I'm still sharing pictures from Padre Island National Seashore. We saw these wonderful Red-headed Ducks. They are the first ones I've ever seen. There was a whole pond full of them. Its amazing how many birds come to the southeast coast of Texas for the winter. Walking the beach was a challenge with all the jellyfish that washed up on shore. The high tides must strand them on the beach and they were all over the beach. I found out this pretty blue one that was still moving even on the sand is called a Portuguese Man O War. Yes, their sting is poisonous but I don't think its deadly at least not the small ones. They aren't really a true jellyfish. They are some kind of polyp with many polyps forming one organism.
There were other plate sized jellyfish with pink tentacles all over the beach as well but I couldn't figure out what they were called. From what I read they can still sting even after they are "dead". We accidentally stepped on a few while walking (we had shoes on) and they are very slippery -- its like stepping on ice. People were fishing in the surf and others were enjoying the water. I couldn't believe none of them got stung. Although people must get stung because there were notices at the visitor center on how to treat the stings (use vinegar).
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