Thursday, March 26 Goose Island, Corpus Christi, N Padre

 Thursday, Mar 26

71 degrees this morning, but with a breeze last night was comfortable.  Blueberry pancakes for breakfast, yum!

We check out the fishing pier here at the park.  One lone fisherman. 

Then we continue south to Aransas and take the ferry over to the barrier islands.  

 The ferries run frequently, so we had only a few minutes wait.  Smooth ride and we were first on and first off.   We spotted  a couple of dolphins and numerous gulls and pelicans.  

In just a mile or so we reach our first stop  - Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center which consists of several boardwalks over the water and wetlands. 

 LOTS of birds!  Many ducks - Northern Shoveler, Blue Teal and Coots are the only ones we recognize.  The water is shallow so that the ducks just paddle along with their beaks down in the soft, silty mud, leaving trails which slowly dissipate.

A whole flock of my favorite, the black-necked stilt with its long pink legs, arrives as others come and go.

And  these are called American Avocets. I remember seeing one of these in Montana in another season.

A couple of turtles also make an appearance.

Common Gallinule

Lots of beach rentals, dune buggy rentals, etc. as we begin to drive south.

Mustang Island is the first barrier island, but it has no trees and we decide to continue on to much larger Padre Island. Nice beaches there, no doubt, but not warm enough for us to enjoy them.  (There is a State Park on Mustang, National Seashore on North Padre.)

BUT FIRST we decide to have lunch at a restaurant called The Blue Clove which a friend recommended.  This time there is a bridge to connect back to the mainland at Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi is quite large - about 450,000 and it seems to have just about every store you can think of, plus many local bait shops, souvenir shops, marinas, etc.  We travel past most of that and find the restaurant in a nice local neighborhood.  Great service.  Greg has fish tacos made with local black drum while Beth goes with fried shrimp.  Very tasty!

Corpus Christi has a wonderful aquarium and a Battleship that you can tour, and a nice beachfront,  all of which we have done in the past.  But Greg noticed a sign for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center, so we decide to check it out. Not everything is in bloom this time of year, but there is a nice orchid conservatory and another with just bromeliads.  The orchids are gorgeous!

The Rose garden is also abloom and beautiful.  (The white flowering tree we will see often from here and south.  It is a Mexican Olive tree.)

There are also a few bunnies hopping around the grounds, and other caged animals, including macaws and parrots, tortoises and lizards, most of which are rescues.  

This guy REALLY wanted his picture taken!

Back across the causeway and south to North Padre Island National Seashore, where we'll find a camping spot for tonight at Malaquite Beach.  The camping area is paved, with picnic tables and some shade shelters.  No electric, but there is a nice bath house and the ocean is a stone's throw away. This is about as far south as you can go on North Padre Island unless you have four-wheel drive.   The sand is softer and more plentiful here, making for a pleasant stroll on the beach.  The Kemp's Ridley sea turtles which are coming back from the brink of extinction nest here, and there are occasional signs asking anyone who sees them to report to a ranger.  Eggs are gathered to hatch in protective care. We are at the beginning of their nesting season which runs through September.

The "Pelican Patrols" continue.

The beach is mostly deserted.

We chat with some other campers, from Michigan and Wyoming.  They are happy to be in the South!

The wind picks up, which feels good temperature-wise, but also lightly coats just about everything with sand.  Oh well...  Sandwiches and snacks for dinner - inside!