[texbirds-freelists] [texbirds] Great Kiskadee EAST of Winnie, TX

From: Clay Taylor <Clay.Taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:06:38 -0400
Hi all -

At about 10:45 am, the Simons and I were traveling west on Rt 73 between Port 
Arthur and Winnie (having seen the Tropical Mockingbird and the Black-whiskered 
Vireo at TOS Sabine Woods) and heading home to Corpus.    We had just passed 
Labelle Road (there is a sign for the Pine Tree Lodge at the intersection) a 
short ways back, and we all saw a bird flying north across the road in front of 
us.    As it was directly in front of the car and less than 100 feet away, we 
saw bright yellow underparts, a football-shaped body, a dark cap, bright white 
eyeline, and dark bill.

We all simultaneously said "Kiskadee!!!!"   Then we stared at each other for a 
few seconds.    Joel looked at me and asked "You know how significant that is, 
right?"   I answered "Yeah, it's getting awfully close to Louisiana!".

We both have Kiskadees regularly in our yards in the Corpus Christi area, so 
this was not an unfamiliar bird to us.    The body shape and head pattern rules 
out any of the yellow kingbirds or myiarchus flycatchers, while a meadowlark 
would have a totally different head and bill shape and pattern.   In addition, 
I was just in  Costa Rica last week, so Social Flycatcher and Gray-headed 
Flycatcher would be too small, the wrong shape, and wrong flight pattern.    In 
all honesty, the only other possibility would be Boat-billed Flycatcher, but 
the bill on this bird was not long and thick enough.

If Boat-billed sounds totally loopy, remember that we had just come from seeing 
a Tropical Mockingbird and Black-whiskered Vireo that were EAST of this bird.   
I had to consider that, right?

I glanced at the car's odometer, and when we reached the Rt 124 exit in Winnie, 
the bird was seen about 12.5 miles East of Winnie.   According to Google Earth, 
the nearest point of land in Louisiana is on the south side of Sabine Lake, 
slightly more than 16 miles away.

We did not see it land in any trees or head to any particular landmark.

I can see it now - Richard Gibbons and his minions all lined up on the east 
shore of Sabine Lake with spotting scopes and cameras, playing Kiskadee calls 
through gigantic speakers.....   ;-)

Clay Taylor
TOS Life Member
Calallen (Corpus Christi),  TX
Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>





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[texbirds-freelists] [texbirds] Great Kiskadee EAST of Winnie, TX

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