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Thursday 20th of April 2023 and we leave the hotel at 7 thirty. The reception was full when I came out from my room twenty minutes after 7. The guy in the reception told me that they were here for the rocket launch. The TV in reception was blasting out news from the launch site and I was told that all the hotels were full in town due to the SpaceX Starship Rocket launch. - But it will be empty again after lunch, he said. We left the hotel and the highway coming in to South Padre Island was full for long as we could see. We had light traffic and we were joking that we would be alone where we would go. We take of the highway towards south and the highway is empty. The spirit was high in our van until we spotted all the cars parked along the highway and all the people out to look at the launch. But we managed to find a parking next to the road and we walked across the highway.  Long lines to get in to South Padre Island
 Long lines to get in to South Padre Island
 Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
 Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
 Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
 Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
 Police on the scene to keep order
 Police on the scene to keep order
 Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
 Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
 Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
 Many cars parked along the highway to see the rocket launch
 Waiting for the launch
 Waiting for the launch
 Waiting for the launch
It is hazy and foggy but it clears up a little bit while waiting. Well, it was not much of waiting, maybe 20 minutes and we were updated by the people next to us. - 10 minutes to launch! I tried to set up my video camera and when it was 2 minutes to go, I started the camera. And I could see that the camera refused to focus on the rocket.  Smoke start coming out from the rocket
 Here we go
 Here we go
 Here we go
 Here we go
 Here we go
 Disappears in to the clouds
 Only smoke remains
 PLEASE ENJOY VIDEO WITH FULL VOLUME
Video from one in my bird watching group
There it went. Smoke and fire and the rocket came up from the smoke and it disappeared in to the clouds. Then the sound hit us, it was a roar and the ground was shaking.
 My group get assistance from the police to cross the highway
  On the safe side of the highway
 There are still smoke over the launch site
The rocket was gone and we heard that it exploded a few minutes after take-off. We left to go to the Mexican border to look for birds. We will cross the road Southmost Boulevard and drive through the boarder wall to the Sabal Palm Sanctuary at the River Grande. We park the car and there are several trails in the area. Clay-coloured Thrush is the first bird I see and I get a poor picture and a good recording of the bird singing.  Clay-coloured Thrush
Listen to the Clay-coloured Thrush
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
  Couch's Kingbird
The group leaves on a trail going to a pond and I want to see River Grande and the Mexican border so I take the Native Trail going to the River Overlook platform at the river. I sit down and I hear one Northern Cardinal singing in the bushes next to the platform. I cannot see the bird but suddenly the bird take-off and landing on top of a bush on the other side of the platform. I get a picture and a sound recording.  Northern Cardinal
Listen to the Northern Cardinal
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
 Sabal Palm Sanctuary visitor center
 Sabal Palm Sanctuary
 I follow the NATIVE TRAIL
 River overlook
 Mexico on the other side of river
 Not allowed to walk along the gravel road
Bird watching in Mexico
 I reach the River Grande overlook, a wooden platform. I have River Grande below me and the Mexican border is in the middle of the river.
I see birds on the Mexican side so I have to stop my eBird app for the eBird hotspot: Sabal Palm Sanctuary to report the birds. I also manage to get a recording of a male Northern Cardinal singing in a tree on the Mexican side of the river. Listen to the Northern Cardinal
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
Northern Cardinal and a Hooded Oriole in Mexico
I turn off the eBird app for Mexico and I restart the app using same hotspot I used when walking here. I start to walk back towards the visitor center and I see some birds that I cannot ID. I go to check out the feeder when I am back at the visitor center and there are a couple of Bronzed Cowbirds and 2 Long-billed Thrashers. My group are coming back and we go back to the van and I am very happy to have seen River Grande and the Mexican border.  Bronzed Cowbird
 Track at Sabal Palm Sanctuary going to River Grande and the Mexican border
 Track at Sabal Palm Sanctuary going back to the visitor center
 At the Mexican restaurant
 At the Mexican restaurant
It is time for lunch and we will stop at a Mexican Restaurant and I cannot say that I was excited to have Mexican food. No hot tea or MAX at the restaurant. So, a bottle of water and the food I had was very good, so good that I ordered a second plate. It was a nice lunch stop at a rustic Mexican restaurant and I felt good when we left. We will drive back to South Padre Island and we will stop at a marina along the highway going back north. I get very close to one Dunlin foraging close to us, and the bird was not scared at all and I could get pictures.  Dunlin
 Dunlin
 Grey Plover
 Grey Plover
 Reddish Egret, Great White Egret and Snowy Egret
We get back in the van and as we're about to leave we see a huge group of Skimmers lifting from the water. This is a bird I would have liked to have a picture of. But now they are too far away. A short stop at the boat slip and I got to see a new bird, the Black Skimmer was a “lifer”  Black Skimmer
We drove north on the highway when we spotted two Chihuahuan Raven and one White-tailed Hawk on the way. We decided to make a stop for birding at the eBird hotspot: South Padre Is.--Valley Land Fund lots (LTC 036). This is just a few minutes from Holiday Inn Express & Suites South Padre Island. I took a seat on the bench in front of the hummingbird feeder but I did not see any hummingbirds. But there was a couple of interesting lizards.  Lizard
 Lizard
 Lizard
 Lizard
We went to look for a Night hawk and I spotted a taxi parked next to the garden. I took the phone number on the car to call a taxi. But the driver came out from the house and he was available to take me to the hotel. This is the last night on South Padre Island and we will drive towards west to look for birds tomorrow. So you just need to click HERE to find out how that turns out.
    
  You are visitor no.
To www.aladdin.st since December 2005
Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011
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Species lifer: First time that someone observes a species in their life
Photo lifer: First time that someone photographs a species in their life
Audio lifer: First time that someone audio records a species in their life
Naturalized: Exotic population is self-sustaining, breeding in the wild, persisting for many years, and not maintained through ongoing releases (including vagrants from Naturalized populations). These count in official eBird totals and, where applicable, have been accepted by regional bird records committee(s).
Provisional: Either: 1) member of exotic population that is breeding in the wild, self-propagating, and has persisted for multiple years, but not yet Naturalized; 2) rarity of uncertain provenance, with natural vagrancy or captive provenance both considered plausible.
Escapee: Exotic species known or suspected to be escaped or released, including those that have
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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.
Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.
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