WHO: Two pairs of whooping cranes, one of the world’s most endangered birds.
WHAT: The animals are laying eggs in Texas on private land in Jefferson and Chambers counties, east of Houston for the first time since the late 1800s.
WHY IT’S SO GREAT: Every fall, the world’s last self-sustaining migratory flock of wild whooping cranes descends on the marshes of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. One of only two crane species native to North America, the whooping crane is the continent’s tallest and rarest bird: five feet high with crisp white feathers, a red-capped head, and a ratcheting, mournful call. The wild flock’s 506 birds spend the winter in the 115,000-acre refuge, fattening up on blue crabs, clams, and fish, before traveling back to northern Canada to breed.
WHO: Two pairs of whooping cranes, one of the world’s most endangered birds.
WHAT: The animals are laying eggs in Texas on private land in Jefferson and Chambers counties, east of Houston for the first time since the late 1800s.
WHY IT’S SO GREAT: Every fall, the world’s last self-sustaining migratory flock of wild whooping cranes descends on the marshes of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. One of only two crane species native to North America, the whooping crane is the continent’s tallest and rarest bird: five feet high with crisp white feathers, a red-capped head, and a ratcheting, mournful call. The wild flock’s 506 birds spend the winter in the 115,000-acre refuge, fattening up on blue crabs, clams, and fish, before traveling back to northern Canada to breed.
We re going to say . yes.
By
Timothy Malcolm
4/21/2021 at 12:21pm
Trust us on this: These were briny as all get out.
Blame it on living off of East Coast oysters for much of my life, but I was never a big fan of those from the Gulf Coast. They lacked saline. They felt like a boring, bland chore more than a relaxing and sumptuous experience.Â
Okay, I was wrong. Sorry.
At least, I was wrong after enjoying half a dozen oysters at Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House. The new San Leon restaurant, smack on the water and part of a major development that includes a dock under construction and bungalows for tourists, is owned by Raz Halili of family fishery Prestige Oysters. That means Prestige gets bivalves somewhere nearby and hands them off to executive chef Joe Cervantez, formerly of Brennan s of Houston.Â
The Birdiest Festival in America returns to Corpus Christi
The Birdiest Festival in America is coming back to the Birdiest City in America.
After cancelling the event in 2020, the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center will host its annual Texas Gulf Coast birdwatcher event April 21-25. After the disappointment of last year’s cancellation, to be able to present this festival and share the birding opportunities of Corpus Christi with so many people has an excitement factor that cannot be measured, said Denise Housler, board president for the South Texas Botanical Gardens.
This year s event will feature 14 field trips to South Texas hot spots, eight presentations and three bird walks. Jonathan Wood will also be producing nine Raptor Project shows for the guests.
Researchers survey endangered whooping cranes north of Rockport
There are some 500 of the endangered birds who call our area home for part of the year. Author: Michael Gibson (KIII) Updated: 4:53 PM CST March 9, 2021
ROCKPORT, Texas Over the weekend, researchers were out north of the Rockport area looking for whooping cranes. They were hoping to find those endangered birds that have already been banded by wildlife scientists in the past.
It s important work. Researchers with the International Crane Foundation and the Texas State Aquarium were looking for whooping cranes with a band wrapped around one of its legs. There s been about 100 birds banded over the past 10 years, and we go and find them, document them, and then it s used in a survival survey study, said Dr. Liz Smith, Director of the International Crane Foundation.