Goose Island offers reasonable trips for kayakers of all skill levels.
One can launch at the boat ramp or right from the sandy beaches. A short paddle around and under the fishing pier is a good beginning, or kayakers can paddle around the island to the western cove at high tide (toward Copano Bridge). A black-crowned night heron might hide in the tall grass during the day. Red-winged blackbirds are a frequent sight around the cattails. Less frequent is a seaside sparrow clinging to the tall grass. Rails and bitterns are difficult to see, but can be heard at times calling from hiding places in the reeds. The quiet water near the boat ramp provides habitat for these birds. Always, brown pelicans hang out around the bait stand.
Kayakers with moderate experience will enjoy exploring St. Charles Bay. In the fall, it is possible to take a four-hour kayak trip from the Goose Island boat ramp to see whooping cranes, shorebirds, diving ducks and freshwater ducks. Whooping cranes sometimes fly over the Lamar Peninsula, but none have established territory there. One paddler was sitting in his kayak when two adults and one juvenile whooping crane flew four feet over his head and landed in nearby grass.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is off-limits to anyone accessing the land from the water. Jim Halpin, acting manager of the refuge, explained that they post areas between October 15 and April 15 where boaters are prohibited from entering. All boaters, including kayakers, should respect the access limits and enjoy the whooping cranes from afar, or from a tour boat, whose height provides a better viewing platform than a kayak. If a paddler comes close enough to a whooping crane to cause it to fly away, it is considered harassment and punishable by law.
In winter, experienced paddlers will find a hidden haven for freshwater ducks on a four-hour trip from the boat ramp. A spoil island across the Intracoastal Waterway from Blackjack Peninsula was created from mud dredged from the deep-water shipping channel. In the middle of the island is a depression about 300 yards long that usually fills with rainwater in fall and winter and attracts hundreds of ducks.
To witness this spectacle, kayakers simply get out of their boats and climb the brushy embankment. A little stealth will ensure that the ducks don't flush.
Paddling St. Charles Bay one August morning, we were rewarded with clear, clean water and no wind. We watched great egrets foraging, several hawks gliding overhead and a little blue heron fishing. Tired and hot, we returned to the shore. Just as we were unfolding our bodies from the kayaks, a male magnificent frigatebird came soaring overhead, his distinctive forked tail streaming like two ribbons behind him. Birds of open waters, frigatebirds show up along coasts during hurricane season, and I later learned that a tropical storm was moving north toward the Texas coast.
Effortlessly riding the air currents on long, skinny wings, the frigatebird was the day's last and best reminder of the birding opportunities available around Goose Island from the cockpit of a kayak.
Where are you going?
What do you want to do?
