Quintana and the trip to Los Fresnos
April 8th we woke up, packed up, and departed the wonderful Hampton Inn in Lake Jackson, near Brazoria. We hit the Brew and Bake, the areas only good coffee cafe and got a good breakfast (well mine was only liquid but it was glorious to get a soy latte). On our way south we headed to Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary. On the ride in near the bridge leading to the island we saw a Yellow-crownded Night Heron male, American Coots, Tricolored Herons, Teals and some unidentified shorebirds.
It was pretty dead when we arrived at the Sanctuary but I got a great shot of a male Cardinal. I packed up the camera and then of course we saw a female American Redstart, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and male Summer Tanager. We drove to the beach an saw a small flock of Common Loons in the rough choppy brown ocean waves. Brown pelican were soaring all over in their graceful yet clumsy way.
Mom got to see a couple Cotton Rats, she wasn’t excited but I was sorry I missed them. They are pretty cute rats, kinda look a little like a chipmunk. The place was filled with Grackles. We were told to watch for rattle snakes.
On the way out we saw the Night Heron again and I got some photos. A nice little stop.
The ride to Los Fresnos is desolate. We stopped at the only gas station in MILES and got some lotto tickets, the place had a lot of locals. Lots of fields, shacks and steers to look at. Tim described it as a “clash of nature and industry” that can pretty much describe Brazoria as well.
Can’t wait to get to Los Fresnos. We rent a second car, will bird a bit at the La Chachalaca Inn where we are staying and then hit the sack. I hope to get a good meal (haven’t had an actual meal yet today) and some time to process some more photos for the blog and site, since you all haven’t seen any yet.
Stay tuned!
The rats were cute…I was not put off by them. I tried to snap a photo of them (there were three), but they scurried away.
There were lovely wildflowers all around. I will look up the names and post them later. One flower that grows abundantly along the roadsides is the evening primrose.
The Inn at Chachalaca Bend is one of the best B&Bs we have visited. The rooms are nice size, the furniture uniquely western, and the baths are luxurious with jacuzzi tubs. Birding trails abound as well as mosquitoes. The place is beautiful and would be perfect if it weren’t for the MOSQUITOzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Makes me itch just thinking about them.
Chrissy, thank you for finding this lovely Inn. We love it.
MA
The innkeeper sprayed the entire property to kill the mosquitos and now The Inn at Chachalaca Bend is perfect. The other birders staying here are generous with tips on where to see the next best thing. One couple actually saw an ocelot at Laguna Atascosa, which apparently is beyond a rare sight. This was another great day…yesterdays highlight was a roadrunner crossing the road, today was a horny great blue heron posturing and panting for a cute female across the marsh.