Bird Island
July 21, 2018
by Mark Andrus

I went on a Saturday morning trip put on by the Brazoria County Parks Department. My guess is it was a three mile round trip. We left from the boat ramp at San Luis Pass county park and headed north. They were many pelicans around the boat ramp. The day was hot and sunny so I wore a fishing shirt, trail pants and a cap to cover up. I took my Dagger Animas whitewater kayak because I could throw it in the back of the truck without having to put the racks on. Bird Island is a small low island that is half sand beach and half scrub vegetation. The birds nest in the vegetation but we stayed on the sand. I saw roseate spoonbills, sea gulls and heron.

I took a soak by the island to cool off. I had my PFD on but it started to ride up on me. I corrected that by tightening the straps on my PFD. I started to feel a bit of arm tiredness on the way back so I corrected that by putting more rotation into my strokes which uses the torso muscles. Another paddler fell behind so I stayed with him. He was having back problems. Mike, our guide, came back and gave him a tow even through he and his boy had to help paddle.

I looked at the historical markers by the office building. One was for San Luis and the other was for Titlum Tatlim. The San Luis marker mentioned that the Folletts, an ancestor, had a ferry across the pass (which would have been before the Civil War). I knew from my great uncle that Titlum Tatlim was named from a line in a poem but I have never been able to find the poem but that was not on the marker. Coming back, I passed by the Kelly Hamby nature path about a mile from San Luis Pass. I knew Kelly who was the city secretary for Surfside Beach and died a couple of years ago. I saw her one time in Austin when she was testifying in Austin on a Texas Open Beaches case I was on.

When I got to Surfside, I noticed Bingo’s Surf Shop was having a liquidation sale after Bingo died a month ago. I bought neoprene gloves and water shoes. I was tempted by the rental long board they had left for $275. They were selling cash only and I did not have that much cash on me so I passed. I body surf and kayak surf now so I did not really need to get a board. I headed back to Angleton to clean up my boat and gear.

For the nautical chart, go to NOAA chart 11322 page 23 of booklet charts.

The author, Mark Andrus