Hi all -
This morning most of the Hawk Watch crew showed up at the house to help with
the search, but no joy. We did see a Yellow-breasted Chat, B&W Warbler, a
probable Wilson's Warbler (the yellow got me excited for about a millisecond),
and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher as the pertinent migrants.
On a side note, I did get a message from a birder in CT saying that this fall
there has been a spate of CT Warbler sightings in the North East (in his words
"some more questionable than others but most apparently reliable"), so it might
not be a bad idea to peer deeper into the thickets as this and the next cold
front pass through.
Good birding,
Clay Taylor
TOS Life Member
Calallen (Corpus Christi) TX
Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
401-965-9064
From: Clay Taylor
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2016 6:18 PM
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Connecticut Warbler in Corpus Christi
Hi all -
Yup, sometimes "knowing" what to expect where and when can work against you.
Literally 40 minutes ago I was in my backyard, looking for birds - I had been
hearing Dickcissels and a few warbler notes. I caught movement inside a large
Duranta bush (aka Golden Dewdrop and other names) about 20 feet away, so I used
the binocular to focus through the tangled branches. The bird was acting
pretty skulky, so I quietly did a low "ssspssshhhh, psshhh" to get its
attention.
Up popped a head, and beak - grayish in the shadows of the interior of the
bush. At that point I briefly considered a House Wren, rejected that, and
made one more "sssspsshhhhh". It hopped up and I saw the entire head, breast,
and belly: grayish head, slim, pointy bill, clear yellow belly and a sharp line
across the breast - all yellow south of the border and uniform light
greenish(?) gray to the north. It paused for a second, then hopped out of
sight. A brief but clear look.
By that time I was expecting it to be a Mourning Warbler, as I have seen them a
few times in the yard during this time of year - Sept 7 in both 2011 and 2012,
and a few other sightings that I did not record. Since it was not going to
cooperate for a photo, I gave up on it and turned away, heading for the back
corner of the yard.
As I walked, I was grumping about the idea that it was not a MacGillivray's
warbler, because it did not have white arcs above and below the eye. That's
when I stopped dead in my tracks, said a VERY bad word out loud, and exclaimed
to myself "that bird had a big, COMPLETE eye-ring! Holy COW!"
I hustled back to the Doranta, but neither saw nor heard anything. I toured
the area again, looking for skulkers in the thickety areas. No warblers
except for a Yellow Warbler feeding up in the Huisache tree.
About 15 minutes later, I approached the Doranta again, and the bird flushed
from underneath a Blue Mist bush, wriggled through a Cape Honeysuckle bush, and
buried itself in the Doranta again. While it was in the honeysuckle I was only
able to see pieces of the underside and almost nothing of the top of the head,
but that upper breast and throat were fairly uniformly-colored. The throat was
not whitish, yellowish, or anything like that.
I hung around the bush and that corner of the yard for a while longer, but I
did not want to make a racket and possibly scare it out of the yard. Given
that we are due to get rain overnight, I am hoping that it stays until tomorrow
morning.
Yes, I know that Connecticut Warbler is a REALLY tough bird in TX (no tougher
than finding one in CT, though...), and I certainly would like to get a better
look and some photos. If I eventually find out that it is, in fact, a Mourning
Warbler, I will certainly let y'all know, but I am not expecting that to be the
case.
Update in the a.m. -
Clay Taylor
4402 Rolling Ridge Trail
Corpus Christi, TX 78410
401-965-9064
Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner