High Island - The Rookery

One of the things I love about birding is the element of surprise.  Every time you go out, it's a bit of a treasure hunt.  (Guess that's why I also like to look for shells on the beach or wildflowers in the woods - they are all 'treasures' to me).  You never know what you are going to find.  Sure, you know where certain birds are likely to be, but you also have surprise birds.

When my husband and I were in Texas we visited High Island, where the Houston Audubon Society maintains several bird sanctuaries.  If you've ever read "The Big Year" by Mark Obmascik or "Kingbird Highway" by Kenn Kaufman, you will have heard of High Island. 

The main thing High Island is famous for is 'fall-out'. In birder lingo, that describes times when warblers by the hundreds make a rest stop after their long journey across the Gulf of Mexico.   High Island -- which is neither high (only 32' above sea level) or an island; does have something the weary birds need -- trees to rest and feed in.  Since much of the coastal area in Texas lacks trees, the birds get concentrated in the few areas that do have them, like High Island. Whether the migrant warblers stop depends on the weather and how much they need to replenish their body fat before they continue on their journey.  

So, when we visited High Island we knew there was no promise of trees filled with warblers.  We had already talked to other birders at nearby Anahauc National Wildlife Refuge, who said it was "slow" at High Island, and it was being said "maybe the birds are a little late this year".   They also said, "Don't miss the Rookery".  The Rookery?  I didn't remember reading about that.

We knew there was going to be a bird walk at 8:30, so we made sure we got to the Boy Scout Woods section of the High Island Sanctuaries by then.  We took a quick peek at the bird feeders behind this building because we'd been told a Painted Bunting had been hanging around.  However, it wasn't there when we looked.  Whenever anyone asked if there was a particular bird we were hoping to see, Painted Bunting is the one we said (we never did see one).

 As predicted, it was "slow"... not many birds to be found, even by the professionals (three guys from Tropical Birding Tours).  Still, it was fun to see the place after reading about it many times.

The guys in the red hats were the leaders.  It was nice that they stayed spread out thru the group.  You can see two in the photo and the third one was at the end of the line. That way we could always know what was going on.  Which, of course, wasn't much. 

We spent a little time sitting in the bleachers, watching the 'drip'.  Birds are often attracted to dripping water, so they have one set up there.  Nothing showed up.

We walked around by ourselves for a little while again, but the woods were pretty still.

We looked at the small gift shop, run by volunteers, and read the posted list of sightings.

It was still early in the day so we decided to check out the Rookery.  Well, any disappointment we might have felt at the lack of warblers was quickly forgotten!  That day, the Rookery was where the action was!

A small section of the Rookery

There were hundreds of birds - Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Neotropic Cormorants, and a few other kinds here and there.  Along the edge of "Heron Island" were four viewing shelters, like this one:

Be sure to check the birds in the background.  Wow, there was always something going on here!

Some of the Great Egrets were doing courtship displays, as in these two photos.

Others were still collecting and passing sticks to their mates, even though their nests looked complete to us.  Perhaps they were fixing up old nests.

Some were sitting on eggs.

And, there were even two that had babies in their nests.

 Then, there were the Roseate Spoonbills.  Kenn Kaufman, in "Lives of North American Birds" says they are "gorgeous at a distance and bizarre up close".  Well, we got to see them both ways, and I would agree!

They are graceful looking in flight, but with their heavy weight on the slender branches, they were comical to watch.  Rather ungainly would describe their movements.

They, too, were in varying stages of nesting.  This next pair were still in courtship-- crossing and clasping their bills together.

After Hurricane Ike damaged trees, Audubon volunteers built some nesting platforms.

We watched two pair starting to build nests.   I'd say the best spots - mainly the higher ones - were already taken.

Some of the Spoonbills were sitting on eggs.

There was a lot of harassing of others going on, due to the crowded neighborhood.

There was even an alligator down below... perhaps hoping for a meal? 

Thankfully no one was eaten while we watched!

There were quite a few Neotropic Cormorants nesting there, too.  They were much more sedate than the egrets or spoonbills, though this one seems to be upset about something.

Down below, besides a couple of alligators, were a turtle and a Common Moorhen.

Besides watching all the antics going on at the Rookery, it was really fun to listen to the birds.  The sounds being made by all of them were quite comical at times.  I'm not sure what was making a Donald Duck sound, but it made me laugh. 

After a slow start, it turned out to be a great day after all.  And, later in our trip at a different location, we saw lots of warblers and other birds... but that's another story.