Padre Island National Seashore

My last trip to Padre Island National Seashore was two years ago when I picked up my Senior Pass. How time flies. It was a cloudy overcast day but you take what you can get.

Three different groups of people have lived on Padre Island....first the Coahuiltecans centuries ago in small settlements, then the Spanish Explorers during the 1600 and 1700's, and finally the Cattlemen used the land for grazing until the 1970s when oil was discovered.

Padre Island preserves the coastal prairie habitat along with the longest section of undeveloped barrier island in the world. It is comprised of grasslands, dunes, beaches, and scattered ephemeral marshes and ponds.

Once I checked into the National Seashore, my next stop was Bird Island Basin. What a surprise!

I thought there was only one campground in the seashore. There are no hookups but what a view.

Many people had a special reason for coming to this beach. They were here to windsurf or kayak on Laguna Madre. There is a rental shop if you need one. There are also primitive restrooms, no showers. Looks like a group of people taking lessons.

Success!

This is the campground I knew about. Again, there are no hook-ups so people have solar and generators for power. There were some open spots but there were quite a few campers with all different kinds of rigs.

Just in case you were wondering, there is lots going on at Padre.

You can also get a permit and camp right on the beach.

Lots of people fishing wherever you go.

Padre Island is also famous for Kemp's Ridley Turtles.

Right-of-way directions for driving on the beach.

There was an interesting poster on how debris ends up on the island. Looks like it comes from every direction.....

but there is regular clean-up in addition to special events.

This is the the staging area for the clean-up. There were lots of people there to help. I saw them bringing back trailers full of bagged debris.

This is the hub of activities here on the Seashore.

There are always birding tours going on, walks set up to learn about the beach, etc.

Fishing poles for the ocean are longer than other poles so people have unique ways to carry them.

So, even though it was a very overcast, slightly cool day, we enjoyed our time at the Padre Island National Seashore.

National Butterfly Center in Mission TX

Today the sun made an appearance early and warmed the day up so we decided to visit the National Butterfly Center in Mission TX. One thing you have to remember about the Valley is that there are a string of towns and small cities in a row so it isn't that far from one place to another. Sometimes you don't even know when you are in the next town.

First stop is inside to pay the admission fee and then to check out the merchandise for sale. They have all kinds of beautiful T-Shirts with butterfly and bird prints on them. They also have ones that start out white with black outlines of various scenes, flowers, birds, butterflies, etc., but get them in the sun and they morph into beautifully colored scenes. They also have jewelry, aprons, cards, etc. You'll want to take a look for sure because they also have all kinds of information about butterflies and their life cycles. You also learn to tell the difference between butterflies and moths and it isn't necessarily their colors.

We stepped outside to the garden next to the building. Although this winter has been chillier than normal, we still found some pretty flowers.

Then we hopped back into the car and drove back further back on the property and parked.

We wandered over to the bird feeding area. This photo is a little close up so you can't see the whole bath but it is a rock balancing on another rock. The water flows into it along the branch you can see over it.....very natural and unique looking.  There are trees all around this area with half oranges and grapefruit stuck into branches for the birds. Surrounding the area are benches and picnic tables so you can sit and quietly watch all the birds flitting through this feeding area.  There were also seeds on the ground for the smaller birds and a feeder hanging from a tree. It was beautiful and very peaceful with only the sounds of the birds since there weren't a lot of people there.

This red squirrel stopped by for a drink.

Great Kiskadees are a treat for bird watchers who visit south Texas....they have a boisterous attitude and coloring:  a black bandit's mask, a yellow belly, and flashes of warm reddish-brown when they fly. They like to sit out in the open and attract your attention with "kis-ka-dee" calls and short flights.  Birdie said they were very rare when she started birding in the early 90s.

Green Jay......initially I thought I was seeing another green parrot when it flew over because it is very green underneath and I'm such a novice.  Green Jays are colorful  tropical birds found primarily in Mexico and South America making its way into the United States in southern Texas. They are beautiful.

We also saw a number of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers.

Look at this big guy! He was about two feet long.

He was moving around and stopped long enough to pose for me.

The butterflies were few and far between on this day.....still a little cool (about 60) and windy. I bet they will be out in force with the warm week in the 70s and 80s we have coming up.

Another nice little shady area to take a break.

There were more of the tiny butterflies.

And a bee feeding on the nectar as well.

Mockingbird

Another Kisskadee....they really are beautiful.

Golden fronted woodpecker.

Four Cattle Egrets flew in as a crew and settled down to strut around the area as well. They look like chickens when they walk.

You really have to see this sign......

in order to "see" this unique sculpture.  Otherwise you get caught up in looking at the individual tires.

We had a wonderful time at the National Butterfly Center.  One day I want to come back when there are a lot of butterflies flitting around but this visit was nice as well.