Birding at High Island

I have neglected this old blog, which is a shame because it's our family's photographic record and memory keeper. This pandemic year has been tough, but I've still been taking photos and I plan to go back and upload them and fill out the memories the best I can. After all, 2020 and 2021 are years that really shouldn't be forgotten!

In the meantime, we went birding at High Island today, which is one of our favorite spring events. Each year, hundreds and hundreds of birds nest at High Island, and it is the most spectacular sight. We've made the pilgrimage to High Island every year for years, and it is always a highlight of our spring.

We invited my parents to join us. We hadn't seen them in over a year, and being outdoors with masks and traveling in separate cars (plus vaccines!) made it feel like a safe way to spend time together. I'm so glad they could join us!

The birds are always a highlight, but the Houston Audubon Society has made some updates to the facilities, including a brand new skywalk, which is amazing! Check out these beautiful great egrets:

We saw a lot of babies too, but they were tiny because it is still so early in the season.

The trees are just full of birds!

The roseate spoonbills are some of my favorites. 

More great egrets

We also saw a lot of tricolored herons. We saw ONE last year and the guide told us it was unusual, but these year, we must have seen at least ten. They are gorgeous birds.

Nest building

More babies

We ended our outing with a .7 mile loop around Grackle Pond, where we saw many more birds as well as a lot of turtles. 

The Houston Audubon Sanctuaries at High Island are amazing places to visit in April. Each year, I am so thankful that these incredible places exist less than 90 minutes from the heart of Houston. 

March 2021 Recap

Once again, I am looking back at photos and writing about our memories from a distance -- this post is for March 2021, but I'm writing in September.  

Here's a peek into our March:

I was the first in our family to get a Covid-19 vaccine. As soon as teachers were eligible, I signed up! I can't tell you what a relief it was to get my first dose of the vaccine and to know that I had some protection. (As I write this in September, it is absolutely mind-boggling the number of people who refuse to get vaccinated and thus prolong the pandemic.)

March in Texas is usually beautiful. We have been exploring new-to-us parks, and we headed east to the J.J. Mayes Trace Park, on the Trinity River. It was a really beautiful spot and we saw lots of water birds. 

We ate a picnic lunch surrounded by these beautiful oak trees.

We then drove over the river and stopped at the Trinity River Waterbird Rookery.

Even though we had just spent the previous day outside, Henry and I went to the Arboretum the next day. It was another gorgeous day, and the goats were back!

Kitten love

Henry was having a foggy day and stayed home sick the day before spring break. It wasn't Covid (thank goodness) and he just needed some extra rest. Homemade chicken noodle soup (made by Gene) helped!

Gene did some boat shopping. This is the one we ended up purchasing in April.

Fish for dinner

And then it was spring break! This was our second spring break without a vacation, but it just didn't feel safe to travel. We were tourists in Houston, instead. We visited the new building at the MFAH one day, and it was spectacular!

More kitten love

We tried another new park -- Dr. Ned and Fay Dudney Clear Creek Nature Center in League City. It was a small park but perfect for a quick morning outing.

We went back to Seabrook -- always one of our favorite hikes.

We had heard about a great waffle place, but the wait was super long, so we just grabbed sandwiches at Kroger and ate at one of the many parks in Seabrook. Seabrook has tons of pelican sculptures and they're so fun!

Gene and Henry helped a friend raise a mast on his sailboat. 

We all trekked west to the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge. It's a quiet, uncrowded prairie refuge with a few miles of trails.

Lunch time!

Henry's 13th birthday was over spring break. We started the day with Shipley's donuts.

 

And then he went to Nana and Pop's to get his present.

It's his very own sextant!

More presents!

Some crazy cat antics

Henry got the game Fluxx for his birthday, and it's wild because the rules are always changing. 

Sushi for dinner

And Crave cupcakes for dessert

Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Our azaleas bloomed late because of the February freeze, so they were in full bloom for Henry's birthday.

And then it was back to school! I had a huge order of books come in, which was very exciting!

Gene made sweet bread -- yum!

And I'll leave you with this picture of Will and Ruby. We were heading off on our evening walk, when Ruby realized that we had left Gene at home. She literally refused to continue on the walk without him, so we had to turn back and get him!

That's it for March 2021!