A scan of the marsh from the large observation tower at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge revealed American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, King and Virginia Rail, Sora, Sandhill Crane, American Oystercatcher, American Avocet, Long-billed Curlew, and Forster's Tern, but I was happiest to see three adult Whooping Cranes, which was a new species for me.
On our way back home, we detoured to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. Notables there were American Bittern, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, White-tailed Kite, Merlin, Common Moorhen, Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren, and Savannah, Le Conte's, Seaside, and Sharp-tailed Sparrow.
Back on the road, we wanted to get something to eat before it got too late. We remembered that there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant somewhere near the Texas-Louisiana border, so we were aiming for that, but it kept getting later and we were wondering if we were going to get there before it closed. Eventually, Rick and Jason fell asleep in the back seat while Dick was driving. I was barely awake when Dick saw a billboard for the upcoming KFC. He was so happy to see it that he yelled, "Kentucky Fried Chicken!" Jason and Rick jumped up, figuring that we were about to go into a bridge abutment or something worse. As it turned out, we made it to the restaurant with about a half-hour to spare and cleaned out what was left of their buffet.
January 19, 1998
We took turns driving all through the night and the next day and finally got home late on the 19th. I got three life birds during another one of our "Red-eye Birding Tours".
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