K and I made an overnight trip with Delta down to the central coast. First, this gave me a chance to see Corpus. We drove through downtown and then stopped for lunch. Next, we came up Padre Island, stopping at Mustang Island S.P. There were a good mix of shorebirds including Willet, Ruddy Turnstone and Sanderling, whose quick forays on rapid fire legs entertained the other bi-peds.
The wind created some harsh currents, so we just walked along the beach. Delta must have felt comfortable, because she readily trotted into the water. This obviously left her caked in salt and sand, so she got a quick bath before we headed out for Aransas Pass. I had never come from this direction, so I had my first ride on the ferry that connects Port Aransas (Port A) with the mainland.
We dropped our things and then set out to find a kayak rental. The wind was terrible, but we thought it was worth a shot. We passed a place advertising kayaks, knocked on the door and the guy seemed happy anyone wanted to be on the water. For $15, we had a kayak for 2 hours. Paddling was incredibly difficult, and K was saddled with a sit-on-top. I would have switched, but Delta was seated between my legs, and I didn't know whether that would actually be more treacherous. Nonetheless, any time on the water is good time, though Delta was again wet, salty and sandy.
On Sunday, we headed over to Aransas NWR. On the way, I noticed a tern kiting along the roadside. This justifiably raised my hopes and after a U-turn, I was able to know Gull-billed Tern off my list. While the rest of the state had been virtually inundated the past few months (Brazos County was officially out of drought stage), the coast had seen none of the precipitation. As a result, the alligators were largely absent, very few marsh birds were around and the mosquitos were unbearable. We did not stay long, which is a shame since Aransas is one of my favorite spring spots for nature.
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