Those Amazing Black Skimmers!

I am always thrilled when I come upon even a few of the amazing black skimmers, so imagine my delight when I stopped at the mud flats and saw hordes of them! At first they might be mistaken for sea gulls, standing there with their beautiful red-striped beaks tucked under their wings. 

But as you get closer, they pull their beaks out so that they can investigate. 

And soon it's clear to see that they aren't going to hang around. 

And away they go! 

And go . . .

And go!  

!

And, oh! The noise they make! 

I will not get to see their beautiful, synchronized flying today. 

If you want to see more pics of these beauties, just enter "black skimmers" into the search box. 

Those Friendly Cardinals

I haven't been feeling well (not Covid, but my regular health issues that I have dealt with for most of the last 35 years), so I have been sticking to the Walking trail close to home, rather than venturing out. 

Besides the buds, blooms, and blossoms popping up all over, there were more cardinals and woodpeckers out today, which made for a nice walk. 

I really like taking pictures of cardinals because they often seem to be looking right at me. 
It's so cute. I hope to see more. 

 

Pelicans Galore!

Since my first days here in the Rio Grande Valley, I have been hoping to get a good, close-up look at the pelicans. I have seen them fly in formation over the beach at South Padre Island and I have seem them playfully diving and surfing the waves near the Jetties, but they were always out of reach of my normally perfectly adequate Moto G camera.

Well, today I got my wish! I had my new camera (at least by my standards) with me when I ran to the post office on an errand, and I decided to walk the pier at Pirates' Landing before going home. It was cool, even with a jacket, but finding a large group of pelicans waiting for scraps of fish, I just had to stay long enough to get some long-awaited photos.

I didn't stay long, but it was a pure joy to watch the pelicans floating, flying, diving, landing, and fighting over scraps of fish. I love these last-minute adventures!