Fly with the Birds

While at Scripps, we also stopped by the NMR facility. They of course have an impressive array of Bruker NMR spectrometers, including a 900 Megahertz instrument. The manager is Dr. Croon, who I found out enjoys ornithology. One thing that I could share with Dr. Croon is an excellent birding site called High Island on the Bolivar peninsula along the Gulf of Mexico. I have gone with the kids often and in April is a peak time for the migration of birds through the woods. What makes "High Island" so special is that it is a beacon of trees on a mound high enough above sea level to have been protected from historical storms and so these bird use it for landfall and food as they come across or along the gulf. Also it has a intimate boardwalk next to a line of trees that hosts a rookery for spoonbills, herons, and egrets, with the ever present prowling alligator in the water below.





Here is a link to a nice summary of the
High Island, Texas .