By Javier Gonzalez Naturalist Educator SPI Birding and Nature Center Special to the Parade The month of August brings the official start of fall migration through our wetlands. Although most of the colorful songbirds that are favorites among birders will not be migrating through in number until September and October, shorebird species like sandpipers …
Category: South Padre Parade
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/08/01/life-on-the-boardwalk-shorebirds-coming-through/
Jul 01 2020
Rio History: A Brief History of the Queen
By Steve Hathcock Special to the PRESS The idea of connecting Padre Island to the mainland had been floated for over 25 years before the following notice appeared in the November 16, 1925 issue of The Galveston Daily News: D.E. Colp, member of the state park board, announced plans for a scenic beach drive …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/07/01/rio-history-a-brief-history-of-the-queen/
Jul 01 2020
Life on the Boardwalk: July Scene on the Wetlands
By Javier Gonzalez Naturalist Educator SPI Birding and Nature Center Special to the Parade The warm weather and waters are catalysts for an explosion of life along the boardwalk during the summer months. July is a remarkably interesting month in our wetlands. It brings a peak of productivity in the salt marsh, which is …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/07/01/life-on-the-boardwalk-july-scene-on-the-wetlands/
Jul 01 2020
Beach Bar Beat: Frank at Louie’s Backyard
By Gaige Davila editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com The Beach Bar Beat is back, in celebration of the old and new at the Port Isabel-South Padre Press and the new South Padre Parade. For this month’s Beat, I’ve returned to a bar that was formative in my teen upbringing, interviewing Frank Oyervidez, who I befriended several years ago when …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/07/01/beach-bar-beat-frank-at-louies-backyard/
Jul 01 2020
Meet Felicia Calo: Hostess for the 81st TIFT
By Gaige Davila editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com The Texas International Fishing Tournament (TIFT) is on schedule for the first weekend of August, for its 81st year. This year, the TIFT Board of Directors selected Felicia Calo as hostess, a title bestowed on local anglers to promote TIFT. Calo graduated from Port Isabel High School in 2016, then from …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/07/01/meet-felicia-calo-hostess-for-the-81st-tift/
May 21 2020
World’s largest mesquite carved turtle unveiled on SPI
By Gaige Davila editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com A hand-carved, seven-foot and ten inch tall by eight-foot-long, six and half-foot wide wooden sea turtle sculpture is now displayed in front of Sea Ranch Restaurant, in what the City of South Padre Island calls a “record breaking tribute” to South Padre Island sea turtles. . The 400-pound, mesquite wood sculpture, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/05/21/worlds-largest-mesquite-carved-turtle-unveiled-on-spi/
May 01 2020
Rio History: Sea-beans
By Steve Hathcock Although sea-beans have been washing onto beaches for tens of thousands of years, most beachcombers are unaware of their origins. Most true sea-beans (numerous varieties of beans with hard outer shells that are long distance drifters) found on Padre Island come from the tropical forests of southern Mexico and Central and South …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/05/01/rio-history-sea-beans-2/
Apr 24 2020
Rio History: Fire Making
By Steve Hathcock The ability to make fire by rubbing two sticks together was arguably the single greatest accomplishment made by our forefathers. The principle is simple: one wooden stick, called the drill or saw, was twisted or rubbed against another, known as the hearth. If done properly, enough heat is created to ignite dried …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/04/24/rio-history-fire-making/
Apr 20 2020
Creatures Among Us: The Nine-Banded Armadillo
By M. Kathy Raines Special to the PRESS Mirroring traits of the quintessential Texan, the nine-banded armadillo is “a hardy, pioneering creature,” one possessing “deep respect and need for the land, the ability to change and adapt, and a fierce, undying love for freedom,” according to 1995’s Texas legislature. Armadillos’ migration to Texas roughly coincides …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/04/20/creatures-among-us-the-nine-banded-armadillo/
Apr 17 2020
Rio History: The Torpedo
By Steve Hathcock A woman called me the other day to tell me about her recent beachcombing trip to the mouth of the Rio Grande River. While exploring in the mudflats that lie directly north of the riverbank, she found shards of glass and several unbroken bottles. “One of the bottles is very odd” she …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/04/17/rio-history-the-torpedo/