April on SPI, then heading home! April 18

Saturday April 1: After breakfast we took one more trip to Estero Llano Grande SP for a 2 hour walk before returning to the house to complete our packing.  We left Moon Lake at about 10:45, stopping at a few of our favorite places before getting to SPI.  We stopped at a few of our favorite places before checking in at the Tiki Condominiums at 4:00 pm.  

Another Cane Toad!

Northern Parula

Its a cute little place, (little compared to Moon Lake).

time for dinner.. we walked the beach to Bar Louie at the Marriott next door.  The beach was packed!

Sunday April 2:  We walked to the convention center, there was a Jam happening this weekend!  We got there early enough that the "noise" did not begin until after we left.  Warblers are just trickling in...

Lunch at Nautica, fish and shrimp was pretty good.

Hot and humid makes for a fun pool day.. this pool is a bit larger than the one on Moon Lake!  It is also heated to about 90 deg!  

Monday we headed to Laguna Atascosa NWLR before the rains come later this week.  On the way we stopped at a few favorite places and of course ran into friends.  It took us a lot longer than  we expected as we talk too much?  Oh well, it's fun chatting about birds.  We were planning on stopping in Port Isabel for a bite but...  there was a very rare bird across the street from our condo!  So of course we headed over there.  The poor Surfbird was just hanging around, wondering where the hell it was..  This bird is only found along the west coast from South Chile to Alaska.  Somehow it was pushed off course. 

We did go back across the causeway to the Hopper Haus for a beer and a bite.  

Oops we ate all the cheese curds before taking a picture!  they were just OK, nothing special but we were really hungry!

The bratwurst was pretty good

We thought we might check out the temp of the gulf..  it was a bit cooler than the pool, but not too bad.  Lots of people in the water and enjoying a good time

Tuesday on the Island: another beautiful day a bit too windy.  the walk to the convention center is our 

favorite in the morning.  

A maintenance man needed a bit of help loading a porta potty onto the truck.  Of course Eric helped his new friend with the project!  It was a bit windy so the job required 2 people not 1.  

Ran into a few birders looking for the rare Surfbird.  

Margaritaville opened last Thursday on the south end of the island.  We went there for a drink and an appetizer.  Nice outdoor seating, good service and pretty good homemade chips with cheese and bacon!  We then went to Dirty Al's for New Orleans shrimp.  It was really good, just shrimp no bread, fries etc.  perfect for us after eating the appetizer.  

April 4: Least Bittern!  this bird is one of our nemesis birds!  But we got it!!!

April 5 off to the boat ramp by the Bahia Grande in the morning.  of course we stopped a few times before arriving there!  Tide was pretty high so not too many shore birds.  We did find a few warblers at the convention center.  The wind has been out of the south, but change is coming..  hopefully tonight the wind will come out of the north so we can get a fall out...  Dinner was at Kelly's Irish bar.  good shrimp and good service.

American Oystercatcher

April 6, the wind switched to the north and the rain came in last night.  Lots of people showed up at the convention center to find the birds that had dropped down when the front came in.  Well there were more people than birds!  Not sure why the birds have not come in yet!  We did get a few new year birds but not many.  Lunch at Joe's Oyster Bar in Port Isabel, wonderful shrimp and fish.  

Clapper Rail

Black Chinned Hummingbird

Yellow-Headed Blackbird

Friday April 7: our final full day in the RGV and on SPI.  woke up to rain that stopped by 8:00 am.  Oh my, the birders were out in full force.  But again today, not too many new birds showed up.  By afternoon we seen a lot more birds but mostly the same species.  Where are the migrants??  

Summer Tanager

Great Blue Heron eating a fish

Lesser Nighthawk

Black-throated Green Warbler

Blue Winged Warbler

Padre Island Kangaroo Rat

Well the birds are not in Birchwood yet!

Lunch at Los Tortugas in Port Isabel.  Seafood Caldo and grilled Black Drum was on our table.  Oh so good!  And being Good Friday it was really packed!  

Saturday April 8:  we head off the Island on the way to Beesville, 215 miles.  of course we stopped a few times, including on the island.  we finally left the island at 10:30.  A lot of birds showed up, we missed a few but was on a time line so...  We stopped at a few places to stretch our legs, including Lake Corpus SP.  The park was packed with campers. We arrived at the hotel by 4:30, dinner at Sammy's Beer and Burgers.  good food, good service and outdoor dining!  It was a perfect way to end our first day on the road. 

Hooded Warbler

We left Cameron County at #3, that will change quickly but not too bad for us as we lived in Hidalgo County where we ended up at #4!

Sunday Happy Easter: off to Waco for two nights.  We left the hotel at 7:30 for our 240 mile drive. We stopped at Mitchell Wildlife for a nice walk and some good birding.  A few more stops before arriving at Hampton Inn in Waco at 4:30. Dinner at Logan's Roadhouse. Our drive was not too bad except through Austin.  Crazy drivers..  We had a cloudy sky with temps in the low 70's, little wind.  

Monday April 10: Birded around Waco, few new places, few old places..  Not too much activity but a few new year birds to add to the list.  Weather was pretty good, a bit cloudy, 73 deg.  We went to the Army Corp of Engineers beach area.  It was closed to beach goers but open to us.  We were the only people there!  Great place to walk around.  Dinner at Old Chicago for pizza.  Lots and lots of Bluebonnets are in the fields.  They really smell so good. 

took us until April 10 to make the Top 100 in the Lower 48!

Tuesday off to Pauls Valley OK, 230 miles. We left the hotel at 7:15, weather clear, no wind, temp 50 deg.  We stopped a few times to walk etc.  Lunch at Buc-ee's!  great brisket, ok pulled pork sandwiches. We crossed the border into Oklahoma around 2:00 with 72 miles to go.   A quick stop at Win Star to donate a few $.  Arrived at the Hampton Inn at 4:00.  Dinner at Punkin's BBQ and Catfish.  The catfish melted in our mouths!  The ribs were good too.

Wednesday: 220 miles to Andover/Wichita KS.  We drove 20 miles for our first stop...  1.45 hours later we drove 40 miles to our next stop.  10 miles to the third stop and 5 miles to our 4th stop.  Will we actually get to our hotel by night fall?  We drove a bit father for the next 145 miles with only 2 more stops... arriving at the Home2 Suites at 3:45. The further north we go the lack of leaves on trees are very apparent.  Grass is brown, not lush and green, some trees have buds with the beautiful spring green color.   Luckily we have left over fish for dinner as we are tired from driving...  

OKC Capital 

A Canada Goose and a Cackling Goose..  they look the same but the Cackling is much smaller

Thursday April 13: Another beautiful but windy day in the Mid West.  Seems like Kansas and Oklahoma are always windy when we pass through.  

It's difficult to keep the scope from moving in the strong winds.  

I found a friend in the woods that needed a M&M!  he was just hanging around

this guy called me over for a bite too!  He wanted the whole bag!

Our neighbor sent this picture today.  the snow is melting!

it just so happens that Roberta and John Gaskill were traveling south to Texas as we are traveling north.  We were staying about 20 miles apart, met up for dinner in Haysville.  How fun was that!

Friday April 14:  off to Liberty Mo, 200 miles.  We left the hotel at 7:15, arriving at our hotel at 3:15.  We stopped a few times at some new parks.  Ted Ensley Gardens in Topeka was in full bloom.  

Dinner at 54th Street Bar and Grill.  the food was really good, we were able to sit outside, a brief rain storm hit just before our food showed up.  we moved into the covered area of the patio.  

Thunderstorm hit about 1:30 am with hail!  We expected to dodge raindrops all day but lucked out.  We left the hotel at 7:30, went to a few parks. One nature center we met Michael, a high school kid.  He chased us down and spent an hour birding with us.  He only has about 30 birds in his life list, we gave him a few more.  His camera battery died as we were walking, he instructed us to stay put and he would be right back....  He ran up and back...

At another place, We met some guys that had locked their keys in the truck... gave them a hand then some people asked if we were Moral hunting!  I wish...    We generally practice avoidance but not today!

the weather started out to be a nice day but by 10:00 the cold front came in with the NW winds.  Glad we did not wear our shorts today.  After a much needed nap we went for dinner at 3 Halves Brewery and BBQ.  It was in the older part of Liberty, nice old building.  The food was amazing!  Ribs, Burnt Ends and Brisket.  of course way too much food so we had to take some back for tomorrows dinner!

our room is smaller than we care for but after rearranging the furniture its almost like home! And yes I bring my blanket into the hotel rooms just for this reason!

Sunday April 16:  oh the weather has changed and not for the better. Looks like snow is in our future!  We leave today for Ankeny Iowa, just north of Des Moines. We pulled out our winter clothes for the next few days...    When we left the hotel the weather was ok.  we stopped at Wallace SP for a nice walk and a few new year birds before heading out of Missouri.  We ran into rain/snow just near the border into Iowa. 

We made a lunch stop at the Lakeview Casino in Oseola. the wind and snow was getting pretty bad..  Won a few $ and had a nice lunch.

A bit further up the road the snow came down pretty hard.

We made one more stop to look for the Smith's Longspur and found a few!  Arriving at the Hampton Inn in Ankeny at 3:30.  Dinner in the room, last nights leftovers...

Monday April 17: 225 miles to Eagan MN.  temp this morning in Ankeny is 35 with windchill at 24!  who called for this cold front??  Although a very sunny day the wind was ferocious.  We went for a walk at Ada Hayden's park and almost could not get back to the car as the wind was so strong.  Driving was not too fun either..  We stopped for a quick donation to Diamond Jo's casino.  Eric won!  Under $100 but he Never wins...  

We stopped to see Jenny, Todd and Hanna before getting to our hotel.  We planned on having left overs but this Hampton Inn does not have microwaves in the room!  We have see a few new ones that don't but this is not a new property.  Oh well, we went next door for a nice salad and pizza.  it's all good.

Tuesday April 18: 126 more miles to HOME!  Looking forward to being home again.  Our weather should be good, sunny, slight wind and around 50 deg.

Trumpeter Swans

Pelican's on Rice Lake. Never seen their head feathers up... 

after a few stops including groceries we are HOME

No snow!  the birds, squirrels and deer came by to say hello.  A bit of trouble getting the TV and Sirius on the Silverado set up but its all good now..  

Merganser like our dock...

Our Sandhill Cranes are back!  they always beat us home..  Papa remembered the routine, following Eric to the garage for some corn!