South Padre Island: A Spring Bird Bonanza
By Dave Hanks
Flight requires a bird to have a faster metabolism, a faster heart beat,
and a higher body temperature. Therefore, more energy is needed in
the form of food. Meat eating raptors do not eat as often as others, but
the seed and insect eaters feast all through the day. The old saying:
“to eat like a bird” is extremely misleading, as birds spend every
waking hour in obtaining food. If humans ate like birds, they would
consume a significant percent of their body weight every day.
Migrating birds must increase their weight by half in order to have
the energy that is required to make the trip. Migration is also very
hazardous. So, why don’t they just stay where you would find them
nine months of the year? Migrating north has advantages that offset
the dangers to a species. More moderate temperatures are conducive
to reproduction, so many more eggs are laid, and the longer daylight
gives more time to find the necessary food. Birds flying over land can
stop, rest, and feed – not so when crossing large water bodies.
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND is about two miles away from the southern
tip of Texas. It is often the first land seen and exhausted birds, that
have just crossed the Gulf of Mexico; gratefully drop into the trees
and bushes to feed and recuperate. A small group of trees and shrubs
(by the Island’s Convention center) that is not as big as our yard here
in Idaho, is just teeming with species. Photographers from all over
the USA, Canada, England, and even South Africa; also flock to this
place and line up around the area shoulder to shoulder to get
pictures. Every time a bird shows itself, you can hear cameras click-
click-clicking in a sudden frenzy.
We photographed two species of orioles, two species of tanagers, ten
different warblers, a grosbeak, as well as various other species. The
PAINTED BUNTING (Pictured) was a special attraction for everyone.
It is a small, seed eating bird, 4 ˝ inches long, which looks like a first
grader had colored it with four brightly colored crayons.
After four very productive days at this special spot, a strong wind
came up from the south. It “huffed and puffed” and blew all the birds
north.
(A Painted Bunting in his coat of many colors)
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