Today is my third full day in Texas and we headed towards the gulf to go to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge to do some bird watching. The wind was very strong and I have to admit that I didn't plan properly and had the wrong attire on. I spent half the day trying to keep my skirt down so I wouldn't flash anyone, lol. Other than that, the day was pretty good. 

We walked all the trails around the visitor center and stopped at the bird blind as well as all the observation stops. At the bird blind and a couple of the observation points they had small pools of water, bird seed and bananas out for the birds so that made it very easy to see them. However, most of the areas were relatively shaded so it did make photographing the beauties a little difficult. I finally got to see the green jay which was one bird that was a must see on my list. We also got to see a long-billed thrasher, couch's kindbirds, bronzed cowbirds, red-winged blackbirds and great-tailed grackles.

After we walked all the trails around the visitor center, we went to the Osprey Overlook to see shorebirds and raptors. Sadly though, the wind was so strong that every time I tried to snap a pick the wind would blow the lens away. It was completely impossible to photograph at the overlook, so we walked the trail to the alligator pond. Unfortunately, the alligator pond was completely dried out and had no gators, so we walked back and spent a little more time observing birds near the visitor center.

Eventually I had enough of photographing, so we left to grab food at Whataburger. The food was good, tasted like a burger, lol. 

The green jay is an absolutely stunning tropical bird found primarily in Mexico and South America. Their range has been expanding into Texas and according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey their populations increased between 1966 and 2015. The green jay has a blue head, a green body, and a tail that is teal on top and yellow on the underside. In Texas, the green jay utilizes open woodland and brushy mesquite thickets. In Mexico and South America they can be found in humid forests. Their diets consist of: arthropods, vertebrates, seeds, and fruit.