Birding TX

Mon, January 16, 2012, 8:00 am
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Trip Report

This Snowy Owl was most cooperative.

Monday The 16th of January Elyse, Tom, and I made a trip to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge primary claim is being the wintering location for the only wild flock of endangered Whooping Cranes. On this outing we saw a total of ten in three different groups of Whoopers, with five, three, and two in the three groups. Now the other impressive fact about the Refuge is the impact of the Texas drought.

At the end of 2011 the rainfall at the Refuge was 22" below the yearly average. Almost all the ponds and small lakes at the Refuge are completly dried up. The one exception is a lake that the Refuge pumps water into to provide for the wildlife. The lack of fresh water has an impact on the Whooping Cranes. At first glance you would think that salt marshes and tidal ponds around the Refuge would not be impacted. Living in these marshes and ponds are blue crabs, a primary winter protein source for the Whoopers. Blue crabs normally proved the Whoopers the most calories for their efforts. They depend on the crabs to build up reserves over the winter. But the blue crab is impacted by the lack of fresh water flowing into the marshes and ponds. Under normal conditions the fresh water dilutes these marshes and ponds salt content by 5%, ideal for blue crabs. With the drought the marshes and ponds now have a 5% higher than normal salt content thus reducing the population of blue crabs.

With the blue crabs impacted by the drought the Refuge has attempted to provide other sources of food for the Whoopers. One interesting attemp are controlled burns over large areas of the Refuge. These burns not only duplicates the natural state but provide for the bird populations. We noticed that the Black and Turkey Vultures along with Crested Caracaras were scavenging the burned areas. We did not see any Whoopers in the burned areas.

Now birds were not the only animals that are featured at the Refuge. In fact I looked up some old friends during our trip to the Refuge. Now I do not know if the armadillo we saw this time was the same one I saw two years ago, but the big old allegator that showed up on cue sure looked like the one that put the fear in me two years ago while walking on the Rail Trail!

Whooping Cranes: A rare splender
"When we hear this call we hear no mere bird. He is the symbol of our untamable past."
-Aldo Leopold

Tom Glover