View Photos taken during the annual census on Sundown.Smugmug.com

June 6, 2008 —Friday morning seven volunteers, Chester Smith and Ed Taylor at the boat helm headed out across Matagorda Bay to Sundown Island for the annual bird count.

The annual census takes were : Chester Smith, Warden of Sundown Island, Ed Taylor, David Newstead (Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program), Andy Kasner (Audubon), Clare Lee and Robyn Cobb (Fish & Wildlife Services), Kim Withers (TAMUCC), Diane Nunley (TOS) and Marcy Spears (Houston).

Immature Magnificent Frigate Bird soaring over Sundown Island (photo credit: Diane Nunley).

When we first arrived, we also observed two Magnificent Frigate Birds circling over the island, a male and female. Frigate birds are seen with some regularity in the Port O'Connor area but male frigate birds are much less common.

Last year the plants on Sundown Island were in better shape because of the abundant rain. This year thick brush and grass were found around the various ponds on the island and closer to the shore. On the dryer parts of the island the plants seemed to be surviving in spite of the dry conditions. On the day of the census, unless you were on the edge of the island, there was almost no breeze which made the island miserably hot.

David Newstead noted that there were more Reddish-egrets present on the island during a March visit than during the annual census. Most of the fledged chicks were probably gone by now. He also noted that he observed lots of dead Laughing-gulls around the island (about one week-old. Most gull clutches had only one or two eggs.

One of numerous Brown-Pelican nurseries on the island. (Photo credit: Diane Nunley).

By contrast, there were lots of pelican chicks in various spots on the island. They were of all ages from just-fledged to just acquiring juvenile feathers to first year adults. Parts of the island, large areas looked more like a "day care" or nursery than anything else.

It is rare to visit Sundown Island that a Diamond-back Rattle Snake is not encountered. All of the counters were wearing snake leggings.

The annual colonial-water bird census is shown below. The numbers were down somewhat from last year. However, the census takes place once a year. Many of the birds were already sitting on eggs in February. Their chicks would have fledged and left the island. Even if the juveniles remained on the island, only breeding-pairs are counted.

Before the group headed back for Port O'Connor, Chester Smith had one more item to take care of. The spring on the windmill needed to be replaced. Chester had David Newstead climb up to the windmill platform to replace the spring. The rest of the group helped from the ground. In the end, the spring was not replaced. David got a lots of practice going up and down the windmil thoughl. He said that "I believe I started and ended my career as a windmill repairman all in the same day." David is the Manager of the Audubon Colonial Waterbird Program and Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program Partner.

Annual Census 2008

A Reddish Egret collecting nesting material during. Photo Credit: Diane Nunley. This is a White Morph Reddish Egret. Notice the bright blue lores and bright pink bill with the dark tip. These are pronounced during breeding season. Photo credit: Diane Nunley

Breeding Pairs 2008 Brown Pelican 1,508 Neotropic Cormorant 6 Great Blue Heron 95 Great Egret 112 Snowy Egret 5 Reddish Egret (dark/white) 11 Tricolored Heron 79 Little Blue Heron 6 Cattle Egret 12 Black-crowned Night-Heron 19 White Ibis 64 Roseate Spoonbill 28 Oystercatcher 2 Laughing Gull 4,800 Gull-billed Tern 5 Caspian Tern 1 Royal Tern 3,400 Sandwich Tern 550 Black Skimmer 110 Crested Caracara Total 10,813

Other Birds Observed Magnificent Frigrate Bird 2 Gull-billed Tern 2 Black-necked Stilt 4 If you are interested in more information about colonial waterbirds on the Texas coast, also visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Texas Coastal Program site. This site includes census data on counts going back twenty or more years.