Chilly (for Texas) Day in Galveston
All my normal Monday meetings were cancelled and I spent the weekend on a field trip for my TA assignment so the way I see it, I deserved the day off. We made it to the Galveston-Port Bolivar Ferry around 9:30 and saw a ton of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins - waiting to add to iNat until I get a better picture. The ferry ride was chilly, high 40s but with really strong winds and sea spray. We were on the lookout for an Iceland gull that had been seen here by someone on the ferry a few days ago. We may have seen it, but didn't get photos before it pulled away after showing itself for a few seconds on the upper ferry deck. Probably not the Iceland because it was enormous, so likely American Herring, but it was very pale even by Herring standards so maybe we did see it after all.
We got the 17th Street Jetty around 10:00 and were greeted by 150 black skimmers on the beach to the south, intermixed mostly with laughing gulls, but a few American Herring, Ringed, and Lesser-Black Backed. The north side had a very diverse group of shorebirds, egrets, and herons. Marbled godwits and long-billed curlews were the highlights. Dunlins are back for the year, and they're a nice species to have around to differentiate small shorebirds during nonbreeding season. The long bill is unmistakable, so they make a really nice size reference. Clapper Rails were out in force, but silently. We can't 100% differentiate from King without vocalization, but the saltwater marsh and sheer number of them makes us think most, if not all, were Clappers. Nelson's Sparrows were feeling exceptionally gregarious and they may be my new favorite sparrow. They run on the ground just like peeps do, but occasionally jump up and perch on grasses. They were only a few feet from us in a group of at least 6, which I am under the impression is very rare for these marshy sparrows (Seaside, LeConte's, Nelson's).
We then walked across the low tide mudflat and managed to only harass a few hermit crabs. Syd got her semipalmated plover, I got a really nice scale reference of dunlins, semipalmated plovers, and sanderlings. We then took the ferry back and nearly fell asleep in the car, then had lunch in Galveston. We went over to 8-Mile/Sportman's Rd to look for loons and ducks but the backlighting was horrific. Birding was mostly a bust, except for my first time seeing an American White Pelican not in flight. We saw a Saltmarsh Snake and a good collection of saltmarsh plant species, so excellent stop nonetheless.
To end the day we proceeded to the Texas City Dike in search of Oystercatchers and Loons. We did get loons - 14 of them in fact. At first I thought they might be grebes but after being scolded for not recognizing that grebes have a way tinier bill, I conceded. No Oystercatchers, but worthwhile day nonetheless. Beautiful first winter-like day of the 2025-2026 winter! Here's to the next 4 months of nice weather.
