Yesterday Kay and I took a day largely off from birding and rested up. Today we left early from Rockport to Goose Island State Park where it was windy which seemed to keep the birds down, but I managed to find a few birds, highlights were lots of close up looks at most of the waders.

After that we headed north to Aransas NWR. We did the auto loop, and besides great looks at 6 large alligators we had nice looks at three Northern Gannets diving into the lagoons and yet more waders, terns and gulls. The mosquitos were even worse than in the Rio Grande Valley and we took only two walks, to Heron Trail and Big Tree Trails. We ended the birding part of our trip by getting a great deal at the Marriott in Houston on Priceline and look forward to a more slow paced rest here in the city. Trip looks like it will end with 7 ABA lifers for me and about 22 for Kay.

My lifer list:

1. Green Parakeet in McAllen
2. Ferruginous Pygmy Owl at King Ranch
3. Clay-colored Thrush at Frontera Audubon Center in Weslaco
4. Aplomado Falcon at Old Port Isabelle Rd.
5. White-collared Seedeater in Laredo
6. Hook-billed Kite in Anzalduas Park
7. Northern Jacana at Choke Canyon County Park

A highly successful trip seeing great birds and lots of new places.