Hi, all!
Headed out pre-dawn and made it to Anahuac with five minutes to spare before
sunrise! While listening to the morning chorus, I was surprised to see
three Great-tailed Grackles facing off and doing that famous electronic
whisper song they do in the Valley, as they're considered rare here! (Too
bad I wasn't fast enough with the recorder.) But what was also interesting
was a Boat-tailed Grackle that came sailing in, doing vocalization types
that seemed a combination of the two species! While that was going on
several Nighthawks were beenting and booming overhead, and a Brown Thrasher
sang while a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher chattered. There were lots of
Brown-headed Cowbirds around, but a Bronzed was doing his Darth Vader
imitation.
Was anxious to "BBS" the place, so headed onto Shoveler Pond first, and like
yesterday, I was the only one on the drive for the longest time! The
prescribed pullouts worked well, and the morning chorus was a delight, with
Redwings and grackles, both kinds of gallinules, and even a Least Bittern!
At the Willow Trailhead (would hike that later), a Swainson's Hawk sat
pretty, and several rails sounded off along the route, but after Joe's
comment about hybrids, I really have no idea what I was hearing - I
suspected the accelerating ones were Clappers, and I could pick out the
deeper double notes that are typical of Kings, but to play it safe I
reported them all as King/Clapper in EBird. I wasn't as cautious with the
ibis, however; what ones I could see close were definitely White-faced, but
so many were distant that I just assumed White-faced unless proven
otherwise. Orchard Orioles and Eastern Kingbirds were all over, along with
Savannah Sparrows, and the Purple Gallinules were showing nicely as well - I
even got a movie of one that was in the sun!
The little boardwalk into the marsh had a couple of Barn Swallows on the
railing that were really cute, and both flavors of whistling ducks were
there as well. On the way out I had very mixed feelings about the Marsh
Wren that decided to show and pose for pictures, as I know how badly my
friend Mary Jane wants to see one! L A dragonfly flew in and landed that
looked interesting but later decided it was a female Band-winged Dragonlet,
but unfortunately I was too engrossed in shooting the thing to get a
recording of the Alligator growling behind me! J
The stops that overlooked the grasslands yielded hundreds of Tree Swallows
swooping around! On the road to the boat ramp, they were actually landing
on the road and preening before all moving to the bushes along the side of
the road! At one stop a Semipalmated Plover flew over, and at the dike
where we had the Caspian Terns yesterday were several Cattle Egrets and a
handful of Roseate Spoonbills. Heading on the aforementioned boat ramp
road, the first stop was a doozey: besides the (what would be ubiquitous)
Sedge Wrens and Seaside Sparrows, in the distance came the distinctive
dippy-do! of a Black Rail! I was so jazzed! Further down an Eastern Willet
posed on a post and then started to sing when a rival sang in the distance;
Joe pointed out that the Easterns have a pink base to the bill, and while
the ones yesterday left me scratching my head, this one really showed the
pink! An Osprey flew overhead, and at the end of the road a Black-bellied
Plover flushed. But the best bird was what I thought was a female Redwing
at first, but it turned out to be a hiding Seaside Sparrow who eventually
gave great views!
Returning to the main drag and then heading down the bay drive, a Swamp
Sparrow popped up at one stop, and those Dickcissels with the different
dialects were at it again! At another stop I couldn't believe it: yet
another Black Rail was calling! He had quit by the time this guy from
Colorado wheeled up, but he went on ahead a little in hopes of hearing it,
as that would be a life bird for him! I continued on and checked the
parking areas, where a Whimbrel posed at one. The guy from Colorado pulled
up and reported no luck on hearing the rail, but said he'd come back in the
morning. I went on ahead, and almost fainted: at another stop about a half
mile down from where we were yet another Black Rail was calling (but this
one was really distant)! On the way out I passed the guy and told him about
it, and he nearly passed out! He asked about Seaside Sparrows and nearly
fainted again when I told him they were all over, but I advised him that
they sounded like asthmatic Redwings, so they're easy to overlook if you
don't know what to listen for! So I hope he finds them!
He had told me about some Hudwits at the boat ramp near the visitor's
center, so I headed back there and checked it out; all I could find were
dowitchers and stilts, plus some unidentifiable stuff in the sun, so I
headed over to the Willow Trail to check that out. Right as I stepped out,
one of the nighthawks had taken up a branch to snooze on! It was pretty
quiet migrant-wise, but the mosquitoes were horrible; most interesting thing
was a Blue-headed Vireo, but also had some White-crowned Sparrows and a
female hummingbird.
Decided to head on in to Galveston after that, and Joe was right: it's a
long way to Bolivar flats! I enjoyed watching a lady feed the gulls on the
ferry, and once off I thought I'd check out this Corp Woods area. Another
lady I ran into said it was kinda quiet except for some Indigo Buntings, and
she was right, but I did manage to pick up a pretty Yellow Warbler and a
Wood Thrush that was singing tentatively, as well as a chickadee for the
day! An empid popped up that I couldn't ID while looking at it, but looking
at the pictures, I'm leaning towards Least, as it had a pretty bold eyering,
a shortish tail, and not much of a primary projection.
With what time I had left, I decided to head straight for Lafitte's Cove
(after getting thoroughly lost; the guy at the BW admitted it's easy to do),
and that proved to be pretty productive! On the way there spooked a
Yellow-crowned Night Heron, and along the boardwalk trail were these
obnoxious-sounding toads that I suspect are Narrow-mouthed (after going
through all those frog calls trying to figure out what I had at Huntsville)!
A Summer Tanager blasted in and bullied a Mockingbird (!), and at the drip
was a crowd of people, a few with Big Guns, but plenty of room on the
benches, so I wiggled in and waited for the show. As the guys were talking
it became apparent that one of them was Greg Lavaty! He evidently guides
people and was very good at helping others (including me) get on some of the
birds that came in! At first about the only thing to show an interest in
the drip was a female Tennessee Warbler (with all the flashes going off you
woulda thought it was a Golden-winged or something, but when it's the only
game in town.), but a Painted Bunting sat in the shadows for awhile, and
then the male Canada Warbler came in, which caused a lot of excitement! A
lovely Magnolia and a Black-throated Green also came in, but alas, I had to
get going (supposedly a storm was coming in, but what looked nasty in the
distance must have fizzled out), picking up yet another tentatively singing
Wood Thrush (the Swainson's was a little more robust.)!
Found the Best Western, got some ice and snacks, and retired to catch up!
Almost broke 100 today, and actually, if I count that Least Flycatcher, that
would make it 100 even!
Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor
Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
Great Egret Ardea alba
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Green Heron Butorides virescens
Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea
White Ibis Eudocimus albus
White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi
Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni
Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis
Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris
King Rail Rallus elegans
Sora Porzana carolina
Purple Gallinule Porphyrio martinicus
Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
American Coot Fulica americana
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
Willet Tringa semipalmata
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
Herring Gull
Least Tern Sternula antillarum
Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Blue-headed Vireo Vireo solitarius
Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
Purple Martin Progne subis
Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis
Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris
Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus
Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina
Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum
Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Tennessee Warbler Oreothlypis peregrina
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Magnolia Warbler Setophaga magnolia
Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia
Black-throated Green Warbler Setophaga virens
Canada Warbler Cardellina Canadensis
Yellow-breasted Chat
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Seaside Sparrow Ammodramus maritimus
Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana
White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
Painted Bunting Passerina ciris
Dickcissel Spiza americana
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
Boat-tailed Grackle Quiscalus major
Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
99 SPECIES
SO FAR: 260 SPECIES
Mary Beth Stowe
McAllen, TX
miriameaglemon.com
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