24/03: Skimmer
Category: General
Posted by: The Agnew Family
Early morning .... left the trailer by 6:45am .... still dark. Yes, Ed too. A birding trip on the Skimmer out of Rockport harbor leaves at 7:30am and Ed wanted to make sure we were on it. This is the 3rd time we've taken the trip with Captain Tommy and once again we loved it.
The main purpose of the trip is to see the Whooping Cranes. There are 417 Whooping Cranes in the wild, 281 are here in Aransas Wildlife Refuge. This group of cranes summer in Wood Buffalo in Alberta.
The birds are found in family groups of two or three birds: male, female and juvenile.
Although the birds will eat a variety of food, the blue crab is somehow a necessity in their diet. This group of birds caught a number of crabs while we watched them.
Coyote out on prowl. Although the cranes couldn't see him, you could tell that they knew he was there.
Long-billed Curlew.
Oyster Catcher.
A rookery. Great Blue Herons, Egrets and an Oyster Catcher were nesting. We even managed to see the greenish blue eggs of the Egret.
The main purpose of the trip is to see the Whooping Cranes. There are 417 Whooping Cranes in the wild, 281 are here in Aransas Wildlife Refuge. This group of cranes summer in Wood Buffalo in Alberta.
The birds are found in family groups of two or three birds: male, female and juvenile.
Although the birds will eat a variety of food, the blue crab is somehow a necessity in their diet. This group of birds caught a number of crabs while we watched them.
Coyote out on prowl. Although the cranes couldn't see him, you could tell that they knew he was there.
Long-billed Curlew.
Oyster Catcher.
A rookery. Great Blue Herons, Egrets and an Oyster Catcher were nesting. We even managed to see the greenish blue eggs of the Egret.