Bolivar Peninsula, June 2018

My first day on the Gulf Coast was terrific, and I saw wonderful things at places I'd never visited before -- Brazoria NWR and the Texas City Dike.  The second day had me returning to some familiar spots along the Bolivar Peninsula.

The Willets were out on Bolivar Flats.  I was fortunate to get one in warm golden light...

... and another in silhouette.

At the curve from State Highway 124 onto State Highway 87 stands a cross erected in gratitude that Hurricane Ike spared the area in 2008.  It looked wonderfully dramatic with storm clouds in the distance and waves crashing on the shore.

Next stop was the Smith Oaks Audubon Sanctuary.  It was my first morning visit, and it was quickly obvious why I was the only one there.  The rookery is backlit in the morning, and most of the birds are obscured by shadows.

These three juvenile Great Egrets reminded me of what happens after you take a nice family picture and then tell your children, "OK, now we can take a silly one!"

A young Roseate Spoonbill looks expectantly at its parent, hoping for a meal I don't believe it was going to get.

It looks like it's about time for these kids to move out and stop sponging off Mom and Dad.

The cormorants seemed to be wondering why their landings weren't as graceful as that of this Great Egret.

Not my best visit to the peninsula in terms of the images I was able to capture.  But the Bolivar Peninsula is like pizza -- even when it's "bad" it's pretty darn good.