Lat winter – one Bald Eagle in Pearland. This winter two, but I am jumping ahead…
With constant development across Houston and outlying cities, it is nice to see and unintended consequence of a new home community turn into a hotspot for birds. The ever conspicuous but seldom thought of, Retention Pond.
When a new community goes up, so does a retention pond to help control runoff and limit flooding. Behind “our” local retention pond sits a small grove of trees on one side and the new Stella Roberts Recycling Center on the other. It is what lies between which may turn out to be the unseen gem of Pearland. This small retention pond, and another across the backside of the community, houses both year-round and part time avian visitors in numbers and species which continue to grow.
This month has seen the two Bald Eagles (one adult, one immature this week), Brown Pelican, White Ibis, Anhinga, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Little Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Killdeer, Loggerhead Shrike and White-bellied Whistling Duck. And we are only two weeks into January…
Seasonally, the pond receives Red-winged Blackbird, Black-necked Stilt (nesting), Black-crowned Night Heron, Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Roseate Spoonbill, Laughing Gull, Great Blue Heron, Cormorant, and various Doves, Sparrows, Swifts and others. In 2007, Flamingo flew over heading south.
With the loss of open spaces, birds and other wildlife are managing to carve out their own small spaces. The drawback for the birds on this pond; from 2005-2007 there was a No Trespassing sign up but it since has come down in favor of a Beware of Alligators and Snakes sign, and on weekends there are cars parked along the edges with people fishing by rod and with throw net. Turtles were quite abundant for the first few years but are not seen as often since 2008.
There is not much traffic off this road and it is fairly clear most of the people driving by do not stop to look at the wildlife literally in their neighborhood. No matter where you are in the Greater Houston area, slow down and take a look around and you may be amazed by the abundance of wildlife and plants that may have gone unnoticed before.
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I would love to see an eagle in the wild someday!
January 24, 2010 – For the past week a Bald Eagle has been seen fishing on our community lakes close to the reservoir at Bear Creek. Today it stood just 10 yards away from me to secure his/her catch. What a magnificent bird! It will be interesting if our frequent visitors, a pair of Ospreys arrive to claim their fishing rights!