Lifer! On The Property!

On Tuesday, March 17, I was out birding in the afternoon and ran across a warbler that didn't look at all familiar to me. That usually doesn't happen. I can normally tell without a doubt, at least with breeding-plumage males, which species I'm looking at. This one was not like that. I saw him at the top of a tree about 30 ft. away. At first all I could see was his breast. It was bright yellow with heavy black streaks on it over the yellow. My first thought was a Canada Warbler, but the streaking was too heavy and it's typically too early for Canada Warblers to be here. My second thought was a Magnolia Warbler, but it's very early for a Magnolia Warbler to be here. So I kept watching hoping to get a view of his face. He turned a little bit and I saw the white patch on his wings. That confused me even more. Finally, he showed his face to me and I got some really great looks of him. It was yellow with a rufous patch under his eye. I watched him for probably fifteen minutes before flew out of sight. I chased and did not find him after that. I didn't have my book with me, so I logged all the field marks I could. I got home, pulled down my Sibley field guide and started flipping through. There is no doubt in my mind that I was looking at a Cape May Warbler! They're not incredibly common here as they usually migrate on the Eastern Flyway (we're in the Central Flyway.) They do show up and I see reports of them every year on the rare bird alert of people seeing them at High Island or in the Beaumont area. It's a bird I've wanted to see since I've been birding. So, the Cape May Warbler makes life bird #367 for me and property bird #191. I always get excited seeing a life bird, but especially on the property! With the Cape May Warbler on my list, I've seen all of the eastern wood-warblers with the exception of the Connecticut Warbler and Kirtland's Warbler. Maybe they'll pass through the property at some point . . .

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