After a so-so day of looking for migrant passerines at South Padre Island, I decided to run up to Beach Access #4 and look for interesting stuff for iNaturalist. I wandered around the dunes a bit and photographed a few well camoflaged Keeled Earless Lizards and then walked along the beach.
There were a few feeding Piping Plovers and Sanderlings along the water's edge.
This Sanderling has found something good. I thinks it's an isopod known as a sand flea. Fishermen like to use them for bait.
A couple walking ahead of me scared up a flock of shorebirds. At the time I thought they were probably Sanderlings.
I continued photographing the Piping Plovers and Sanderlings and then just in front of me I found the flock of "Sanderlings" hunkered down in the sand out of the wind. Except they weren't Sanderlings. It was a big flock of Piping Plovers. I counted them twice and came up with a total of seventy. Piping Plover is a threatened species with a world population estimated to be about 8000 as of 2020. This flock would be of the midwestern subspecies. Recent habitat protection programs have helped increase their numbers but it's tough when you're outnumbered by 8.2 billion jackass humans.
There were a few warblers at the Convention Center water feature. Best was this Magnolia Warbler.
Here's a Nashville Warbler showing it's usally hidden rusty crown.
Winter birds are on the way with Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned Warblers.
Lincon's Sparrows are showing up.
Still waiting fort a real cold front to push down the last of the migrants.
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