Kingsville, Texas - Birding Environs by Air and Land

Out-of-print Texas Wildlife Loop Map

Visiting grown children has its advantage - visits are guaranteed to be scheduled so Mom and Dad stay in touch, and thus opportunities are provided to look for new wildlife viewings - best defined as bird watches. We haven't had an chance to visit the Corpus Christi, Texas area - our son's training schedule was too busy to fit us in. But with his next assignment just an hour down the road along the Gulf Coast at Kingsville - and us helping him move - a near perfect opportunity presents itself. Especially since we will be using a couple of AirTran Travel Vouchers from nearly a year ago to at least get in some Open-60 (1) viewing in a place I have never been before. Fortunately, there are no blackout dates when using the vouchers in September.

As it turns out, not only are there the Kingsville coastal estuary environs to take advantage of, there is also the King Ranch and other slightly inland sites. Lots of birding sites are listed in the State of Texas in the legend to the Kingsville Loop Map. All of this information is a part of the Great Texas Wildlife Trails program. (2) Similar information is available for the Corpus Christi area as well.

As for birding guides, there are a number that are available. According to the Amazon reader reviews, there are a number of books listed with varying degrees of acclaim. I ended up ordering the ABA Birdfinding Guide: A Birder's Guide to the Texas Coast, Fifth edition from Buteo Books. Once we fly down to San Antonio and

Cooksey and Weeks Guide

drive into the area, I am sure I can pick up another more common field guide at a book store, but thought it best to go for the on-line order of the guide - less than $30, anyway. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reviews of the book, but can't imagine it won't be useful or lacking depth in its scope of species and descriptions - compared to the more generic regional titles. While GOOGLE'ing bird books, I also found a Website called WorldTwitch - Finding Rare Birds Around the World. The site has a nice listing of birding book titles that can be queued by world regions and other pre-selected criteria that seems less complicated than sorting through the Amazon or other book seller site. Finally, what appears to be another good book is the one published by Texas A&M titled: Finding Birds on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail by Eubanks, Behrstock, and Davidson. It is written specifically for the Upper Texas Coast, but I presume it would be applicable to the mid and lower regions of the Texas coast. Price, only $23.
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(1) Bird watching from the highway at 60 miles per hour with the window open.
(2) Unfortunately, it seems that the Website is not being maintained, because many of the links are not available when clicked - the state-funded program has been negatively impacted by the economic recession, so the maps are no longer available to be purchased, but may still be available at State Parks.

Another Bird Learned

Navy Boeing T-45 Goshawk

It was just 15 months ago that we were watching the Blue Angels from the field at the Naval Academy, right before the Class of 2010 Graduation. With our son finishing Primary Flight School earlier this week, the news yesterday was what his next training platform would be and the kind of pilot he would be. The word yesterday around 1400 Eastern Time: JETS. My vocabulary is expanding when it comes to knowing different naval aviation planes. In the paragraphs below are a few that are being added to the check-off list - like the birds in my back yard.

Over 200 students a year report to Training Air Wing TWO for Undergraduate Jet Pilot Training. These students report to one of two training squadrons, Training Squadron TWENTY ONE or TRAINING SQUADRON TWENTY TWO. The Training Air Wing is responsible for providing the fleet with newly winged Navy and Marine Corps aviators. The Air Wing consists of approximately 250 student naval aviators, 75 instructor pilots, 80 civilian personnel, and 100 T-45A and T-45C "Goshawk" aircraft. Introduced to NAS Kingsville in 1992, the Goshawk is part of the T-45 Training System (TS) developed by McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing Aircraft Company. The Wing is in the process of upgrading all T-45A aircraft to the T-45C configuration, which more closely matches the avionics found in tactical fleet aircraft. In a historic partnership with the Navy of India, Training Air Wing TWO began training Indian Naval Students in 2006 and graduated the first class for the Indian Navy in 2007. All students undergo a rigorous syllabus in the T-45 Goshawk on the way to earning their Wings of Gold.

The Training Wing TWO Ground Training Department provides for classroom instruction, computer aided instruction, and flight simulation in instrument and operational flight trainers. Contract maintenance and support departments provide the Navy with maintenance and upkeep for the aircraft, support for the aircrew's flight gear, and support for all of the ground and simulator instruction.
Training Air Wing TWO enjoys operating in a very favorable community climate. The residents of Kingsville have always been ardent supporters of the base and continue to provide opportunities for local involvement in a variety of recreational, educational, and entrepreneurial activities. In conjunction with the NAS Kingsville base personnel, Training Air Wing TWO personnel are actively involved in the local schools, providing role models and mentors to the future of our nation.
 (1)

Student Naval Aviators selected for Tailhook training are assigned to NAS Kingsville, Texas or NAS Meridian, Mississippi flying the T-45C or T-45A. NAS Meridian uses only the T-45C while NAS Kingsville is nearly completely transitioned to the T-45C. The syllabus incorporates basic instrument flying, formation, night familiarization and airway navigation over approximately 58 graded flights lasting approximately 27 weeks. At the completion of the Tailhook syllabus, approximately 80% of those SNAs are selected for Advanced Strike training, leading ultimately to tactical jets like the F/A-18 or AV-8B (Marine Corps only). The remaining 20% receive further training in the E2/C2 pipeline, ultimately leading to assignment flying either the E-2C or C-2 Greyhound. Marine Corps SNA's automatically continue in the Advanced Strike syllabus and will ultimately fly either the F/A-18, AV-8B, or EA-6B. (2)
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(1) From Training Air Wing Two.
(2) From Wikipedia United States Naval Aviation.