MONROVIN': Gators, Birds, and Snakes, Oh My!

This is the second of two posts that I added today to bring me up to date. I guess we’ve been having too much fun for me to keep up with my blog. ;-)

Tuesday, we went to The South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, which is one of nine World Birding sites located within the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The center includes over 4800 linear feet of bayfront boardwalk with 7 bird blinds. Before we went outside, we watched a documentary film about the wildlife of South Padre Island and then went to the top of the five story tower to see the spectacular views of Laguna Madre, the Gulf, and the island. The highlight of the day was the two or three hours we spent outside on the boardwalk, where we were able to closely observe many of the island birds. (Click on images to enlarge)

The one and only resident alligator

Willet with winter plumage

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

Gadwall ducks

Little Blue Heron

Ring-billed Gull

Black-necked Stilt

Laughing Gulls

Greater Yellowleg

Female and Male Northern Pintail

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tri-colored Heron

American White Pelican

Roseate Spoonbill and Ibis

Brown Pelican

Reddish Egret

Ibis

American Coot

Wednesday was a beautiful day for a bike ride, so we packed a lunch and rode down to the beach. We walked out to the end of the jetty, hoping to eat our lunch there while we watched the dolphins at play. When the waves began crashing over the spot where we were going to sit, having lunch on the jetty lost its appeal! We were much happier staying dry and eating our lunch at the park pavilion on the beach. We saw this Great Blue Heron drying his wings on the sand dune.

Great Blue Heron

I had bought much of Abi’s birthday gift when we were in Mexico, but there were still a few things that I wanted to add to the package before I mailed it. There aren’t any department stores on South Padre Island, so we went to Brownsville after lunch on Thursday. When I made my purchase, the girl didn’t put it in a bag. She just laid it on the counter with the receipt. When I asked if I could have a bag, she told me that bags aren’t provided at any store in Brownsville. We didn’t think about it when we went in Walmart to pick up a few things later. There were plastic Walmart bags on the wheel at the end of the counter and Ron started to bag the few items we bought. The cashier quickly told him that it would cost him a dollar to use the plastic bags rather than using our own. We carried our things out in our arms instead. What a great way to get us to remember to use our shopping bags! After a few shopping trips in Brownsville, I might actually develop the habit of taking my bags into the store with me!

Our friends in Harlingen called for us to meet them for dinner at El Papas Friday evening. We ordered the shrimp special again, but managed to keep our appetites under control this time.

Connie and Charlie invited us to go with them to the Rotary Club Winter Texan Fish Fry at Schlitterbahn (water park) on Saturday. Bob and Barbara went with us, too. The cost was only $7.50 apiece for the meal and 4 hours of live music. Barbara won a door prize and went home with several bottles of wine! Later that evening we went to our park’s Rec Center to hear The Lindley Creek Family, from Lebanon, MO, perform. Our park has entertainment every Saturday night and the admission fee is only $5.

Eating breakfast at Manuel’s was a regular event for us the last time we wintered at SPI. We went there with friends every Sunday morning before going to church. We overslept last Sunday morning, so we went there for a late breakfast instead. It’s a popular place to eat, so we had to wait in line until a table was available. We ordered our favorite breakfast taco with eggs, ham, cheese, refried beans, potatoes, avocado slices, and pico de gallo on a homemade tortilla. We knew it was the first visit for the people at the next table when they each ordered a taco of their own. It was fun to watch their faces when their breakfast was served. Manuel’s tacos are served on large dinner plates and are so large that they hang over the edge of the plate! Ron and I always share a taco, and it’s still more than I can eat!

Ron's HALF of the breakfast taco covered a large dinner plate!

After breakfast we went to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. It is a premier bird watching destination because it is the northernmost range of several tropical species and because two major migratory flyways converge there. The refuge is also home to the majority of the remaining ocelots in the U.S. and serves as the national center for ocelot conservation and recovery. We didn’t see as much wildlife as we expected, but I suspect it was because all of the ponds and small lakes along the two tour roads were dry from the lack of rain. Below are pictures of some of the birds and animals that we saw while we were there.