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Welcome to Brazos Bend State Park. That's me on the trail. One of the most popular reasons for people to visit BBSP is to see the birds. Although *I* started going to the park 
mainly for the alligators, one cannot be there for long without learning to enjoy the birds. Over the years, I've captured a few pictures and video clips of them, and here they are. 

Another temperature
reading from that area showed 39.3°F. But this time there was the wind off of Pilant Lake.

   

07/03/2022 If it seems depressing to see the water levels dropping...well, it was. But these birds were also foraging in and around Pilant Lake on July 3rd, and that was fine; so I'm including the images
 here. There  are some short video clips that show their activities also, which can be seen here. When the mudflats formed from the shallow water, we had many Black-necked Stilts come in, and
some nested at the the lake. This is an adult with chicks.  This was the beginning of the drought I describe on this page.
   
  

02/27/2022.   Later, I saw these beautiful Green-Winged Teal at Creekfield Lake at 2:41pm.
   
         Green Winged Teal 2:41pm                        Green Winged Teal 2:41pm

07/25/2021 and 08/01/2021  Sometime in May, 2021,  there was a vegetation-control spray over Pilant Lake. This was done to clear the center of Pilant Lake.
The target was probably Giant Cutgrass Zizaniopsis miliacea (aka Southern Wild Rice) (Alligator Weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), Water Hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes)
among others.  It was successful, and the center of the lake cleared nicely. Over the following weeks, dead plants formed mats of decaying matter.  Superficially, they looked
like mud flats.  Apparently some birds also thought so, because BBSP was visited by many species that we usually only see during times of low water.  Black-necked Stilts
(Himantopus mexicanus) were among the visitors.  I'm always happy to see their colors--very dark black contrasted against a brilliant white. And then there are those amazing long pink
legs--very thin, and almost as long at the stilt's entire body!  At least three families of stilts nested at the park--but pretty far away. Quite a few folks using cameras with better
 reach than mine spent hours trying to capture images of those families.  On July 25, some of the Stilts were a bit closer, so I tried to capture some images and video.  I caught
just one clip that showed a couple of the young birds trying out their wings. The next week (8/1/21) I was able to watch one foraging much closer to me, at the Spillway Bridge.
The spillway there is drainage for high water in Pilant Lake.  I also shot a bit of video , which shows the young ones hopping, and the forage on the spillway.
  
     Black-necked Stilt w/young 7/25/2021                Black-necked Stilt  7/25/2021                   Black-necked Stilt walked closer 7/25/2021

  
 Black-necked Stilt at Spillway  8/1/2021    Black-necked Stilt at Spillway  8/1/2021    Black-necked Stilt at Spillway  8/1/2021

05/02/2021  Even with more "spare time" it's taking me days to work on new material so I can post it. Part of the reason is that I get more new material before I've completed
editing of the previous new material--because I have more of that "spare time" to go get the new material. Oh, darn. LOL
So, here's how my morning went at Brazos Bend State Park on 05/02/21.  
I'd been standing near an alligator for a while, a visitor had pointed out a snake (on another page), and about the time I was looking at the snake, I looked across to the island, 
and noticed a pair of Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) on the bird nesting box-I call them "bird boxes" there.  I was able to catch a quick video of one 
entering the box.  I've done it before, but I'll probably never tire of seeing this exercise. The diameter of the entry hole in the box is about the same as the thickness of a 
Whistling Duck, and it doesn't have anything to stand on in front of it.  But, the ducks use them, and this video which is slowed 16 times shows their technique. The image below is 
a screenshot from this video clip.   NOTE 5/18/21: I have photographed and shot video of this species many times. While reviewing my web pages today I've discovered that I 
have not ever posted any here--on any of my pages.  I'll have to check again, and post some more. If this is true,then enjoy this first posting video clip showing the bird box entry.
 

  
    Just pay attention to the sign, okay?

update 05/23/2020  (material filmed 10/20/2019) Like almost everyone these days, I've been staying inside.  I have stopped driving around outside for...recreational purposes.
BBSP is just too far away, AND, entrance protocol to the park has changed dramatically (even for volunteers). So...I haven't been going there.  So I'm catching up on old material.
Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) move through East Texas at the the end of the summer. Sometimes they gather in Brazos Bend State Park. In 2019, I was lucky enough
to be there when the storks came by. I heard that there were many more there the day before, but at least I saw these. They were roosted in trees in Elm Lake, and I'd just
gotten there when the remaining Wood Storks took off. I got just a few pictures, and some short video clips--and then they were gone; off to the West..  The  video is here. 
     

   

06/17/2018  Birds (and other predators) have to hone instinctive hunting behavior to develop skill. Until they attain that skill, the young animal
can miss, or fall down.  Here is a young Cattle Egret hunting dragonflies.  The two images are frame grabs from this video clip.  
  
           SWAYING TO FOCUS ON A DRAGONFLY                                                       OOPS!  A MISS...AND A TRIP

11/08/2015  I was at the West end of the Spillway Bridge at Brazos Bend State Park. I'd been watching some alligators there when I noticed a Snowy Egret fly to a tree across from
me and apparently try to land on a branch.  It seemed to be struggling, and then I saw a large dragonfly (Probably a Green Darner) fly out of its beak. I thought that was interesting, 
because I thought that the Egret had actually flown after the dragonfly. So I started watching and filming the Egret when it returned and landed a bit closer. The Egret was still about 
15 yards from me, so I couldn't tell exactly what it was doing. But, I watched it as it watched the dragonflies that passed by.  A few times, I could see the Egret poised for a strike at
a dragonfly, only to see it relax as the dragonfly moved out of ranged. Finally, it grabbed a dragonfly, and I caught it on film. The first image below is a frame grab from the one of the
clips.  The second image--the animated gif, is made from the clip. I've edited the clips together, and that video clip can be seen here.  
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Snowy Egrets have bright yellow feet, which they use to flush prey out from cover as the bird is wading. The Egret steps forward, and as it puts its foot down, it gives a quick shaking
motion. But, as shown today, they will pick food out of the air, or pluck it from cover (that also happens in the clip linked above .)

January 19 and 26  2014 (This is material I filmed in 2014, but I'm posting it today, 7/29/2015.) Groups of Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) have been foraging in Pilant Lake
near the Observation Tower.  I don't see them there often...but that could be partly because of their"cryptic" coloration-their colors allow them to blend in with their surroundings. 
They are usually shy, but on these two weekends, the Snipe foraged closer to the trail.  The Snipe use their long, thin bills as  a probe-they plunge it into the mud to look for prey.
They move so quickly, they resemble sewing machines as they walk along.  I tried shooting some digital zoom shots...and then shot some video at high-speed, about 120
frames per second.  While I was watching the Snipe on the 19th, I noticed that two of them seemed to be displaying at each other. I shot video of most of one "confrontation".
The exchange between the birds lasted about 5 minutes, and then they seemed to relax when they moved far enough apart.
Various reference sources group the Snipe with "sandpipers". Wilson's Snipe was defined as a species separate from the Common Snipe in 2003
(at least according to Wikipedia), so items published on or before that time may not have this species defined. My Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Eastern America
has them, on page 165.  The light-colored stripes on its back help identify this bird as a Snipe.
 

Snipe scratching its head, video here (mp4).    Video of 2 Snipe facing-off is  here (mp4).


Finally, video of a Snipe finding and "playing tug-of-war" with an earthworm is  here (mp4).

And some photos are below.
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December 22, 2013 (added 11/21/2015) Wading Birds hunt in many ways, and catch and eat all kinds of prey. Snowy Egrets are no exception, but they have a unique tool-their bright,
yellow feet! Although Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) will ambush prey, or chase it, they also walk slowly in shallow water with odd, vibrating steps. They are shifting their bright feet through the 
mud and material under the surface and flushing out prey--which they can snap up.  This video clip (MP4) shows a Snowy Egret hunting with this method. I filmed clips at normal speed (30 fps)
and at high speed (120 fps--for slow motion playback at 30fps) and edited them together. The image below is a frame grab from one of the clips. 
         

December 26, 2010 The three images below are frame captures from video clips I shot that morning, and which I edited into this movie clip (25 mb).
The morning of Sunday, December 26, 2010, had temperatures low enough for a skin of ice to be on low, shaded water, and frost shaped by the shade of the rails on the Spillway Bridge. 
Although the sun came out, the air didn't get much above 45 degrees. The day was cold--at least by Brazos Bend State Park standards.   I was out on the trails anyway, looking for Eagles 
and Otters. I couldn't find either one. While I was at 40 Acre Lake, I noticed a Crow hovering near the surface of the water next to one of the islands. Then, I saw a Great Egret doing the same
thing. It would hover close to the surface of the water, and sometimes stab down with its beak. Occasionally I thought I saw something splash under the surface. I assumed that the Egret was
harassing Pied-Billed Grebes if they surfaced with prey. I've seen this before, and figured that's what was going on. I decided to try to film this activity. First, I tried to follow a Grebes as they
dove and surfaced--but it's difficult to see where they are going to surface.  So, I decided to watch and film the Egret instead. I shot a few high speed clips of the Egret taking off, hovering,
and stabbing the water. After reviewing these, I couldn't tell if the Egret was stealing from a Grebe or not. I never noticed a Grebe surface from where the Egret grabbed a fish.I edited together
some of these clips, so I could watch this magnificent Great Egret hovering and flying in the early afternoon sun. I hope you enjoy it as well.  A couple things really caught my attention. First, 
the shadow of the Egret's head and neck as it shows on the wings. Then, the effort of the Egret as the wing beats keep it airborne at such low speeds. 
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    GREAT EGRET HOVERING 1                  GREAT EGRET HOVERING 2                       GREAT EGRET HOVERING 3                                     THE SHADOW!

08/06/2006--BBSP finally got some rainfall about 4 weeks ago. There was enough water in Pilant Lake to allow some filling of 40 Acre Lake by opening the floodgate between them. 
When the water levels equalized, the gate was closed, and a diesel-fueled water pump was set up to continue filling the lake. The first image below (FILL THAT LAKE!) shows the pump in 
action. The two images below show the improved appearance of the lake.  Compare them with the two images from 06/18/06 further down on this page.
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                        FILL THAT LAKE!                                                                          BETWEEN HOOT'S BENCH AND OBSERVATION TOWER                              


 
                                                     NEAR THE OBSERVATION TOWER

That's some improvement, right? This changed over 4 weekends.  Many of the animals that live in the lake were taking advantage of the water, and the food that was growing. In an
odd turn of events, the primary water level rise (from opening the floodgate) caused many of the larger fish remaining in what was left of 40 Acre Lake to die. General opinion is that
there was an oxygen depletion (perhaps caused by silting). Only the larger fish were affected, as there were many, many small fish remaining. On the morning of August 6, I stood on
 the 40 Acre Lake fishing pier, and watched a group of Great Egrets catching fish. They were soon joined by a number of alligators. I thought it interesting that although an alligator
occasionally swam towards an Egret, it didn't seem to be interested in catching the bird. Instead, the alligator seemed to be watching the area around the Egret--perhaps looking for
fish the Egret had dropped, or for fish that it learned would be near a hunting bird. On the other hand, sometimes (less frequently than the first case) an Egret would go near an alligator,
 and they would both be facing the same spot in the water. Perhaps the Egret was watching for fish disturbed or distracted by the alligator's passage.  The series of images below are
single frames from some short video clips. The first  clip 4519 KB (OOPS...), starts with an Egret trying to un-spear a fish...which it drops. Then it seems to be looking straight at me
(I was at least 20 yards away) like it's MY fault that it dropped breakfast. Then the camera pulls back and pans across to show the group of Egrets (and one Great Blue Heron). The
 splashing sound in the clip is from alligators pouncing.
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                    OOPS, AND SLOW PAN ACROSS                                  PARDON ME, EXCUSE ME                                  HEY!, CATCHING ANYTHING?                                           HOW A PRO DOES IT
                           VIDEO CLIP 4519 KB                 VIDEO CLIP 14,621 KB                   VIDEO CLIP 4027 KB               VIDEO CLIP 9035 KB

The next clip 14,621 KB (PARDON ME...) shows a larger alligator as it swims through the group of Egrets. Notice how each Egret steps aside very delicately as the alligator approaches--except
for one, which makes a short hop of a few feet. It landed in the path of the alligator though, so still has to step aside. By the end of the clip, the alligator has gone near two other alligators. One of
these, then another, pounces, but without apparent success.  The next clip 4027 KB (CATCHING ANYTHING?) is a closer view of two alligators passing. One does a sideways snatch after the 
passing, while the other one passes some Egrets. The final Egret clip 9035 KB (HOW A PRO...) shows a successful catch and swallow. Notice how the Egret repositions the slippery fish before
tossing it that final time and swallowing the fish.  I think the number of Egrets, and Alligators hunting; and the large number of fish are good indications that the lake will have a good population 
of fish before long.


June 25, 2006--This is actually one of my later sightings of this striking bird. The first time I noticed one was a few weeks earlier, on 5/28/06. I was walking along the North side of the
40 Acre Lake trail when I saw this amazing black-and-white bird. Something about the colors, or the way they are arranged pleased me, and I stopped immediately and just watched the
bird. When I returned to the VC/NC, I described the bird to Beth, and she immediately identified it as a Black-Necked Stilt. The Black Necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) is not common
 to Brazos Bend State park, but has started feeding there because the water level at the lakes has dropped so much.  Stilts eat water insects and even snails, according to The Encyclopedia
 of American Birds, by Michael Vanner.Since I liked them so much, I tried to take pictures when I could get close enough. They seemed rather shy. Eventually, there were young Stilts walking
 around.Below, I have some pictures and links to video clips of these interesting-looking birds. Look how long their legs are, and watch that odd "sitting" position they attain by bending their legs and
resting on the their shins.

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                                                                                                              5/28/2006                                                         6/04/2006                                
                                                                                        5\28\06 clip 5800 kb wmv  6\04\06 clip pt1 2800 kb wmv   6\04\06 clip pt2 3400 kb wmv  

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                               6/04/2006                                                         6/18/06 with alligator                                             6/18/06  past alligator-
  6\18\06 clip pt1 4400kb wmv    6\18\06 clip pt2 6200 kb wmv

In the clips from 6/18/06 above, I noticed the alligator only after I'd been watching the Stilts through the camera for a while. The parent Stilts, however, appear to be very aware of the alligator.
  The Stilts are very protective, and I like how the two parents walked--in the last clip--along with the young one between them. Below, I have some pictures and more pictures from photographs
(those above are frames from video clips) . The first one shows the two adult Black-Necked Stilts with the young one, and the alligator behind them, taken on 6/18/06. The remaining 4 show the 
young Stilt with the parents walking around on what used to be the bottom of 40 Acre Lake.-----------------------------
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                JUST KEEP GOING, YOUNG'UN                                            PARENT AND YOUNG                                            CLOSEUP OF YOUNG       

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                         THE PARENT STILT                                             ADULT AND CHILD WALKING

Those Stilts were walking on mud that alligators were swimming over just a few months ago. The alligator with the Stilts above was forced to push its way through that muck. This must tire
the alligators, plus it makes foraging difficult.
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