SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A South Padre Island sunrise soothes a soul savored by swelling surf or seen from sandy dunes thru gently swaying sea oats.
Dawn’s rich light bathes the beach in a golden glow, and if you venture coastal early trackless shore may beckon.
Murmuring waves supply the sole soundtrack on an inexorable roll to shore as a skein of Brown pelicans skim surf below the rising sun.
A Great Blue heron stands sentinel on a towering dune, while shoreward another snares a fish dinner, miraculously managing to swallow the ambitious catch of the day.
Sanderlings drill for morning morsels, scampering just beyond the wave’s reach on their peripatetic quest for sustenance.
Pelicans prefer diving for dinner, except for those that have perfected a more leisurely approach and simply seine shore for seafood with their wonderfully pouched bills.
Just beyond flowing surf, flowering railroad vine tenaciously clings to sand dunes providing nectar for hummingbirds and similarly sized hummingbird moths.
Most moths are nocturnal, however, these diurnal fliers flit from bloom to bloom-sipping nectar never lingering long, but slow motion reveals how much these fascinating insects resemble hummingbirds.
Back on the beach, a Ridley sea turtle pats down her nest of freshly buried eggs and begins a determined crawl back into the Gulf where she will disappear beneath the waves, a primordial return to her natal beach fulfilled.
Myriad treasures await discovery on South Padre all seasons as stormy surf, high tides, and blustery winds scour the island washing clean and delivering new wonders.
Admire the view, listen to the surf, feel the breeze, and smell the salty air.
A spirit of renewal flowing from sea to shore is a magical elixir for the soul and perhaps the greatest treasure of all.
