Birds

Not many folks realize it and there is no reason they would but about 13 years ago I decided I wanted to learn as much as I could about the total eco-system of PINS. I started studying full time when ever I could between charters and when not repairing gear. I have accumulated a small, but detailed reference library on Padre and being pals with knowledgable folks like Dr. David McKee helps as well. I came to know one of the best birders in the U.S., Mel Cooksey, who was living at Padre Isles at the time. Mel keeps the records of bird sightings for the Coastal Bend for the American Birding Association and is on the State Records committee. He loves to fish and we worked out a trade. I took him fishing and he taught me the birds. MANY hrs. of book study have gone into this as well as field study time. When he considered me knowledgeable enough he suggested that I start including unusual bird sightings or large numbers of certain bird species in my daily log entries as no extended study of the birds on PINS had ever been done. I have been doing so daily ever since. I turn in quarterly annual sightings/abundance reports to the American Birding Assoc., the Texas Ornitholical Assoc. and the PINS Natural Resourses Dept. SUPPOSEDLY ha I can tell you what any bird in Texas is, what it does for a living, where it came from and where it is going. I figure it helps our "Track Record" of positive use of the eco-system and to tell you the truth it has increased my enjoyment of every day I spend outdoors. It's cool to hear a bird call out and know what species it is without ever seeing it. When I first started studying the birds I thought how sad it Valium 15mg is that I have seen these creatures all of my life and many of them do the same thing I do for a living in the same place day after day and I don't even know their names. As the years went on I made and turned in observations that have actually made scientists reconsider the distribution of certain species and of certain habits. Currently; due to these sightings and reports there is a lot of interest in the relationship between the Tarpon, the Black Tern and the shoals of Dusky Anchovies. I have been blessed to make some really rare sightings. There are only 2 accepted sighting of adult Sabine's Gull for Texas and I have one of them. [caption id="attachment_91" align="alignright" width="300"] A brown noddy observed by Capt Billy on PINS[/caption] There are only 6 accepted sightings of Brown Noddy for Texas and I have 3 of them on PINS. When I reported the Flamingo to Cooksey he said,"so that is where it went. It has been down in the Southern Laguna near Laguna Atascosa. IMHO the more you know about fishing the more you enjoy it and new doors are opened to you in the world of fishing. The same certainly holds true for other facets of the eco-system. Several years ago a movie was made about research bio-chemists doing field research in the Amazon. Medicine Man. The last line of that movie sticks in my head all the time and I have it written on a scrap of paper on my desk. I read it each morning and it makes me realize how lucky we are and it reminds me to enjoy and appreciate and be greatful for the lives we have been given and the place the Creator gave us to live them in. "LIFE IS STRANGE, BUT DOWN HERE IT IS VERY PRECIOUS." Capt Billy