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| White-Faced Ibis (dark birds) and undetermined birds in forefront. |
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| White-Faced Ibis |
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| Northern Harrier |
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| Willets |
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| White Ibis |
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| Loggerhead Shrike |
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| Say's Phoebe |
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| Say's Phoebe |
The wetlands are beautiful in this area of the refuge.
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| Brown Pelican (immature) and Cormorant (to right) |
As we were walking along we spotted this
Brown Pelican resting on the railing.
The Pelican just sat there and posed for me.
It didn't seem to mind whether I was
far away or getting rather close.
It just sat there and rested.
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| The Pelican picked a beautiful spot to relax. |
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| American Coot swimming about the pond. |
This Cormorant was a striking figure
on the stark tree with gray sky as background.
Usually a Grebe dives at the first sign of a human,
but this Pied-Billed Grebe just paddled around
making circles in the water.
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| Pelican in the distance... it finally took to water. |
The Great Blue Heron (above)
and the Great White Egret (below)
barely tolerated my presence.
They were searching for a meal and I just wanted
to take photographs of them.
Great White Egret
On the way back home from our visit to Amelia Island
and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the G-man and I
spent the night in Winnie, Texas with plans to visit
the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge the following morning.
We didn't get out and about at the crack of dawn as most birders do
because we are just damn lazy!
Actually it was late when we rolled into Winnie
the night before, so we slept in and finally
got to the refuge around 9:30 AM.
There were not as many birds about as we have seen on other
of our winter visits. Actually, we were not able
to get to parts of the refuge because there was quite
a bit of roadwork being done.
I was quite happy to see that money is going into this refuge.
A visitor center is being built and roads are being repaired and paved.
This place is a real treasure and is a bit off the beaten path (so to speak).
It is about 15 to 20 miles off IH-10 from Winnie, Texas.
The area is a birder's paradise as there are many places
along the coast and inland to see migratory birds.
High Island is the place for spring migration and is just a few miles from the refuge.
The "Birding High Island" website gives more information.
Winnie has many hotels to accommodate travelers & birders.
We may make a trip over there in the spring to see what's flying!
3 comments:
We had thought we would drive down there the week between christmas and new year but then Marc got sick so we didn't. have never been so it's on our list for sure after seeing your pictures.
What a treasure! I had ever heard of this Refuge before, but it's beautiful!
Your pics would make Audubon proud, and many are worthy of frames...thank you for the lesson in birdspotting.
Oh so beautiful to know about southern refuges for our migratory birds. Such places, especially down the eastern seaboard are becoming more and more scarce. Money going into a refuge is always wonderful. I agree with Jo about your photos. Lovely. Thank you for sharing this, dear Lizzy.
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