We got up early and grabbed some carbohydrates and coffee. Then the weather turned rainy and overcast. We drove to Ross Barnett Reservoir in central Mississippi. The spillway at the dam was delightfully alive with Ring Billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis) and Great Egrets (Ardea alba). The egrets were also roosting in the trees below the spillway. Several Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) were fishing along the bank, right alongside the human "fisher-people".
At the Pearl River inlet into the reservoir, there is a handsome waterfowl restoration project. Long stretches of grass beds that extend into the lake. Here we spotted a whole flock of Green Winged Teal (Anas crecca carolinensis) trolling for food. Identification marks on the Green Winged Teal include a large green spot on their head and a cream colored vertical stripe on either side. The only other bird that looks like it is the American Widgeon, which has the green spot on its head, but even in the rainy haze which covered the lake, the cream colored vertical stripe is "diagnostic" for the Green Winged Teal.
 |
It started raining heavily at this point, so we cut out and drove very fast through the pouring rain to eat lunch at the excellent Crescent Grill restaurant in Hattiesburg. Crab cakes and seafood crepes. Bonne bouffe, as the French say. Good grub. It was very nice to get in out of the rain.
Pascagoula is a small town on the gulf coast of Mississippi near Alabama. Here we saw a flock of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) on the surface of the intercoastal waterway. They feed in groups by lining up on the water and paddling slowly forward, churning up the little fish in front of them. Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) dive bomb into the ocean to catch fish. American Whites are more civilized. They are white birds, totally white as they sit on the water, yet as they rise into flight, you see the trailing edge of their wings is black. Here is a picture of an American White Pelican.
 |
From our hotel based in Mobile, Alabama, we drove across the bay to finally replace the Delorme map of Mississippi we had lost. We had dinner right next door at Wentzell's. I had bacon-wrapped shrimp and Monterey oysters. Berry had she-crab soup and their famous Stuffed Crabs. Delicious. We updated the blog back at our hotel and crashed for the night.
Robert and Berryphoto courtesy of rfowler, mkainickara, awilson
No comments:
Post a Comment