Tony Amos Beach 2018-09-29
On 9/29/2018 starting at 12:19 PM I drove 7.4 miles in about 2.5 hours on the Port Aransas beach, starting at Access Road 1 and stopping at Access Road 2. This is Tony Amos' old survey route. I only counted birds, photographing a few. Here's my complete eBird list.
Highlights
11 Common Terns, in a mixed group of terns and gulls about 1 mile south of Access Road 1. Here's one of them:
UPDATE: I did see a group of Common Terns, but several birding colleagues have pointed out that this bird is actually a first-year Least Tern.
A little further south in a group of about 20 Red Knots, 4 were banded. I photographed the banded birds, with all but one having codes on the flag bands mostly legible. See attached observations. I counted 67 Red Knots in total.
I found 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, far apart from each other. See attached observations. Here's one of them:
About 2 miles south of Access Road 1, a Peregrine Falcon flew by heading south over the beach carrying a bird that it caught that looked like it might've been an American Coot. Much further down, maybe 6 miles from Access Road 1, I saw a Peregrine flying out over the surf chasing terns or gulls. I got a few distant photos.
I counted 27 Piping Plovers and photographed 7 banded ones. See attached observations.
I counted 351 Sanderlings, including this small group of resting birds. There was also a group of about 100 birds resting, which I narrowly avoided scaring into flight. Before I noticed them I got too close and caused about half of them to walk away from the group closer to the water. Here's the smaller group of sleeping birds:
Snowy Plovers were few and far between. I counted only 5, including these two using seaweed as a wind-break:
And here are the same photos on Flickr.
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Two Snowy Plovers resting behind seaweed, using it as a wind break.
Photos / Sounds
What
Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
These are poor, heavily cropped photos of a Peregrine Falcon chasing birds out over the water.
Photos / Sounds
What
Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Resting behind seaweed.
Photos / Sounds
What
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Band: 2S0
Photos / Sounds
What
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Band: 2R3
Photos / Sounds
What
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Sanderling (Calidris alba)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
On Texas beaches, Sanderlings are usually seen in constant motion. It was so fun to find this group sleeping.
Photos / Sounds
What
Taranui (Caspian Tern) (Hydroprogne caspia)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Band: S72
Photos / Sounds
What
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Band: 8N2
Photos / Sounds
What
Lesser Knot (Calidris canutus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Band: OM1
Photos / Sounds
What
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Band: 9G2
Photos / Sounds
What
Lesser Knot (Calidris canutus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Lesser Knot (Calidris canutus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Band: 249
Photos / Sounds
What
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Lesser Knot (Calidris canutus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Band: 270
Photos / Sounds
What
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
Photos / Sounds
What
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)Observer
mikaelbDescription
Taken on the Port Aransas beach, between Access Road 1 and Access Road 2.
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