I decided to get out of town on Christmas and went birding around Corpus Christi (strange name for a city). I camped on the beach under a full moon at Mustang Island State Park. Quite spectacular. Fog slowed the early morning start. The fog cleared as I drove up to Port Aransas. I spotted a Merlin on the power lines along the way. The community park was slow. All the usual suspects (Stilts, Avocets, Teal, White Pelicans, Neotropical Cormorant). I then headed inland across the ferry to Port Aransas Pass. The inner bay was entirely filled with birds. I think it was one of the largest coastal aggregations I've seen (not having been to eg Alaska for the migration). The bay was filled with yellow-legs, willets, semipalmated sandpipers, dowitchers, lots of ducks including bufflehead and goldeneye, many herons and spoonbills. A peregrine dipped over to scare the waders, but did not make a kill. All of this was at great distance. Glad to have a 60x flourite scope. This area would be amazing for kayak birding. I might have to go soon. One of the more interesting sightings was a mallard with a bright red head! On closer inspection it turned out to be a decoy. No duck hunters that day.