I'm still warming up for my big summer trips to Colorado and Cape Cod. After a couple of afternoon photo excursions close to home I decided to make an overnight visit to the Galveston area where I've gotten some great bird shots in the past. First stop: the Texas City Dike.
I find the dike a great example of nature's adaptability. An entirely manmade structure that hosts a great diversity of wading birds like Tricolored Herons ...
... Yellow-crowned Night-Herons ...
I spotted a Tricolored Heron making its way toward me down the shore, so I remained in place in hopes of seeing some behavior. I was rewarded with some little wing-aided hops as it approached.
The bird's leisurely pace gave the appearance of flight right at eye level, and at a slower pace which allowed me to capture sharp images at a lower shutter speed.
When it wasn't hopping the little hunter took very dainty steps looking for food. I only saw it make one catch when it was still too far away for a great photo, but I'm glad it had some success!
The Brown Pelicans were more skittish than I recalled from my previous visit. I struggled to get close enough for good pictures without them flying off.
I saw lots of Laughing Gulls and actually didn't realize this was one in different plumage until iNaturalist told me so.
Someone had very intentionally set this little broken pig figurine next to a trash can. Guardian? Offering? There's a story here ...
I love how much white plumage is on the head of this Great Blue Heron. Juvenile, maybe?
I didn't see the same variety of species or overall quantity of birds on the dike as I had on my first visit back in 2018. But I still got a solid collection of shots in the 90 minutes I was there!
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