Pleasure Island Part 3

Continuing south along T. B. Ellison/Martin Luther King Jr. Drive you find photo opportunities on both sides of the road. The left side of the road away from the ship channel is mostly high reeds and some areas of stand water. The photo below was taken in this area.

Snowy Egret and Common Gallinule hiding behind it. 

For about a mile and a half, past the hurricane damaged road mentioned in the last post ( see Pleasure Island Part 2 ) the road moves away from the ship channel. Then it parallels the channel all the way to the Causeway Bridge. The pilings, barricades, rocks and mud flats attract shore birds.

Barricades to prevent erosion

Ships travelling in the channel produces powerful wakes, which pound the shore line. 

  Snowy Egret in the path of destruction.

Neotropic Cormorant 

Herring Gulls on pilings. 

Variety of Gulls

Related articles

• Pleasure Island Part 1
• Pleasure Island Part 2
• Pleasure Island Part 4

Pleasure Island Part 2

Another area of interest is the shoreline on the channel side of the island.  T. B. Ellison Pkwy/Martin Luther King Jr. Drive parallels the ship channel for approximately 9 miles between the causeway bridge and just north of South Levee Entrance Road. Below is a road that has been blocked off because of hurricane damage, but you can park at the barricade and walk down the road to view flora and fauna of the island. This road is located about 9/10 of a mile south of MLK Jr. Memorial Bridge.

Barricade blocking hurricane damaged road.

This photo shows some of the damaged to this section of road. 

Shoreline and debris along hurricane damaged road. 

 I did not see any wildlife along the road on this trip, but there are plenty of places for that would attract wildlife.  

Lantana

Blackberry in bloom.

Related articles

• Pleasure Island Part 1
• Pleasure Island Part 3
• Pleasure Island Part 4
• Pleasure Island

Beach Evening Primrose

While doing a little bird watching on McFaddin Beach, I came across this  Oenothera drummondii. Beach Evening Primrose is a Texas native perennial, that usually grows in the protected areas behind and between sand dunes. Beach Evening Primrose is a good plant for attracting butterflies.

  Beach Evening Primrose  

Oenothera drummondii was named after Scottish naturalist Thomas Drummond. Drummond came to America to collect specimens in 1830. He arrived in Texas in 1833 and spent 21 months collecting specimens in the state.