Texas April 2006
This year’s Birdfinders tour to Texas was another marvelous success.
The birding in Texas is difficult to better anywhere in the US,
especially in spring. This year was no exception and our sharp-eyed
group rallied well to cope with unseasonable heat, and an unusual
abundance of mosquitoes. Our group total of 307 species bettered that
of both 2004 and 2005, and we recorded almost all of the local
specialties for which South Texas is famous, as well as quite a few
that wouldn’t be expected.
On the down side, a persistent southern airstream resulted in a lack of
large passerine arrivals on the Upper Texas coast during the relatively
small time period that we have there. Our planned visit to the
Pineywoods was also foiled by severe thunderstorms, while the coast
received almost no rain at all! However, these were relatively minor
grumbles on what was an otherwise very productive tour, and we had good
to exceptional views of the following;
Least Grebe, Muscovy and Mottled Ducks, American Swallow-tailed Kite, Gray, Zone-tailed and White-tailed
Hawks, Plain Chachalaca, Whooping Crane, White-tipped Dove,
Red-billed Pigeon, Green Parakeet, Red-crowned Parrot, Buff-bellied
Hummingbird, Ringed and Green Kingfishers, Golden-fronted, Red-headed and Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Tropical, Couch's and Western Kingbirds, Great Kiskadee, Green and Brown
Jays, Cave Swallow, Long-billed Thrasher, Clay-colored Robin,
Black-crested Titmouse, Tamaulipas Crow, Black-capped Vireo, Tropical
Parula (our best views yet!), Yellow-throated and Golden-cheeked Warblers, Cassin's and Olive Sparrows, White-collared Seed-eater, Painted Bunting, Audubon's, Altimira and Hooded Orioles, and Boat-tailed Grackle.
Spring in Texas always includes a surprise or two and this year was no
exception. On the very first morning of the tour, whilst taking the
pre-dawn drive to Rockport for the Whooping Cranes, we chanced upon a Short-eared Owl hunting close the road between Tivoli and Rockport. The Whooping Crane tour not only produced the ‘hoped for’ cranes but close views of a Greater Flamingo of the Caribbean race P.r.ruber. This
bird was apparently banded as a youngster in the Yucatan Peninsula in
Mexico leaving no doubt as to its wild origin, and had first been seen
in November 2005.
As our tour headed south into the Lower Rio Grande Valley, we had staggering views of a singing Tropical Parula. An evening at a Resaca in Brownsville gave us Couch’s and Tropical Kingbirds, Green Parakeets and Red-crowned Parrots, and beautiful views of two Green Kingfishers.
Our second full day in the Lower Rio Grande Valley began at Sabal Palm
Grove Sanctuary, where the bird of the morning was undoubtedly a bold,
singing Gray-crowned Yellowthroat. Later in the day, we were treated to good views of a pair of nest building Tamaulipas Crows and finished off the day with a very close Aplomado Falcon.
The latter species, though not officially ‘countable’, has been
undergoing reintroduction in the coastal prairies since 1989. It’s a
beautiful raptor and well worth searching for in the extreme
south-eastern part of the state.
Although requiring a very early start, the morning spent overlooking the Rio Grande at Chapeno was quite superb with Muscovy Duck, Gray Hawk, Red-billed Pigeon, Audubon’s Oriole, and numerous Brown Jays
all being seen before 9am. This left us with plenty of time to reach
San Ygnacio where we had unbelievable views of a singing male White-collared Seed-eater!
The following day we journeyed across the desert north of Laredo with some exceptional birding (and a little luck!) . Scaled
Quail, Greater Roadrunner, Cactus Wren, Pyrrhuloxia, Vermilion
Flycatcher, multiple Audubon’s Orioles, Bell’s Vireo, Black-tailed
Gnatcatcher and a bonanza of sparrows - Lincoln’s, White-crowned,
Savannah, Grasshopper, Clay-colored, Lark, Black-throated, Olive and Cassin’s Sparrows were all seen well.
We arrived at Neil’s Lodges just north of Uvalde on the Edward’s
Plateau later that day. Some of our party had amazing views of a Greater Roadrunner and all of us enjoyed great views Rufous-crowned Sparrow feeding alongside Clay-colored, Chipping and Olive Sparrows.
We narrowly missed a Rufous-capped Warbler at a feeding station behind
‘Cabin 61’ at Neil’s Lodges on the very same evening, and this little
skulker was to lead us on a merry dance around Neil’s Lodges for the
next three very hot days. We never did get to grips with this rarity
despite a big effort. That said, we did have stunning views of Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo, and were lucky enough to have a Zone-tailed Hawk in a spring when there appeared to be very few around.
Neil’s Lodges remains a gem and an important, relaxing part of our
tour, and a place where we always receive an especially warm welcome.
Also, a visit to the Edward’s Plateau wouldn’t be complete without an
evening jaunt to the Frio Bat Cave, and this year we enjoyed millions
of emerging Brazilian Free-tailed Bats, and had the site to ourselves. A Say’s Phoebe around the bat cave at dusk was a big surprise, and as left the area we listened to Chuck-wills Widows, and a distant Common Poorwill. On the drive out we encountered numerous White-tailed Deer, Armadillos and Raccoons.
The final days of the tour, spent on the Upper Texas Coast, were full
of changing fortune. After some patience, we enjoyed good views of Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Brown-headed Nuthatch, with numerous Red-headed Woodpeckers, Pine Warblers and Yellow-throated Vireos in the same woodland.
Although passerine arrivals were on the slow side, we actually got to grips with some quality birds including Blue-winged, Golden-winged, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Cerulean, Kentucky, and Hooded Warblers. Two state rarities were seen on the Upper Coast - Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher at Sabine Woods and a Black-whiskered Vireo
at Smith Oaks, High Island. Both were difficult to see, the flycatcher
being especially skulking during our visit, but at least some of our
group manage to view both of them and it was the first year that we’d
recorded either on a Birdfinders tour in Texas!
Bolivar Flats, as always, was a superb spectacle of water and shore
birds. The evening that we visited was remarkably free of other birders
which may have contributed to the exceptional views that we had of Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows. On the mud and sand flats we viewed Wilson’s, Piping and Snowy Plovers, Marbled Godwits, Buff-breasted Sandpipers and 4 immaculate Wilson’s Phalaropes. We even had a ‘peep-sweep’ with wonderful comparisons between Semi-palmated, Western, Least, White-rumped and Baird’s Sandpipers. We was also had no less than eight species of tern, including our first Black Terns of the trip.
This year we found the best rice fields to be north-west of Winnie,
thanks to a tip-off from a knowledgeable local birder, and we returned
with some fabulous totals. The highlight was the sight of well over
1350 Hudsonian Whimbrel, but also 17 Hudsonian Godwits, 8 American Golden Plover, 25 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, 17 Dickcissels and a chorus of singing Sedge Wrens.
We finished off the last morning of the tour by visiting a Nature Center close to the airport which gave us great views of Pileated Woodpeckers excavating a nest hole. We also saw two Prothonotary Warblers before arriving at the airport in good time for our respective flights home.
Special thanks go to Peter Lansdown for his fine co-leadership (again!)
and to our group - Peter and Paddie Adams, John Bayliss, Brian &
Mary Chilcott, Neil Clowes, Roy Evans, David and Janet Kingman, Steve
Watkins, and Kevin White, all of whom made a huge contribution to this
year’s tour.
Next year, Birdfinders will be running the annual spring tour to Texas from April 8th - 22nd, 2007.
Happy Travels!
James P. Smith
Amherst, MA.
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