Texbirders, Yesterday I took a day trip to Liberty with Judith Bailey, Laura Legett and Shelia Hargis. Our target species was Swallow-tailed Kites. The kites were there and easily seen from the bridge that spans the Trinity River on the west side of Liberty. We saw a total of three individuals. One was very distinctive, with one tail streamer shorter than the other. We actually saw this bird twice and it was fun for all of us to re-find this distinctive individual. There is a park in Liberty with a swimming pool and playground equipment as well as a wooded area with trails through it. We followed the calls of Pileated Woodpeckers until we got great looks at a male hammering away at a tree where a large branch had broken off at the trunk. We had a chance to really study this guy, and while we watched him got looks at three other birds in the area. This seems like a reliable place for this charismatic bird if anyone in the area is looking for one. We ended up with 52 species on this very pleasant morning of birding, including one Mottled Duck, several Anhingas, a total of 27 MIssissippi Kites, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Loggerhead Shrike. Laurie Foss Austin www.jbjourneys.com Adventure Travel to Central America and Beyond