OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can itbe? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.
Jiffy (also jiff)
noun[in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.
ORIGINlate 18th cent.: of unknown origin.
So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.
So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!
Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas
Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!
Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!
Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra
Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!
Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!
E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.
Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.
A South Texas Adventure - Day 5
Rio de Los Palmas, Boca Chica, South Padre Island
After a quick check of the local island hot spots, we’ll set out across the coastal plains in search of any target species we may have missed such as Cassin’s or the less common Botteri’s Sparrow, Harris’s Hawk and another chance at Aplomado Falcons.
We’ll leave our morning itinerary somewhat flexible to follow up on any recent reports of rarities. Barring chase-able birds we will visit National Audubon Society’s Sabal Palm Sanctuary.
This historic sanctuary maintains the finest remnant stand of mature Sabal Palm north of the Rio Grande, a river once named “Rio de Los Palmas” by the Spanish explorers due to the former ubiquity of these trees which extended 80 miles upriver from here.
Texas Ebony and native scrub, courtesy of the staff’s diligent conservation efforts, compliment the palms and attract migrant, resident and occasionally uncommon visitors such as Audubon’s Oriole.
We’ll leave our afternoon somewhat flexible to either continue exploring the lower river or perhaps make the 20-mile jaunt to remote and birdy Boca Chica Beach to track specialty birds such as Chihuahuan Ravens or Botteri’s Sparrow who nest in the Zacahuiste bunch grasses along the road.
The beaches, uplands and open marshes harbour a large variety of shorebirds and raptors perch regularly from the many Yuccas in the area.
By late afternoon we’ll make the short jaunt back to South Padre to check the traps before gathering for a farewell to South Padre Island dinner.
Thursday 20thof April 2023and we leave the hotel at 7 thirty. The reception was full when I came out from my room twenty minutes after 7. The guy in the reception told me that they were here for the rocket launch.
The TV in reception was blasting out news from the launch site and I was told that all the hotels were full in town due to the SpaceX Starship Rocket launch. - But it will be empty again after lunch, he said.
We left the hotel and the highway coming in to South Padre Island was full for long as we could see. We had light traffic and we were joking that we would be alone where we would go. We take of the highway towards south and the highway is empty.
The spirit was high in our van until we spotted all the cars parked along the highway and all the people out to look at the launch. But we managed to find a parking next to the road and we walked across the highway.
Long lines to get in to South Padre Island
Long lines to get in to South Padre Island
Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
Police on the scene to keep order
Police on the scene to keep order
Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
Waiting for the launch
Waiting for the launch
Waiting for the launch
It is hazy and foggy but it clears up a little bit while waiting. Well, it was not much of waiting, maybe 20 minutes and we were updated by the people next to us. - 10 minutes to launch!
I tried to set up my video camera and when it was 2 minutes to go, I started the camera. And I could see that the camera refused to focus on the rocket.
Smoke start coming out from the rocket
Here we go
Here we go
Here we go
Here we go
Here we go
Disappears in to the clouds
Only smoke remains
PLEASE ENJOY VIDEO WITH FULL VOLUME
Video from one in my bird watching group
There it went. Smoke and fire and the rocket came up from the smoke and it disappeared in to the clouds. Then the sound hit us, it was a roar and the ground was shaking.
SpaceX Starship orbital test flight
The SpaceX Starship Orbital Test Flight (called Starship Flight Test by the company) was the first integrated launch of the Starship spacecraft with the Super Heavy booster, developed and manufactured by SpaceX. Prior to this test, only the Starship upper stage was flown in a series of flight and landing tests.
The launch made Starship the tallest and the most powerful rocket ever flown, with twice the thrust of the Saturn V.
According to SpaceX, this test flight only has a minimal requirement of flying out of the launch pad and achieving later flight milestones is considered as a "bonus". The spacecraft was planned to be placed into a transatmospheric Earth orbit where the spacecraft would do nearly one revolution around the Earth, passing through the Strait of Florida, before dipping down and re-entering into the atmosphere near Hawaii.
The Super Heavy first stage would have performed a controlled landing on the Gulf of Mexico.
The test launched Super Heavy Booster 7 and Ship 24 from SpaceX's Starbase launch site near Boca Chica, Texas. At lift off on April 20 at 8:33 a.m. ET (13:33 UTC), the rocket had already lost 3 of its 33 booster Raptor engines, and 2 more engines were lost during flight, leading to a total of 5 lost engines.
Despite these engine-outs, the vehicle cleared the critical max-q mark. After failing to perform stage separation, Starship's flight termination system was activated at 8:37 a.m. ET (13:37 UTC), destroying the vehicle over the Gulf of Mexico.
From Wikipedia
My group get assistance from the police to cross the highway
On the safe side of the highway
There are still smoke over the launch site
The rocket was gone and we heard that it exploded a few minutes after take-off. We left to go to the Mexican border to look for birds. We will cross the road Southmost Boulevard and drive through the boarder wall to the Sabal Palm Sanctuary at the River Grande.
We park the car and there are several trails in the area. Clay-coloured Thrush is the first bird I see and I get a poor picture and a good recording of the bird singing.
Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder and High Pass Filter applied with Audacity
I spot the bird in the scrub and I got a poor picture when it jumps up on a low sitting branch. The bird goes up in the tree and start to sing and I can record the bird
Couch's Kingbird
The group leaves on a trail going to a pond and I want to see River Grande and the Mexican border so I take the Native Trail going to the River Overlook platform at the river. I sit down and I hear one Northern Cardinal singing in the bushes next to the platform.
I cannot see the bird but suddenly the bird take-off and landing on top of a bush on the other side of the platform. I get a picture and a sound recording.
Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder and High Pass Filter applied with Audacity
Singing from the bushes next to me but I could not see the bird. Suddenly the bird takes off and landing on top of a bush next to me so I get both pictures and sound recording.
I reach the River Grande overlook, a wooden platform. I have River Grande below me and the Mexican border is in the middle of the river.
I see birds on the Mexican side so I have to stop my eBird app for the eBird hotspot: Sabal Palm Sanctuary to report the birds. I also manage to get a recording of a male Northern Cardinal singing in a tree on the Mexican side of the river.
Mexican border East of River Grande Overlook, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, MX Apr 20, 2023 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM Protocol: Stationary Checklist Comments: Bird watching at Sabal Palm Sanctuary in Texas and I look for birds on the Mexican side of Rio Grande 4 species
Couch's Kingbird 2 Looked to be a pair Hooded Oriole 1 Great-tailed Grackle 2 Sitting in top of tree Northern Cardinal 1 Singing male
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Northern Cardinal and a Hooded Oriole in Mexico
I turn off the eBird app for Mexico and I restart the app using same hotspot I used when walking here. I start to walk back towards the visitor center and I see some birds that I cannot ID.
I go to check out the feeder when I am back at the visitor center and there are a couple of Bronzed Cowbirds and 2 Long-billed Thrashers. My group are coming back and we go back to the van and I am very happy to have seen River Grande and the Mexican border.
Bronzed Cowbird
eBird Report
Sabal Palm Sanctuary (LTC 042), Cameron, Texas, US Apr 20, 2023 09:32 - 11:53 Protocol: Traveling 2,02 kilometer(s) Checklist comment:I stopped the check list at River Grande to report birds from the Mexican side 10 species
Green Heron 1 American Black Vulture 5 Couch's Kingbird 1 Clay-coloured Thrush 1 Red-winged Blackbird 1 Bronzed Cowbird 2 Chimney Swift 4 Long-billed Thrasher 2 Great-tailed Grackle 1 Northern Cardinal 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Track at Sabal Palm Sanctuary going to River Grande and the Mexican border
Track at Sabal Palm Sanctuary going back to the visitor center
At the Mexican restaurant
At the Mexican restaurant
It is time for lunch and we will stop at a Mexican Restaurant and I cannot say that I was excited to have Mexican food. No hot tea or MAX at the restaurant. So, a bottle of water and the food I had was very good, so good that I ordered a second plate.
It was a nice lunch stop at a rustic Mexican restaurant and I felt good when we left. We will drive back to South Padre Island and we will stop at a marina along the highway going back north.
I get very close to one Dunlin foraging close to us, and the bird was not scared at all and I could get pictures.
Dunlin
Dunlin
Grey Plover
Grey Plover
Reddish Egret, Great White Egret and Snowy Egret
We get back in the van and as we're about to leave we see a huge group of Skimmers lifting from the water. This is a bird I would have liked to have a picture of. But now they are too far away.
A short stop at the boat slip and I got to see a new bird, the Black Skimmer was a “lifer”
Black Skimmer
eBird Report
TX48--Shrimp Basin Bridge / Zapata Memorial Boat Ramp/ San Martin Lake outlet, Cameron, Texas, US Apr 20, 2023 13:37 - 13:58 Protocol: Stationary 14 species
Black-necked Stilt 3 American Oystercatcher 1 Grey Plover 1 Dunlin 1 Laughing Gull 4 Royal Tern 1 Black Skimmer 50 Great Blue Heron 2 Great White Egret 3 Snowy Egret 2 Together with Great White Egret and Reddish Egret Reddish Egret 1 White Ibis 1 Harris's Hawk 1 Great-tailed Grackle 3
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
We drove north on the highway when we spotted two Chihuahuan Raven and one White-tailed Hawk on the way. We decided to make a stop for birding at the eBird hotspot:South Padre Is.--Valley Land Fund lots (LTC 036).
This is just a few minutes from Holiday Inn Express & Suites South Padre Island.
I took a seat on the bench in front of the hummingbird feeder but I did not see any hummingbirds. But there was a couple of interesting lizards.
Lizard
Lizard
Lizard
Lizard
We went to look for a Night hawk and I spotted a taxi parked next to the garden. I took the phone number on the car to call a taxi. But the driver came out from the house and he was available to take me to the hotel.
This is the last night on South Padre Island and we will drive towards west to look for birds tomorrow. So you just need to clickHEREto find out how that turns out.
eBird Trip Report
Since April 2023 eBird offer a new feature, to create Trip Reports. At least this is when I first heard of this feature and I have decided to make the eBird Trip Reports instead of my list of OBSERVED birds.
And of course, this also means that I will HAVE TO go back and do the same for my old birding adventures, WHEN I HAVE THE TIME!
Today's Trip Report: Southern Texas bird watching tour with Nature Trip - Day 5 | ClickHERE
Lifers
Icons for lifers used in the eBird trip reports
Species lifer:First time that someone observes a species in their life
Photo lifer:First time that someone photographs a species in their life
Audio lifer:First time that someone audio records a species in their life
Exotic species
Exotic species flags differentiate locally introduced species from native species.
Naturalized:Exotic population is self-sustaining, breeding in the wild, persisting for many years, and not maintained through ongoing releases (including vagrants from Naturalized populations). These count in official eBird totals and, where applicable, have been accepted by regional bird records committee(s).
Provisional:Either:1)member of exotic population that is breeding in the wild, self-propagating, and has persisted for multiple years, but not yet Naturalized;2)rarity of uncertain provenance, with natural vagrancy or captive provenance both considered plausible.
When applicable, eBird generally defers to bird records committees for records formally considered to be of "uncertain provenance". Provisional species count in official eBird totals.
Escapee:Exotic species known or suspected to be escaped or released, including those that have bred but don't yet fulfill the criteria for Provisional. Escapee exotics do not count in official eBird totals.