DAY 16?MARCH 28?Corpus Christi
The Texas State Aquarium, a AAA gem-rated attraction, is privately owned and operated and has a mission of saving and rehabilitating marine wildlife?birds and fish--and educating the public. The total cost for us was $20. They had a nice, little, entertaining dolphin show.
The next presentation was a diver in the water feeding the fish, which took place in the Flower Gardens Reef Exhibit. The area was just a wide area in front of the tank that should accommodate about 30 people, and it had about 100. The children were told to sit at the front, and when they didn?t, the diver came over to the side where they were and played with them. My blood was boiling, especially since there were many well-behaved children on a field trip who got no recognition. The talk wasn?t very well done, either.
The best presentation was in the Wild Flight Theatre. The speaker was a true teacher, and she brought out an incredible array of animals from many parts of the world. The red-shouldered hawk repeatedly flew to perches over our head. We were amazed by the serval. The trumpeter hornbill was pretty. A child from the audience got to feed the lesser anteater a bottle of honey. We could see his 16?-long tongue protrude into the bottle. The turkey vulture came out on a hand, as did the Swensen?s hawk, and the Harris?s hawk. It was fun to see them close up. We?ve seen all of them flying in the sky, but here they were just a few feet away from us. Then came the coati. They finished with a beautiful Eurasian eagle owl and a plea for funding to help them continue to provide rehabilitation. Most, if not all, of these animals had injuries or were imprinted.
There were spoonbills, a touch tank, animals of the Amazon?including a piranha, coral, jellies, stingrays you can touch, river otters, huge sea turtles and smaller ones, the tiniest seahorses (called dwarf seahorses) I?ve ever seen, and a couple of raptors. It was fun. Just don?t expect it to be as elaborate as Monterey Bay in California.
We then drove out to Indian Point Park, a park on the Central Coast Birding Trail. When we first turned into the park, we spotted a tri-color heron, and I don?t think he moved a muscle in the hour we were there. He was as still as a statue while he waited for a fish to come swimming by.
The willets (picture 1) were very busy poking their long beaks into the mud flats and shallow water. They would run and poke, run and poke, feeding voraciously.
At a nearby pond, we saw a flurry of beating wings on a white bird (picture 2), who we think is a tern. He dove into the water, then flew high, then dove into a different area, etc. He was the busiest bird! I wonder what his catching percentage is! I never really got to see his face because he was flying so quickly.
I loved the yellowlegs (picture 3) who were with the willets. They are so easy to identify!
The tiny dowitchers (picture 4) were the busiest of all. The birds here were the most active we have seen, almost as if they were having an eating contest.
Miles Traveled: 0
Stayed at Colonial del Rey
Temperature: High of 75?