Tuesday,
March 20, 2012
From the sound of the wind all
night long at the Bolivar Peninsula RV Park, it seemed like a good
day to move on. On the other hand, weather like this brings to shore
pelagic (ocean-going) birds that normally stay out at sea and other
birds not normally in the area. So, we did both – moved on and did
some bird watching.
The rain began early, the
thunder and lightening started as we drove southwest toward Port
Bolivar to catch the ferry to Galveston Island. We wondered at the
wisdom of crossing the five miles of water leading from the Gulf of
Mexico to East Bay north of Bolivar Peninsula, West Bay north of
Galveston Island, becoming thereafter Trinity Bay, then Galveston
Bay. What we did know is that the ferry workers had lots of
experience with weather along the north gulf coast in Texas, and they
would decide whether or not it was safe to cross. It appeared that
we arrived at the ferry terminal just as a ferry was unloading cars
coming from Galveston, indicating that we would be leaving shortly.
That might have happened if the vehicle two cars in front of us
didn't have a dead battery and wasn't going anywhere soon. In the
driving rain, with lightening and thunder all around, we waited for
the ferry to unload. Then we waited for the other lane of traffic to
load onto the ferry. When it was our turn, it became apparent our
lane was not moving. That's when we learned of the dead battery in
the car ahead of us in line.
At this point I feel duty bound
to recognize the ferry worker who weathered the storm getting
drenched while moving back and forth along the line of waiting cars,
all with dry passengers, to sort out the mess and get the ferry
loaded. He should have been paid double for working in those
conditions.
All of the cars in our lane
behind the stalled car had to back up along the concrete curbing in
order to change lanes and proceed to the ferry. This means the last
in line became the first to board. Which also meant we missed the
boat. The good news, Laughing Gulls and Brown Pelicans were all over
the place. The gulls along the edge of the dock looked like so many
tourists waiting to dodge the next wave that broke over the wall.
We did make it across on the
next ferry second in line to get off on the other side. Galveston
looks nothing like Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula. This is a
big city, a resort town. The difference in appearance between
Galveston and Bolivar is money, I am quite sure. If Hurricane Ike
hit both island and peninsula equally three-and-one-half years ago,
then Galveston wasted no time in rebuilding. This is a vibrant,
busy, commercial city. Crystal Beach, on the other hand, appears to
be someplace spring break happens and weekend bungalows are kept.
Galveston is a city where people live and work. Tourism appears to
be Galveston's number one industry, with fishing a close second
behind oil, which built the island. Crystal Beach and Bolivar
Peninsular appear not to have recovered very quickly from Hurricane
Ike, and tourism most likely takes a second seat next to fishing for
shrimp and crab.
We drove the length of the
island to the Galveston Island State Park where we will camp for two
nights. After setting up our trailer, we explored the park for
birds. The park spans the width of the island at the west end, not a
very long span since the island is long and narrow. We had a choice
of surf side or bay side for camping. Not a hard choice for us.
Which side is best for birding? The bay side. That's where we
landed.
As we drove to the various
birding areas in the park, we saw five new birds for our life list,
four of them we had been hoping to see: Neo-Tropic Cormorant,
Black-Bellied Whistling Duck, Reddish Egret, and Redheaded Ducks (f),
all water birds of one kind or another. The fourth was a Savannah
Sparrow, a little bitty passerine, or perching bird. While we did
not have the kind of Big Day we had on Sunday, we were still mighty
pleased with the eighteen species of birds we did see, which included
Forster's Tern, Roseate Spoonbill (look this one up online to see
what a wonder this bird is), Tri-colored Heron, Pied-Billed Grebe (a
first for this year), three Loggerhead Shrikes (firsts for this
year), and another White-Tailed Kite.
After a nap which ran way too
late in the evening, we awoke to cook up the fresh shrimp we bought
in town with a little garlic and ate it served over brown rice with
tomato and avocado on the side. Mmm-mmm good. Now we need to stay
awake until way, way too late to digest before sleeping. That's when
typing a blog is a good way to spend the time.
Until next time...
Pam
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