Day 2, Crested Caracara immature / Caracara cheriway, Rockport, Texas, US

The Crested Caracara is one of my favourite birds to see and photograph, and we were so lucky that this one was perched in a bare tree close to the road. Wish we had them up here in Alberta : ) This one is brown rather than black, so I am guessing it is an immature bird.

Just added 9 more photos this morning, still from Day 2 of our 13-day trip to South Texas. Another 3 or 4 images and I will be ready to start on Day 3, our second full day in South Texas. A day on a tiny boat, watching Whooping Cranes and other species. Having posted so many images from basically our first full day, I rather think I will have to be somewhat more 'disciplined" in my choices, or I will never finish : ) Had hoped to finish Day 2 today - almost there.

Later morning, on Day 2 of our holiday, 20 March 2019, after our drive to The Big Tree and then along the Lamar Beach Road area, we went to the Connie Hagar Cottage Sanctuary. This is a small, 6.25 acre nature sanctuary that exists in Rockport itself. Such a peaceful place to wander, watching for plants and butterflies as well as birds. There is a small pond, where we watched a young White Ibis, a Great Egret and a Snowy Egret all feeding together. Lovely to see their reflections in the water, too. A couple of nights ago, I was Googling and came across an article from 19 March 2019, telling about a group of students who chose to spend their Spring Break week helping to tidy the Sanctuary. Good for them!

"The Connie Hagar Cottage Sanctuary is a mixture of oak motte and native grasses. This is the original location of the famed Rockport Cottages, operated by Connie and Jack Hagar. Mrs. Hagar moved to Rockport in 1935 and devoted her life to documenting birdlife in the Rockport area." From link below.

aransaspathways.com/connie-hagar-cottage-sanctuary/

After spending some time at this Sanctuary, we went to the Aransas First Cove Harbor Wetlands Sanctuary, followed by eventually finding the Newbury Park Hummingbird Garden. This was definitely not what we were expecting - just a small area of grass and trees with picnic tables. However, we did see a beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly and a small, purple Winecup flower. Afterwards, a repeat drive along Cape Velero Drive and area turned up some nice birds, too.