all the way from Austin came in to see them (and a lot further than that, I'm sure, when they were first reported)! Purple Gallinules called but wouldn't come out, of course, and after about an hour a guy pulled up and got on his phone, so I figured it was time to move on. After I packed up I jokingly said to him, "Your turn!" which got a chuckle, and it did indeed look like he was preparing to fish right where I was!

Day 3: More Brazos Bend

By Mary Beth Stowe • May 20, 2025
The Lord was merciful the next morning and it wasn’t raining! Got packed up, swiped a couple of sausages from the breakfast, and headed out to the park. Got in earlier than yesterday, and right away a Painted Bunting was singing right next to the car! Unfortunately it was still too dark to take video, but you could just barely make out his colors! The first missed trail I wanted to cover was the Pilant Slough Trail (kept wanting to call it Pliant Slough), but wanted to crawl along that cypress swamp just in case another Limpkin showed up! Well, if someone didn’t mind counting a heard-only bird, there were plenty of them wailing away, only way back there! In fact, I could even see a private home back there, and five’ll get you ten that that was the place the owner was letting people in to see the birds when they first started showing up! While I was making audio recordings a couple of feral pigs snorted and ran away on the other side of the road, so that got me back to the car in a hurry! Shortly came across a “murder of crows” that was giving something fits, so I pulled over to see if I could spot what they were mobbing, and it was a Bobcat up in a tree! He stayed put for video, too! I thought that was pretty neat! 
Two trees are standing in the middle of a grassy field.

Day 2: Brazos Bend State Park

By Mary Beth Stowe • September 28, 2024
Got ready to go the next morning a little earlier than planned, so went ahead and headed over to the park, thankful that the gate was open just like the guy said! I went straight to 40 Acre Lake and took the Powershot down to the pier, but didn’t stay long as I realized I really needed to be using The Monster (i.e. Sony with the Big Lens) in this situation (it was still kinda dusky, even after sunrise, and it handles low-light situations much better than the Powershot). I ended up spending over an hour there as it was quite active: tons of Little Blue Herons (including many transitioning birds, called “calicos”), Common Gallinules, a young Great Blue, and even a pair of Purple Gallinules taking a bath (but on the other side of the lake)! Some Anhingas were swimming with just their head and necks above the surface (hence the name “snake-bird”), so that was fun to shoot! A Pied-billed Grebe was new for the trip (as was a Tricolored Heron that kept hiding). Got some artsy shots of Great Egrets and spoonbills across the lake, and another Anhinga had landed on the railing to dry his wings, and he was pretty dilapidated! I didn’t wanna bother him (it was obvious he was agitated when I started getting closer), but a Plegadis ibis wheeled in that had a gray face and dark eye, and I would think that this time of year any Whiteface would have a red eye! Unfortunately so long as I didn’t have Internet access I couldn’t upload a picture to eBird, so documentation would have to wait until I got to the Holiday Inn (if I could get on their Wi-Fi…). [Update: I could, so I submitted the photos – more on that story later…] White Ibis were out the yin yang, and what I thought were a mom and kid Boat-tailed Grackle came by (as the male was singing somewhere), but they turned out to be Great-tails after I reviewed the video. A Mississippi Kite circled over the trees, but the best video op was a roaring Alligator! That was great! The Four-spotted Pennants (a type of dragonfly) on the way out were anti-climactic! Totally forgot to film the Barn Swallow nest on the way out, though… ☹ I did hear some chickadees on the way out, so I wheeled back in and tried to get some video out the car window!
A tree in a park with spanish moss hanging from it

Day 1: The Drive Up & Brazos Bend Scouting

By Mary Beth Stowe • September 21, 2024
As usual, woke up early so got going early after the morning routine; added Golden-fronted Woodpecker to the list while packing the car (among other things we’ll probably pick up later). Another “write-in” bird heading north on US 77 was a Harris’ Hawk!  We stopped at the Sarita rest stop, picking up a Hooded Oriole for the trip, but boy, did it look nasty up ahead!! I wish I had been able to take a picture on the fly, because you talk about storm-chasing: once under it, it was black as night, with some terrific lightning displays! But then the rain started, and by Riviera it was zero visibility, so I just pulled into a Pizza Hut (or some such joint) parking lot to wait it out for a while. A Flood Warning came over the phone, and looking at the radar, we were right in the middle of a big red blob (I kept trying to capture a picture of the thing and was turning the phone off by mistake, so by the time I did get a picture the Red Blob had moved north a bit so the effect wasn’t the same)! Continued on after a few minutes, and while it let up, it didn’t really stop until the next stop at Refugio. We got a breakfast croissant at Burger King, then continued north. Filled up at El Campo (ended up going around the Very Long Block for that one), where a homeless guy opened the door for me! Headed on to Brazos Bend, where there was no hint of the threatened rain! Jumped out at the entrance to shoot the requisite sign, and had a Carolina Wren actually in view for a second while waiting to check in! I had some questions, so the ranger had me park and walk in where he gave me a map and showed me where the Limpkins usually show up; unfortunately it was as someone else had mentioned, and it was an almost three mile one-way hike along the Live Oak Trail to get to the habitat! He also suggested a couple of spots for Purple Gallinules, and said that the gate opens around 6:15, so that was perfect! Back at the car I remembered the other question I wanted to ask and went running back: do they have feeders? Nope – all natural here, she said!
A dirt road in the middle of a desert with mountains in the background

Day 6 - Kickapoo Cavern State Park

By Mary Beth Stowe • September 16, 2024
And what a final day! It was another cold but (thankfully) windless morning, and the drive to Brackettville in the dark was (again thankfully) uneventful. We made a potty stop there, picking up a singing Western Kingbird for the trip, and by that time it was getting light enough so that the last leg to Kickapoo Cavern on FM 674 was delightful – I’d love to be able to survey that road, as there was lots of good Edwards Plateau habitat and plenty of places to pull over. Did see a couple of ravens, but according to eBird both could occur, so I let them go. And am I thankful I downloaded the eBird checklist the night before, because there was no signal once I got to the park! (Although I had an initial shock when I ran the day list and only got four species – needed to change the date… 😊) After taking the obligatory entrance sign picture, we just crawled along, and were rewarded with a friendly Golden-cheeked Warbler, and later a Rufous-crowned Sparrow (he wasn’t friendly – just happened to be on my side of the road and was nice enough to stay put)! A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on a wire sallied out and caught a big bug, and although the singing Canyon Wren wasn’t new for the trip, the singing Scott’s Oriole was! The normal songsters seemed to be just Cardinals, Bell’s Vireos, and Bewick’s Wrens.
A river runs through a lush green forest with mountains in the background.

Day 5 - South Llano River SP - The Trails

By Mary Beth Stowe • September 7, 2024
Headed out in the black, deciding to park at the walk-in camping lot to see in the dawn. And what a morning! It was freezing cold (around 37 degrees; Heppy – my Subaru – even warned me that the roads could be icy), but not a speck of wind, and the night sky was glorious! (There was a sign in the campground saying this was a Dark Sky Park or something like that…) Got to see a couple of meteors, and even a satellite (or the Space Station)! 😊 Once again, the Cardinals had to voice their dominance as the first birds up (even before it was lightening in the east), but nothing in the way of night birds vocalized. I did hear this weird barking that I suspected was one of the Axis Deer, so I thought I’d have some fun and see what Merlin said! Interestingly, he thought it was an Inca Dove (no way), but he also said he picked up a Poorwill! I did briefly hear something that sounded like one poor-will phrase, but since it didn’t keep going (as they usually do), I didn’t count it. Walked around the lot trying to keep warm, and in the twilight a Great Horned Owl glided low over my head (and it was light enough to see the details of his face without the bins 😊)! Also heard Turkeys gobbling in the distance, and as it got lighter a singing Yellow-breasted Chat (that Merlin didn’t recognize, interestingly) was new for the trip, and that weird whistling that I heard yesterday that sounded like a funky Black-capped Chickadee and wrote it off as an oddball Field Sparrow or something suddenly clicked: it was the reported White-throated Sparrow! He gave great recording ops but never came out for a view, either there or in the blind.