Quick Birding Trip at Goliad

Last weekend, we took a quick long weekend down to the coast. We camped two nights at Goliad SP, about a third of the way down, since there was no spots available on Mustang Island SP. We were not able to get into the more secluded Karankawa loop. Instead, we ended up in the Jacales area which is basically a big asphalt parking lot.

The few days prior to our arrival had seen a flurry of species caught by a north wind. By the time we got there the winds had shifted and sent most of the birds on their way. We saw almost no birds at our usual spots but, we did net a couple of nice ones.

The first was a lone Townsend's Warbler, listed as rare here, and a new species for both of us:

The other was a Purple Galinule. We have only seen one other from a distance.

Back at Goliad SP, we found a colony of Cliff Swallows under one of the bridges in the park. We spent quite some time watching them come and go in waves. We estimated about 200-300 birds in this colony.

Danielle put together a movie of the swallows