WBC - South Padre Island
When: Friday September 24, 2004 (6am to 6pm )[SOLD OUT]
Friday October 1, 2004 (6am to 6pm)
Where: South Padre Island, Texas
Osprey fishing dock inside the Destination South RV Park
Just south of the Bridge
What: Pelagic Bird Watching (way off shore in the Gulf of Mexico)
Explore the Gulf of Mexico in search of birds and other wildlife that can only be spotted miles off the coast
Who: The World Birding Center is the only organization to offer pelagic birding trips off the Texas Coast this year. This rare opportunity attracts bird watchers from all over the country.
Cost: $95
To register for the October trip or for more information contact The World Birding Center 956-584-9156.
Offshore of South Padre Island, where the shallow continental shelf gives way to deep water, there are sights and sounds few nature lovers have a chance to experience.
Along with the sea turtles and dolphins, the schools of game fish, perhaps even an impressive whale shark, there are “pelagic” birds rarely if ever seen on land, that spend almost their entire lives on, in and over the deep water.
South Padre Island, with its wing of the World Birding Center, is one of the best and easiest places on the Gulf Coast from which to launch a pelagic birding expedition, says WBC guide John Arvin. Terns, Storm-Petrels, Albatrosses, and Shearwaters are among the pelagic birds that may be spotted off the South Texas coast, and the relative closeness of deep water makes it quicker and easier to get to them.
The World Birding Center sponsors several popular 12-hour ocean expeditions aboard the 65-foot Osprey II excursion boat based on South Padre Island. The next one is scheduled for Friday, October 1st.
“If you live in Texas, or near the Gulf of Mexico, this is about as good as it gets,” says Arvin. “The continental shelf happens to be relatively narrow just off our area, so that we can reach the deepest waters where we’re most likely to find the highest numbers and variety of pelagic birds.”
Arvin explains that an upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water from the deeper regions of the Gulf occurs at the edge of the continental shelf and at other topographical features like undersea mountains or canyons. This upwelling attracts the fish and other sea creatures that in turn attract birds. Using maps of the Gulf bottom, guides seek out these areas for the best bird viewing.
Tropical pelagic birds like the Band-rumped Storm-Petrel are a specialty off South Padre Island, adds Arvin. On a good trip, watchers might spot as many as 10 different species, from the Magnificent Frigatebird and Cory’s Shearwater, to the rarer Yellow-nosed Albatross and Red-billed Tropicbird.
While the West Coast also enjoys a relatively narrow continental shelf and rich pelagic bird life, the only other area in the United States where tropical pelagic birds are reliably viewed is off the coast of North Carolina.
Arvin urged interested birders to sign up as soon as possible, since the trips are popular, as well as infrequent. The Osprey II comfortably holds about 30-35 people, with an enclosed, air-conditioned cabin, booth seats and tables inside and bench seating outside.
For reservations call: 956-584-9156 x223 |
