May 11, 2017 Speaker Social

 

 

Thursday, May 11, 2017 6:00 pm  Speaker - Anna Manuel – Bird and Nature Photography
Harlingen Public Library: 410 76 Dr. Harlingen, TX 78550

 

 

Our May 11 Speaker Social will be Bird and Nature Photography and the Speaker will be none other than our own Anna Manuel.  You have all seen her great photos of birds and nature on Facebook and admired her abilities.  She is now going to share them with you as she takes you through methods she has learned from photography lessons with Bill Gozansky, Professional Photographer.

 

 

 

 

May 13, 2017 Field Trip - Port Mansfield 

The Port Mansfield field trip on May 13 meets at Hugh Ramsey Nature Park at 7:30 am.  Linda Butcher will lead this field trip and guide you to her favorite spots to photograph deer, birds and other subjects.  If you have not been to Port Mansfield in a while you will be excited to see the observation decks over shorelines and wetlands and long fishing piers.  Fred Stone Park offers close-up views of shorebirds making them easy to photograph and identify.  Linda will make sure you get opportunities to use the photography skills you learn from Anna at the May 11 Speaker Social.

 

Birder Patrol trips will continue on the fourth Saturday of the month throughout the spring and summer. Watch for notices from ACAS and RGV Birding Facebook pages, ACAS website and Texbirds. The requested $5 donation for the Birder Patrol trips benefit the Educational endeavors of ACAS.

 

ACAS Pelagic Trip- September 17, 2016

Sunrise from the Osprey 

Last Saturday several members of ACAS attended the Texas Pelagics trip. Most arrived by 5 a.m. and our boat, the Osprey, departed at 5:30 a.m. We experienced southerly winds as we traveled east toward the edge of the continental shelf. This made for a rocky boat. A view of the full moon provided a distraction for the many first-time pelagic participants. Shortly after the sun rose we were quickly rewarded with a flyby of a Parasitic Jaeger!

Parasitic Jaeger

After seeing the jaeger, it was a couple of hours before we saw more birds, but the view of the open ocean provided great stimulation.

Flying Fish

I wasn't sure what this was when I first saw it from a distance, but Huck Hutchens kindly let me know what I was seeing- a Flying Fish!

Cory's Shearwater (Scopoli's spp.)

It was a pleasure to see a Cory's Shearwater (Scopoli's spp.) halfway through the trip. For many of us this was a lifer. They are much larger than the Audubon's Shearwater as you may note in the photo below.

Cory's Shearwater (Scopoli's spp.) (left) & Audubon's Shearwater (right)

We even saw a few landbirds flying over the Gulf of Mexico- Barn Swallow, Baltimore Oriole and Purple Martin.
 

At the end of our trip the list of birds seen included: Parasitic Jaeger, Cory's Shearwater, Audubon's Shearwater, Bridled Tern, Common Tern, Sooty Tern, Sandwich Tern, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Least Tern and Black Tern.

Sandwich Tern

After 12 hours on the water, land was a welcome sight. We had a successful trip with 5 true seabirds seen. Thank you to Gary Hodne for organizing this trip. If interested in Pelagic Trips be sure to visit http://texaspelagics.com. 

South Padre Island, TX

Fourth of July Guinea Grass Pull

Thank you to all our volunteers who made it out to Hugh Ramsey Nature Park to pull guinea grass this morning! Our Fourth of July Guinea Grass Pull was a great success! We pulled out a total of 7 wheelbarrows of guinea grass- all in a matter of two hours. Afterward, we enjoyed some nice cold watermelon Norma brought to treat us!

There is much that can be accomplished in a short amount of time when volunteers come forward and work as a team. The area behind the HUGH RAMSEY NATURE PARK sign will now be easier on the eyes!