Last night I was thinking that American Golden-Plovers should arrive back in
Texas soon. So, this morning I decide to search for them at some of my
favorite Matagorda county turf farms.
The first stop was Hanson Turf on S Citrus Rd. Only Killdeer here though a
Sprague's Pipit and a Merlin were nice to see. Suitable habitat along the
Holsworth loop also yielded no plovers. The next stop was Saha Turf on Bieri
Rd. Water standing in the turf cuts here from recent irrigation made things
look promising. Pay dirt! Scoping a large distant Killdeer flock, revealed 19
tired yet graceful looking American Golden-Plovers. American Golden-Plovers
were present in small numbers at 2 other locations this morning. Also present
at the Saha Turf farm was a handsome male Pectoral Sandpiper foraging alone in
a wet turf cut.
After returning home, a quick check of eBird confirmed that others were seeing
small numbers of these birds up and down the Texas coast. I also noted that my
personal earliest eBird record for American Golden-Plover was March 2. So,
these amazing long-distance flyers have indeed returned and in fact are right
on time. Their numbers will surely build over the next few weeks at which time
it may be possible to see 1000+ in a single field. What a treat!
Good birding,
Bob Friedrichs
Palacios
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