South Padre Island - Bird Heaven and SpaceX

Loving South Padre Island!

The island is at the southern tip of Texas on the Gulf of Mexico, very tropical.  We arrived yesterday afternoon and are happy to have a three night stay here.  It reminds us of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with the several miles long strand of land next to the ocean.  Lots of beach stores dot the roads.  The high temperature is in the low 80's and the low is in the mid-70's with high humidity.  It is known for its great birding, especially at this time of year because the songbirds have not yet left for cooler climates in the North.  Plus there are many birds that never go much further north than here.  We birdwatched most of the morning.  I have included a few bird pictures below and yes, I have to admit that Ralph's new Samsung camera takes far superior pictures to my new iPhone, so these are pictures that he took.  

After lunch, we headed to Boca Chica to see SpaceX Starbase where they are building the Mars "vehicle".  It was only 10 miles as the crow flies but we had to drive 41 miles to get there.  It was really, really interesting and we were close enough to the Mexico border that we had to go through a checkpoint.  We were surprised at the seeming lack of security at the SpaceX facility.  They had signs saying "no trespassing" but we only saw one guard in the whole area to keep you from driving onto the site.  Pictures below.  Tomorrow, well, more birdwatching and off to the beach.

This view is of the island as we were driving over the bridge to get to it.  As you can see, it is quite a large resort area.

This is a picture of our campsite at sunrise.  Yes, I did get up that early.  Had to get out to see the birds!

This is one of the places we went birding.  Great place with a nice boardwalk that goes through kind of a swampy area, great for all kinds of birds (and alligators).  You definitely don't want to drop your phone.

This is the nest of a Green Heron with three babies (can't see them all in the photo).  There was a man with a tripod there who told us that the babies were only two days old.  Super cool!

These are Roseate Spoonbills and they hang around the Gulf of Mexico.   It's a very special bird to see because they don't travel north of the Gulf.

Here's a pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (aren't bird names the greatest?).  Like the birds above, they do not migrate north of Texas.

A flock of Black Skimmers.  They skim the water to catch their prey.  We tried to download a video of them flying but our Internet here is pretty slow so we gave up.

Here is a SpaceX rocket still being built next to the gantry.

This is a picture of the vehicle assembly buildings.  As you can see from the cranes, they are still under construction.

Ralph with three rockets under construction.  As you can see, you can drive right in.  I am guessing someone would be there to "greet" you if you didn't belong there.