You see one . . .

I hadn't seen a Kentucky Warbler on the property in the three years that we've lived here. Yesterday, I saw the first one. Today, I saw one and heard at least two, possibly three, singing as if they are on territory. They sure are hard to see! A Hooded Warbler also sang in a spot where I've never heard one singing. I did see one FOS bird today, a Yellow-breasted Chat. I actually saw three of them. It's fun to listen to all their vocalizations.

At one point, a juvenile Blue Jay waited until I was directly under him (I hadn't seen him at this point) to call loudly as if I were attacking him! There aren't too many times that something really scares me in the woods, but this did it!

I was a little surprised this morning to look out and see a Song Sparrow at my feeders. All the other winter birds have migrated out. I haven't seen a White-throated Sparrow or Ruby-crowned Kinglet in a week or so.

Birds seen (38 species): Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Swainson's Thrush, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Tennessee Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat (FOS), Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, House Sparrow

Other Wildlife Seen
Butterflies: Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Giant Swallowtail, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Buckeye, Great Purple Hairstreak, Little Wood-Satyr

Mammals: Eastern Fox Squirrel, Eastern Gray Squirrel

Reptiles: Eastern Three-toed Box Turtle, Green Anole, Red-eared Turtle

Slower Day

Today was a bit slower down in the woods. Even the mosquitoes weren't quite as bad! But, even with the reduced numbers of birds, I was still able to get three FOS birds and two new property birds. One of the FOS birds was a Swainson's Thrush. I got some great looks at him. Wood Thrushes were singing again today. Warblers were not nearly as abundant, but some were evident: Tennessee, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, and a property first Kentucky Warbler. The Kentucky Warbler was singing as if he is on territory. I'll keep watching him and see if he is around this summer. The other property first bird was a Black-billed Cuckoo. I got some great looks at him. The Indigo Buntings are still thick down in the woods.

Birds Seen (33 Species): Cattle Egret, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Black-billed Cuckoo (FOS and Property Bird #179), Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Swainson's Thrush (FOS), Wood Thrush, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Tennessee Warbler, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Kentucky Warbler (FOS and Property Bird #180), Northern Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

What A Day!

I left work a little early today because of the potential for great birding this afternoon. Heavy rain moved through in the early afternoon grounding the migrants. I got out into the woods around 4:00 and had two hours before having to get back to get cleaned up for church. Things started off pretty slowly. However, I realized that I would be dealing with hordes of mosquitoes. How did people survive without DEET? I saw a Tennessee Warbler at the first place I stopped. A bit later, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo flew past. A Blue-winged Warbler called from a thicket of tri-foliate orange trees. After waiting for a couple of minutes and swatting hundreds of mosquitoes, he showed himself. Along the gully in the NE corner of the property, thrushes were abundant! I saw a Wood Thrush, a Gray-cheeked Thrush, a Veery and several Hermit Thrushes. The Wood Thrush called a few times. I don't believe I've ever heard one live before. What a treat that was! At my favorite yaupon stand, an Ovenbird walked along the ground. He was joined by several Indigo Buntings. I walked south along the eastern fence line to the dry gully. I almost turned around to head back because I hadn't seen that much and was ready to get out of the mosquitoes. I heard a warbler-like call from the other side of the dry gully, so I went across to see if I could find it. I sure am glad I did! I stopped in one spot and warblers came through in droves. It wasn't a matter of finding a bird to look at. It was trying to determine which one to look at! It reminded me of the fallout in 1997 at High Island. Warblers were everywhere: Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler and Yellow Warbler. And then it happened. It was one of those moments where you are simply in the right place at the right time. It was one of those moments where you know what is happening, but refuse to believe it. A warbler lit in a small tallow tree about 25 ft. from me. I looked at him through my binoculars and quickly identified it as a male Black-throated Blue Warbler! A LIFER!!! I had looked at that bird in my book so many times and wanted to someday visit their breeding grounds to see one. I never thought I'd see one on the Upper Texas Coast, especially not in our woods! But there he was. I followed him for about five minutes until he flew out of sight to the north. By this time, I needed to start heading home. At another spot in the woods, Baltimore Orioles, Orchard Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, Painted Buntings and several warblers flew from tree to tree. I finally had to tear myself away from the spectacle and go home. I did stop for another couple of minutes and watched an Eastern Wood-Pewee catch several flying insects. They looked like flying termites, but I couldn't tell for sure. The Black-throated Blue Warbler and Cerulean Warbler were new property birds - #177 and #178. The Black-throated Blue Warbler is life bird #363 for me. What an incredible day! With 55 species, it is the most productive day on the property since we moved here in September 2003.

Warblers Seen (17 Species): Blue-winged Warbler (FOS), Tennessee Warbler (FOS), Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler (FOS), Chestnut-sided Warbler (FOS), Magnolia Warbler (FOS), Black-throated Blue Warbler (FOS & Lifer), Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler (FOS), Bay-breasted Warbler (FOS), Cerulean Warbler (FOS), Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird (FOS), Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler

Other Species (38 Species): Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Black Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Veery (FOS), Gray-cheeked Thrush (FOS), Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush (FOS), Gray Catbird, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak (FOS), Blue Grosbeak (FOS), Indigo Bunting, Painted Bunting (FOS), Red-winged Blackbird, Orchard Oriole (FOS), Baltimore Oriole (FOS), House Sparrow

Potential good birding late this week

With the frontal boundary set to go off the coast sometime Wednesday afternoon bringing rain and north winds with it, we could be in for a good run of birding on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday. Depending on how long the north winds stay (according to Tim Heller on Channel 13, they'll be around through Thursday and into Friday morning), we could see good birding through Friday. While frontal boundaries often make good birding for us, it's really hard on the birds. Imagine flying 500+ miles across the Gulf of Mexico and be met with rain, thunderstorms and headwinds the last 50 to 100 miles of your flight. Last year when this happened, Kristen and I went out into the woods and saw 13 species of warblers on Apr. 29, 2006 and 11 species of warblers on Apr. 30 in approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours of birding each day.

It's 6:42 a.m. and already I've heard a Northern Cardinal visiting my feeders and a Carolina Wren singing on territory.

An Exciting Bird

I didn't get to do any birding this weekend. I finished a fence for our dogs on Saturday, and then felt absolutely horrible on Sunday and slept most of the afternoon. But, there was a bit of birding excitement around here on Saturday. I had just finished with the fence and was doing some of the clean-up when I looked to the north and caught a glimpse of a Swallow-tailed Kite flying from west to east. A little later, I saw him again flying west. He went behind the trees, and I figured that was it. But, he came back to the east and really put on a show for us. My sister, Paige, and my daughter, Amberlyn, were out there and got some really good looks at him. What an absolutely beautiful bird!

Birding on a Misty Day

Well, it wasn't misty when I went out, but by the time I came back in, the mist was falling quite heavily. Around 8:00, I left and walked out to the woods. Things started out pretty slowly. About 8:45, birds were everywhere! A female Hooded Warbler was hopping around in the tangles of yaupon and tri-foliate orange trees. A male American Redstart showed up in the trees above the Hooded Warbler and showed off his black and orange plumage for a little bit. A Black-and-white Warbler examined the branches for something to eat. An Eastern Wood-Pewee showed off his flycatching skills. Birds were singing everywhere - cardinals, White-eyed Vireos, Carolina Wrens and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. A little while later, I was watching several Yellow-rumped Warblers. A Yellow-throated Warbler was in the trees with them. Today was the day of the Indigo Bunting. They were everywhere! On my way to the pond, several Bank Swallows flew over mixed with Barn, Tree and Northern Rough-winged Swallows.

I added a new property species today! A Boat-tailed Grackle was calling at the pond. I found him and saw the dark eye. He makes property bird #176.

One of the more interesting observations this morning involved a large flock of female Red-winged Blackbirds. They kept flying in a tight flock and I could tell they were nervous about something. Suddenly, a Cooper's Hawk flew in and snatched one of the blackbirds. The blackbird screeched all the way to the ground. The hawk quickly killed the blackbird and started tearing the feathers out. I watched for about ten minutes until the hawk flew off with the blackbird in its talons.

Birds Seen (41 Species): Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Upland Sandpiper, Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow (FOS), Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler (FOS), Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart (FOS), Worm-eating Warbler, Hooded Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle

Birding on a Windy Day

I didn't expect much when I went down into the woods today because of the high wind. I watched on the Nexrad radar last night a spectacular lift off of migrating birds that had been waiting for the south wind to return. Usually the birds migrate at night, so if you're watching the radar shortly after sunset and see an explosion of color, it's probably songbirds taking to the sky. (You can also see incoming migrants as they come across the Gulf and head inland.) So, I was expecting things to be a little slow today. And the way things started off, I thought my expectation would turn into reality.

The Ruby-crowned Kinglets were putting on a show chasing each other and flashing their ruby crowns. Cardinals and Carolina Wrens were singing everywhere. I watched a Tufted Titmouse carry a caterpillar in his beak for a while, but I never saw him go into a cavity. The Northern Parula called a few times from one of the trees covered in Spanish moss. There are still a couple of Hermit Thrushes and Brown Thrashers hanging around. It won't be long before they head north to their breeding grounds.

Suddenly, the spring migrants came out of the woodwork! The first two I saw were an Eastern Wood-Pewee and a Great Crested Flycatcher. Both were sitting on dead branches flying out after flying insects and returning to the branch. The pewee started calling some. A Red-eyed Vireo began calling from high in one of the oaks. It took a long time to find him, but he finally came out in the open giving a great look at him. A Black-throated Green Warbler hopped around in the oaks along with Yellow-rumped Warblers that were in various stages of molting into their breeding plumage. On my way out of the woods, I saw a Worm-eating Warbler in a thick tangle of vines. A Blue Headed Vireo hopped around right behind the Worm-eating Warbler.

Just before entering the woods, I saw a shadow on the ground of a rather large bird. I looked up and saw a hawk that I wasn't familiar with. After watching it until it flew out of sight, I pulled out my book and identified it as a White-tailed Hawk - property bird #175! Fortunately White-tailed Hawks are becoming more populous on the Upper Texas Coast. I had wondered when I was going to see one here.

Birds seen (30 species): Cattle Egret, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Hawk, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Chimney Swift, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee (FOS), Great Crested Flycatcher (FOS), White-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo (FOS), Red-eyed Vireo (FOS), Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrasher, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler (FOS), Worm-eating Warbler (FOS), White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

Other wildlife seen:
Butterflies: Question Mark, Giant Swallowtail, Little Wood-Nymph, Monarch

Reptiles: Western Cottonmouth

I sit here wondering what's down in the woods with the passage of the cold front. How many warblers and other migrants are hunkering down in our woods waiting for the south winds to return? Can I go down there? No. I have to go to LTC this weekend and miss one of the better birding moments of the spring. Sigh. And then I'm busy the next two weekends taking lifeguard classes. They didn't have anything available in May, so I get to take two weekends in April. Fortunately I can get out in the evenings and see what's happening. I'm scheduling NOTHING during the day for the last weekend of April and first weekend of May.

On another note, I haven't seen the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at my feeder lately. I wonder if he's gone up north to establish his breeding territory. What I have seen at my feeders lately is House Sparrows. I'm not real happy about that.

Once again, the Purple Martins have not nested in my gourds or house. I'm really disappointed. When I look on the Purple Martin Conservation Association website, I'm doing everything right - good location, good clearance, good EVERYTHING!!! So why can't I get martins? I hold out hope because of a customer at the Dallas WBU store who came in all excited one day and told me that she finally had martins nesting with her. I asked how long she had been trying to get them and she said, "Ten years." Six more to go . . . I keep a glimmer of hope. I sold a martin house to a guy mid-May one time and warned him that the martins wouldn't nest with him that year. He said he understood but wanted the house up anyway. Two days later, he came in and told me that he had a pair of martins hanging out around his house. A week later he came in and told me that they were nesting. So, there's always hope. It just diminishes GREATLY the further through April we go.

Friday and Tuesday

I got a little birding in on Friday, but the mosquitoes were absolutely awful and I didn't stay out as long as I wanted. It didn't matter how much Off! I had on. They were ravenous and ignored the repellent. There were several Hooded Warblers calling. I got my FOS Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

This afternoon I walked around after getting home from work. The mosquitoes weren't nearly as bad. The wind was strong out of the south which usually means a pretty slow day. That held true today. I did see and hear FOS Indigo Buntings this morning. They were behind the house, so I made sure to get some seed out so they'll come to the feeder. I heard several more this afternoon. Around 5:15, the birds got very active and started singing and moving. A FOS Nashville Warbler showed himself for just a little while. The activity lasted for fifteen minutes and then all was quiet again.

Birds seen on Friday: Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Parula, Hooded Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle

Birds seen on Tuesday: Cattle Egret, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird, Nashville Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

Other wildlife seen on Tuesday:
Mammals: Eastern Gray Squirrel, Raccoon

Reptiles: Eastern Three-toed Box Turtle

Butterflies: Giant Swallowtail, Little Wood-Satyr