The Agnew Family aboard the "Dog House"

The alarm clock went off at 5:00am — yup A.M. and would you believe Ed was the person who set it? We were booked on a 7:30am “Whooping Crane and Coastal Birding” tour out of Rockport. It is a 25 mile drive to Rockport and we wanted to allow enough time for potential problems with the ferry. Of course no problems arose and we were there 30 minutes ahead of schedule — we did get to watch the sun rise over the boats in the harbour. The tour was on the MV Skimmer; she holds a total of 46 passengers (there were only 11 people including crew on our trip) and has a draft of 2.5 feet which means she can go in very shallow water. Whooping Cranes were the highlight of the trip but we also saw a Roseate Spoonbill, a Crested Caracara, lots of Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Reddish Egrets, White and Brown Pelicans, Cormorants and lots of other birds. The captain was able to pull the boat up to shore so were about 30 feet from the Whooping Cranes. These birds are on the endangered species list, stand about 5 feet tall, weigh about 15 pounds, have a wing span of 7 feet, live up to 24 years, mate for life and stay in family units (we saw a male, female and juvenile). After about 10 minutes, one of the birds started making funny gestures with his neck, changed his stance and took off for the other side of the channel. The remaining adult called out as if to ask how it was on the other side. The bird that had flown responded and after a bit of conversation the adult and juvenile start the same gestures and flew across the channel. It was an amazing sight. The captain also made sure to stop near a small reef where a flock of Pelicans hang out along with a lone American Flamingo. He think it may be the first time a Flamingo has been seen in the Rockport area. The flamingo arrived in November and the captain is hoping that it will stay till May — the end of the birding trips for the season.


Sunrise at the harbour.


The MV Skimmer.


The trip was 53km according to Ed's GPS.


There are lots of dolphins in the harbour.


I think these may be Caspian Terns.


The Wooping Cranes.


The juvenile Whooping Crane.


One of the adults --- the red spot is skin not feathers.


One of the adults.


Ready for take off.


Up, up and away.



Let's go too!


I know there's fish down there. (Crested Caracara)


Crested Caracara --- he has a fish in his tallons and he didn't want us to take it.


A Little Blue Heron


An Osprey


An American Oystercatcher.


An American Greater Flamingo.


A Brown Pelican


A White Pelican -- the horn on the beak indicates that it is a breeding adult. The horn falls off at the end of breeding season.


All dressed up and no place to go .... Zaph and Penny.