 |
| Royal Terns |
I had enough time on my final day in Texas to go check out
Padre Island, another beach that I had scoffed at, but never really visited.
 |
| Unexpected beauty |
Boy, was I in for a surprise! The beach was gorgeous!
Of course, the fact that the sun
gloriously appeared (for the first time since I arrived in Texas) and the temperature
climbed from the 50s to the 70s also helped a lot. This was the weather I had
hoped for.
Oh, I said it was gorgeous, but I still think a beach needs to have white sand to be on the top of the list. Padre Island's is emphatically brown.
 |
| Tracks |
Padre Island is the longest undeveloped barrier island in
the world, providing a break between Corpus Christi and the Gulf of Mexico
(incidentally, the largest gulf in the world). The majority of Padre Island
comprises Padre Island National Seashore, which protects beaches, tidal flats,
dunes, coastal grasslands and some wetlands. Unfortunately, it also seems to
protect mosquitoes – be advised if you go. I had to return to the car for more insect
repellent when I tried to hike.
 |
| Dunes |
The National Seashore is 70 miles long with 65.5 miles of
Gulf beach. Most of the park is primitive and most of the beach is accessible exclusively
to four-wheel-drive vehicles. The paved park road is only about five miles long,
after which you must drive on the beach. All but four miles of the island is open to
vehicle traffic. I had a rental car, so I didn't drive very far out to the beach.
 |
| A wide expanse |
A program to re-establish a nesting beach for Kemp's Ridley
Sea Turtles on Padre Island was begun in 1978. These turtles had been decimated
by shrimpers’ nets and their popularity in Mexico for leather and as food. In 1992, the first two turtles from the
program returned to Padre Island beach to lay their eggs. Wildlife officials
released 10,594 hatchlings along the Texas coast this year.
 |
| Breaking waves |
Due to the location of Padre Island National Seashore on the
Central Flyway, a major migratory route for birds, about 380 species of birds
have been documented within the park, which represents approximately 45 percent
of all bird species documented in North America. It would be fun to come back during migration.
I did see lots of Brown Pelicans (lots of them) ...
 |
| I tried counting, but gave up |
Laughing Gulls ...
 |
| A juvenile |
Sanderlings ....
 |
| Looking for food |
Forster's Terns (we saw them at Laguna Atascosa, but they were too far away for pictures); here they posed nicely ...
 |
| First photos |
Royal Terns, waiting to fly ...
 |
| In formation |
... and flying ...
 |
| Beautiful |
Alone and in groups ...
 |
| A bit clumsy, though |
Because of proximity to refineries offshore oil wells, I expected
the beach to be filthy. But, it looked pristine the day I visited.
Padre Island is a very young geological feature that developed
4,500 to 5,000 years ago, according to radio carbon dating of shells. As a
result, its landscape changes constantly, especially when battered by
hurricanes.
South Padre Island, where I began my trip, used to connect to Padre
Island, but now there is a channel. Although the tips can be less than 500 ft.
apart, it takes three and a half hours to drive from one to the other.
Most of the island is less than 20 feet above mean sea
level.
Southeasterly winds from the Gulf of Mexico drift sand into high
foredunes, which often smother the plants that try so hard to hold the landscape
together. The beach is protected by the high foredunes. Still, storms erode beaches, rip up vegetation, flatten dunes and scour out channels. I didn't, however, see much evidence of Hurricane Harvey here.
The peaceful Laguna Madre separates Padre Island from the
Texas mainland and is locked in by the barrier island. Consequently, the water
doesn’t easily circulate in and out, making the lagoon exceptionally salty. The
lagoon -- 10 miles wide at its widest point -- fluctuates considerably. It is
widest during highest wind tides, which cause the tidal flats to flood. The
northern part of the lagoon is occupied by grassflats with an average water
depth of about 3 feet that serve as spawning grounds for fish, clams and
snails. Of course, that attracts birds.
 |
| Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs and Greater Yellowlegs |
 |
| Blue-Winged Teals |
Laguna Madre is famous for paddle-boarding.
I had only the afternoon to explore. I got into the very
nice Malaquite Pavilion just in time to stamp my National Park Passport.
 |
| Nice facilities |
The
Pavilion includes the Visitor Center, restrooms, cold-water showers, two
observation decks, an auditorium and some really nice boardwalks that slice through the dunes to get you to the actual beach. The restrooms and showers are
open 24 hours per day, seven days a week except when being cleaned from 7:00
a.m. - 9:00 a.m. daily. That's a nice feature (although the day would have to be much hotter for me to take a cold shower).
 |
| Boardwalk to the beach |
Pet-friendly restrooms and rinse-off showers are located at the northern end of the Pavilion parking area. The park has campgrounds but does not sell ice, firewood, gasoline
or fishing licenses. So, make sure you have snacks,
drinks and gasoline if you plan to visit. Oh, and bring along some insect repellent and sun block, too.
In the short time I was there, I took a nice walk along the beach ...
 |
| A nice day to walk |
 |
| Brown Pelican |
And, finally, I took a walk through the grasslands, trying
to photograph Eastern Meadowlarks and being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
Away from the beach, in the tall sea grass ...
 |
| Sea grass |
I saw lots of Eastern Meadowlarks, which seemed far more skittish than the Western Meadowlarks I am used to ...
 |
| Most stopped far away to sing their beautiful songs |
It took quite a while to get near enough for a (semi-decent) close-up ...
 |
| Eastern Meadowlark |
The small part of Padre located outside of the National
Seashore boundaries is surprisingly sedate. I didn’t see many hotels or restaurants. It was difficult
to envision Padre as a spring break location, especially compared to South
Padre Island, which seems to have more services and more paved road access to
the beach.
I had not originally planned to visit Padre Island (or, for
that matter, Aransas NWR) on this trip, but I am so glad that I did.
As I was leaving the park, I saw another Crested Caracara –
one of my main goals for the trip. I think he was wishing me a safe trip home.
 |
| Bonus! |
No comments:
Post a Comment