Today(04/04) at Blucher Park, I had the pleasure of Birding with Skip Cantrell
- and though Warblers were kind of scarce, we did have some way cool stuff.
Highlights included 3 Chuck-wills-Widows, 2 Philadelphia Vireos(f.o.s),
Great-crested and Brown-crested Flycatchers, plus Swainson's and Hermit
Thrushes.
Later in the day, I met up with our Friend (and spotter supreme), James Witten
for 2 visits to Polywog Ponds. During our 1st get together, we had 40 to 50
Swainson's Hawks, slowly but surely making their way North. This total included
3 rufous morphs and numerous very high quality looks overall, as these awesome
Buteos glaciered their way home.
Then in the early evening, my wife Libby and I met up with James once again at
Polywog. This visit was highlighted by an adult Broad-winged Hawk(interestingly
acting 'local'), 3 dozen Cedar Waxwings, a stellar Yellow-throated Warbler, and
a downright stunning Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.
While I am posting, I should probably mention some Hawk migration numbers from
a 2 hour walk on 04/03, that Libby and I counted from Polywog:
Broad-winged Hawks: 1200
Turkey Vultures: 200
Swainson's Hawks: 45
Mississippi Kites: 3
Cooper's Hawks: 2
Also, a huge thank you to our excellent Friends(and Birdwatchers), Phyllis
Hibdon and Mike Egar. Libby and I were fortunate enough to spend
Saturday(04/02), Birding with Phyllis and Mike at Blucher Park, Packery
Channel, and Port Aransas. All told, we tallied 120 species. Highlights
included Buff-breasted Sandpiper, male Indigo Bunting, Worm-eating Warbler,
male Orchard Oriole, Warbling and Blue-headed Vireos, Vesper and Lark Sparrows,
Franklin's Gull, Least and Sandwich Terns, Least Bittern, Northern Harrier,
White-tailed Hawk, and Merlin. Plus so much more...(And don't get me started on
lunch!) Thank you Phyllis and Mike...(and Birds, of course).
In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit this post was made during the
2nd half of the NCAA men's B-ball championship game - a classic in every sense
of the word - I hope I did not neglect to mention too many species...(In a
short visit on 04/02, Libby and I did whiff on the Broad-billed Hummingbird)...
South Texas Rocks...
Dane Ferrell
Corpus Christi, TX
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