Birding Texas in Migration {Sabine Woods, Sea Rim, High Island, Bolivar Flats}

Over the years I've heard so many people talk about High Island, a mecca for birders during migration. The reason? In the Spring, birds that have spent their winter in Mexico and South America will travel non-stop over the Gulf of Mexico. As soon as the birds hit dry ground, they often land to rest and refuel. High Island is an area that is built up about 30 feet higher than the terrain 10 miles in either direction, so birds are especially drawn to that higher area. When planning our trip out west, I definitely wanted to pass thru this area. I contacted an RVing birder friend of mine in Texas and asked where he camps when birding High Island. I was shocked when, "I don't." was his answer! "I go to Sabine Woods and stay at Sea Rim State Park. The birding is much better than High Island." I have to admit, I was skeptical, but Jim is an excellent birder and has lead birding tours for many years. I quickly changed our plans and made reservations for Sea Rim State Park and I'm so thankful I did. 

There's only one road that takes you to the state park, and it first takes you past Sabine Woods. As we drove past I saw people photographing birds right at the entrance. My curiosity got the best of me and I begged my husband to stop. I hopped out, ran back and saw a cuckoo, tanagers and warblers in the two trees right at the entrance! Wow! I was excited that our campground was only seven minutes away! I could hardly wait to get the RV setup and return to explore.

 

 

You can't miss Sabine Woods. Just look for the dozens of cars lining the road.

I returned and was just astounded at not only the variety of birds, but the abundance. I never thought I'd take a blase attitude towards tanagers, grosbeaks and buntings, but it happened! While the area is a relatively small 27 acres, it has a nice variety of habitat, shady areas for thrushes, trees and edges for songbirds, and fields for buntings. When I first discovered the field, it was popping with blue- Blue Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings were abundant! 

(Though they were abundant, they were harder to photograph, so I'm adding a photo of an Indigo Bunting from another location.)

This bird sanctuary is owned by TOS (Texas Ornithological Society). It's open 24 hours and the fee is $10/day. Definitely worth it! In 5.5 hours I found 81 species of birds and left feeling that this may be the most exciting birding location I've enjoyed in the United States. In talking with a few other locals, I found they all shared my friend's opinion that High Island used to be THE place during migration, but something has changed and those legendary stories that we've all heard just aren't happening anymore. Sabine Woods is the place to be. Now being there for a fallout would be a different story. A fallout is when weather, wind and particularly rain, is pushing south against the birds as they are flying north. In that scenario, they would immediately land and rest. Every birder's dream.

 

It's pretty common to see large groups of people pointing binoculars and large lenses at the trees. This is a good sign you are missing out on something! In a few places within the preserve, you'll find water features meant to draw birds with benches inviting viewers to stay awhile. As the sun was setting, a group of us gathered to watch as four species of thrushes and various warblers appeared for a drink or a quick bath. I chatted with a few locals who gave me some great advice on birding the area. I was shocked to learn that a man who had some mobility challenges had sat on this very bench the day before from 8am-4pm and was able to see 21 species of warblers come in to the pond! That's more than I saw walking around the place! I'd be curious to know what his total species count was for the day. Definitely a delightful way to spend the day whether you are able to walk thru the park or not. 

I must also tell you about birding nearby Sea Rim state park, a great location that includes the Gulf beach and brackish marshes. When a Blue Grosbeak welcomed us to our campsite, I knew this was going to be a great place. In the morning I woke to the kek-kek-keking of a King Rail, a bird I'd struggled for years to see! Watching one tussle with some Great-tailed Grackles in my own campsite was quite a thrill. Large numbers of birds congregate on what's left of the marsh boardwalk trail, a casualty of hurricanes past. On my last morning, I nearly stepped on a well-camoflauged Common Nighthawk resting among a rocky patch in the grass. When he gave a quick flutter to warn me of his presence, I stepped back and took photos as he swiftly went back to sleep. Afterwards I found four more resting in the grassy median or along the road, not far from the nesting Wilson's Plovers. 

Think you would have seen him?

Common Nighthawks have teeny, tiny bills, but HUGE mouths! Look it up!

After two nights at Sea Rim, we moved to High Island RV Park. We had planned to camp right on the beach, but had second thoughts after hearing of vehicles getting stuck in the sand. I called High Island RV Park and though they were full, they gave us a dry camping spot in their storage lot for the night. Perfect! We disconnected and headed straight for the Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary. 

 

This is another spot that is very popular during migration. We didn't have much time to spend here, but I enjoyed seeing a huge number of birds, many different species on the beach. My favorite sightings were Black Terns, my first time seeing them in breeding plumage and a white morph Reddish Egret doing its crazy hunting dance. I love the blue legs!

After scoping the beach for awhile, I walked all the way to the tip of the peninsula and learned what I thought was an island was actually a very dense flock of American Avocets! 

I hated to leave, but we raced over to Smith Oaks Sanctuary to watch the birds come in to roost at sunset. This park's 177 acres of forest, marsh and ponds are owned by Houston Audubon and cost $10/day to visit or you can buy a patch for $30 that covers all their sanctuaries for a year. The recently added Katherine G. McGovern Canopy Walkway gives you a chance to walk amongst the tops of the trees and even look down on the nests of thousands of birds who use the rookery here to raise their young. Here is where I saw freshly-hatched Roseate Spoonbills!

There are numerous multi-level viewing platforms along the ponds. I definitely need to schedule more time here to walk the trails. 

In the morning I walked from our campsite to Hooks Woods and then Boy Scout Woods. I have to say, in comparison to Sabine Woods, these were quite disappointing. Boy Scout Woods seemed pretty socked in so while I heard a decent variety of birds, finding them was a bit more difficult. If I was not able to identify birds by sound, I would have been very frustrated. I think the only wildlife photo I took was of this cottontail.

Roadtrip 2022: Heading West {Sea Rim State Park}

This trip was originally planned for Spring 2020 in our overlanding trailer, but of course all travel plans were cancelled, our Jeep was totaled and our overlanding trailer was off on its own adventures. Finally, two years later, on April 16, we loaded up our 30ft Grand Design Imagine travel trailer and hit the road for the summer. Our main destinations are Yosemite National Park, Las Vegas, and our last two states: Minnesota and North Dakota. First stop: Tallahassee. We arrived just before Easter and enjoyed a delicious dinner with family. Next was an overnight stop at a Boondockers Welcome a few blocks from the beach in Mississippi. A perfect location for an evening walk to the beach so Asher could fish in a new state while I looked for birds. 

 

We went back in the morning for another try at it, before pressing west. Asher has become quite the fisherman. He won a fishing contest last fall for which he was awarded the $200 rod and reel that he now uses. He had expressed an interest in fishing in each state along our path. We had not planned to stop in Louisiana, but to honor his challenge, I scouted out locations along our route and found Lake Charles. Asher fished and I birded while Journey soaked up some rays. 

 

That evening we arrived at our campsite in Texas, where not only could he fish from our campsite, but he delighted in the fact that he had just fished THREE states in ONE day! 

Sea Rim State Park is in the southeast edge of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico. I love watching him fish from the comfort of our couch! You can see the Gulf in the distance from our campsite.

While he didn't catch any fish, he did catch a large, beautiful Blue Crab! That's when we found out crabbing is a huge sport at Sea Rim State Park. Not only is it allowed, but the rangers will gladly lend you supplies (string and a net- just add chicken) and teach you how to catch them! 

Asher found this Banded Watersnake, while crabbing. He came to get me so I could take photos.

Asher spent the next day catching dinner for the family. At high tide the crabs will come from the ocean into the smaller pools to catch their own dinner, some would instead become ours. To keep them they must be at least 5 inches "horn to horn" and not bearing eggs.

Journey found actual quicksand, and I found myself warning, "Don't play in the quicksand, unless one of us is right by you!" Ahhh, words we never thought we'd say....

Dinner is served: spaghetti with Blue Crabs.

This is a great location for birding! While the boardwalk trail over the marsh was lost to hurricanes, birds congregate on the ruins in huge numbers. I found many birds including a KING RAIL in our campsite, quite a few nighthawks, plus a Whimbrel (lifer) flew in while we were crabbing! I will explain more in the next post.

Boondockers Welcome

 

When we aren't traveling, we enjoy hosting other travelers. It's a great chance to meet new people from all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs while giving them a great place to safely park for the night, week, month or more. We are members of Boondockers Welcome which is a platform that matches people who need a place to stay overnight in their RV with people who have appropriate space on their property. It's definitely a nice alternative to sleeping in Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lots on long hauls and some hosts let you stay long enough to check out the area. Members can stay from 1-5 nights free. It may be just a safe place to park or they may offer full hookups. When you host, you earn membership rewards. After just one year of hosting, we've already earned a lifetime membership plus other goodies like certificates and t-shirts. We've used it to stay with people in Connecticut, Mississippi, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota and California. We've recently upgraded our membership to include Harvest Hosts, which are farms and businesses that allow self-contained RVs to park on their property in exchange for a purchase. 

Our lives have been enriched by the guests we've had stay with us. Twice we've had people come for a few days and end up staying for 5-6 weeks! Many become friends and some even feel like part of the family.

Hosting is great for homeschooling. It's an opportunity for them to introduce themselves and talk to people of all ages. My children learn so much from our guests. So far they've learned to play guitar, do acrobatics on arial silk, they've learned other languages like Hebrew, Spanish, German and in return they now give shows on the silk, teach others ukelele or participate in jam sessions with other musicians passing thru. I've showed many of them how to use the Merlin App to identify birds as they travel and eBird to keep track of what they've seen. We pick up tips on must-see destinations and share our own favorites in return. It's really a great way to connect with people and learn more about their lives. And it feels like we're on vacation when we light a campfire and spend an evening together chatting about travel and life.

When covid first hit, this wonderful couple, Natalia and Stefen, spent six months with us! 

We miss our Sunday discussions over pancakes and guitar lessons!

Journey gave this guest lessons in arial acrobatics and drawing after their yoga session. 

Journey has begun providing pet sitting for some of our guests.

This family from Israel stayed with us for 6 weeks while their truck was in the shop. It gave the girls plenty of time to bond over learning new skills. We were super sad when it came time for them to go.

aMaverick stayed for six weeks and became family. 💜

A jam session with two travelers. They let Journey try their mandolin and fiddle.

2021 {Year in Review}

Despite still living under the threat of COVID, we managed to have a pretty good year. Physical therapy for my shoulder finally ended, after 9 long months, and we were again free to travel. We took a six week trip north visiting Charleston’s historical forts and sites, then Ohio to see family for the first time in two years. We attended Twinfest again, but this time with friends (the Durens). Grandpa took us on our first fishing charter experience at Lake Erie. In the fall we returned to the Keys with the Gebbias, this time staying a full two weeks and reconnecting with the Logsdon family, who taught us to how to go “bugging” (AKA lobstering). Turns out Asher is quite good at it! He also caught a stingray, a crab and a 6ft shark! I was able to spend some time at the Curry Hammock Hawkwatch station with Luis and Mariah. Back at home Asher caught a SIX pound bass in the yard. I cleaned and cooked it, which was a bit traumatic for all of us, and though it was tasty, we decided catch and release is more for us. 

After our August 2020 accident, I really needed my parents. My mom ended up coming to visit for 3 weeks in November. I needed it so bad and was so happy to have her with us. We were able to heal some past hurts and talk about the future. She also took me to my ridiculous amount of appointments, which gave Daddy and the kids a break from sitting in parking lots waiting for me. We also spent a couple days visiting her cousin, Joni, in Dunedin. My dad came for a week in May. I was doing better by then, so we took him fishing, swimming at Silver Glen, and I treated him to a tram tour of Carney Island.

The kids tried new things: They created and ran a mobile coffee shop at two Crossfit events, where DJ Journey made her debut. We hand-fed tarpon in the Keys. They learned to dive at the pool on Joint Base Charleston, they tried (and love) frisbee golf, they learned to play cards with the adults (“the neighborly game”), and joined Crossfit the day they turned 10. It’s still shocking to me that they do the same workout as the adults! The kids attended summer camp where they learned to use bows and arrows safely and accurately and throw axes! Journey learned to play the ukelele. Despite four years of fulltime RVing, we had never had to shelter from a major storm, however while in Charleston, Tropical Storm Elsa, came thru and we ended up sheltering in a bathroom with 2 other families and their pets for an hour in our pajamas. Good times! 

We were invited to a special Veteran’s Day camping event in Sarasota where Asher won an all-ages fishing contest and brought home a $200 rod and reel! We also enjoyed a weekend of camping at Otter Springs with our ITEC friends. When I went to Sarasota for RRT, we stayed at Rambler’s Rest in Venice and went bowling with Uncle Eric. We went shark tooth hunting in the Peace River. Lisa’s family met us for a day at the beach while they were in town. The kids and I went to the bird banding station.

After my struggles with panic attacks and anxiety, I found RRT (Rapid Resolution Therapy) was a great way to painlessly process traumatic events and become free from those automatic post-traumatic stress responses and troubling thoughts. It helped me so much that I went thru the training to be able to help others with RRT. 

One of my favorite things that happened in 2021 is birding related. Go figure. I was leading walks for our local chapter and a woman attended two in one day, yes, two. She then began inviting me to bird with her and two other friends. I have had SO MUCH FUN with these three ladies over the last year! I am so thankful for Liz, Alice and Wendy for accepting me into their group. I have been hesitant to bird alone, but now I know I always have them to call, because they bird every. single. day! They are all excellent birders and we all learn a lot from each other. One other wonderful birding memory from this year was when my friend, Jim, called one day and asked me to come over quickly and bring my camera. He had found a rare bird. Like SUPER rare. The bird lives in South America! It caused quite a stir, not just locally, but across North America. Over time I heard it spoken about on podcasts and my photos were featured in a national magazine! 

In all we visited 4 national park sites:

Cuyahoga

Congaree

Ft Sumter

Ft Moultrie

5 state parks:

Hocking Hills

Silver Springs

Malabar Farm

Bahia Honda

Curry Hammock

The Joy of Fostering Puppies

Jan 2019

Asher and Journey have been wanting a dog again, but we aren't ready for that kind of commitment. Instead, we decided at Christmas to foster a pregnant black lab, named Ziva for the local Humane Society. They thought she wouldn't have her puppies for another month, but when we arrived home I noticed the puppies moving in her belly, which meant she was further along than they believed. Daddy built a box for her and we returned to pick up a baby pool to use as a birthing tub. In the early hours of New Years Eve, I awoke to a squeaking noise. The first puppy was born! I rushed to wake my children and we waited, and waited. An hour passed before the second puppy was born, but after that, they came rather quickly. Eight puppies in all! Asher and Journey documented the time, sex and distinguishing marks for each puppy. 

Ziva is an amazing mommy, she took care of her puppies and seemed to appreciate us jumping in to help. At 5 weeks the Humane Society came to our house and gave everyone their shots. (Later we learned this should have been done at 6 weeks.) By now the puppies were bounding thru the house. So fun and playful! Once they reached 8 weeks the kids said their tearful goodbyes and I drove all 8 puppies and Ziva back to the shelter. Upon arrival we found out the shots had been done too soon and they wanted us to keep the puppies for a couple more weeks. I just couldn't. As fun as they were, puppies are A LOT of work and I hadn't slept thru the night in those eight weeks. I cried as I walked away empty handed, without even a "thank you". While we didn't do it to be appreciated, it would have been nice. It was still a great experience for my family and we do hope to do it again in the future, though maybe not for the full eight weeks.

Note- If you are open to fostering a pregnant dog or cat, I'd encourage you to try it. Our Humane Society was asking for people to commit to 2-4 weeks, though it was clearly assumed we'd keep them for 8 weeks once we took her home. Be clear with your intentions. Do not let them vaccinate before 6 weeks.