2004 - Texas Birding

We left Weller Yard on June 11, 2004 and headed south through Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi – finally reaching Louisiana after some 790 miles of driving. The next morning we were up early and greeted by our first life bird sitting on a power line outside our motel room – a pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves. After crossing the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge we officially kicked off our western birding trip. We spotted two Mississippi Kites and a small flock of seven Anhingas as we made our way across the state. After a couple of “Cajun Burgers” at Lafayette we headed south along the coast on our way to Port Arthur, Texas. Near Abbeville we found a flooded field full of Glossy and White-faced Ibis, Cattle Egret, and a few Black-necked Stilts thrown in. Loggerhead Shrikes were found in good numbers on the power lines along the coast roads. Near Pecan Island we turned a curve and before us in a flooded field were 115 Roseate Spoonbills, numerous Ibis and Herons, along with Common Moorhen and Purple Gallinule. Above the fields soared eight Wood Storks. We then visited the Rockefeller National Wildlife Refuge were we found a host of wading birds including White, Snowy, and Reddish Egrets, Great Blue, Little Blue, Green, Black-crowned Night, and Louisiana (Tri-colored) Herons. We found our first Least Bittern of the trip here. Near the entrance we saw a couple of ducks out in the marsh. Looking like possible Mottled Ducks we put the scope on them only to discover they were in fact only decoys. Alligators and Armadillos started showing up along the waterways and roadways as we made our way toward Texas. Near Holly Beach we found Willets, Royal,Least, Forster’s, and Sandwich Terns, and Ruddy Turnstones. Michelle took a swim in the Gulf of Mexico and later spotted a White-tailed Kite as we entered Port Arthur, TX. We spent the night at Winnie, TX.

The next morning (June 12) we were up early and headed to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. Heading south on Rt. 124 we spotted two juvenile Swainson’s Hawks sitting on a dead snag. We double-checked with the scope to make sure they were not “Krider’s” morph Red-tailed (which we have never seen) but they were not. Michelle spotted a pair of Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and a Little Blue Heron on a farm pond. As we entered Anahuac we could hear Dickcissels from the surrounding fields and after several minutes Michelle finally managed to find one singing from an open perch. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Loggerhead Shrikes, Eurasian Collared-Doves, and White-winged Doves were found in good numbers along the power lines. All the wading birds to be expected at Anahuac were found. We had the opportunity to study all the grackle species (Common, Boat-tailed, and Great-tailed) – one of the few spots in the U.S. you can do this. At one point a Clapper Rail worked its way down the road in front of our truck. We found both Fulvous and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in the area along with Mottled Ducks. Wood Storks soared above the refuge, and we spotted several Alligators. The deer flies were very bothersome and made birding the Willows area almost impossible. We decided not to stop at High Island and made our way on to Bolivar Flats. There we found American Avocets, White-rumped Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstone, various terns, Reddish Egret, and Snowy Plover along with many other shore species. Five species of tern were spotted and we added the Gull-billed Tern to our trip list. One of the highlights of the trip was a pair of Magnificent Frigatebirds soaring over the ferry we rode to Galveston. Hundreds of Laughing Gulls followed the ferry and several Neotropic Cormorants rested on the channel buoys. As we were arriving at ferry dock we noticed a Collared-Dove that appeared to be smaller and lighter colored than the other Eurasian Collared-Doves in the area. This could have been a possible Ringed Turtle-Dove. We spent the night at Port Lavaca.

The next morning (June 14) we made our way to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. The parking lot at the Visitor’s Center was hopping with birds. In about five minutes we had spotted the Green Jay, Plain Chachalaca, White-tipped Dove, and Long-billed Thrasher. We asked about the Yellow-green Vireos that have nested at the NWR in the past and were informed that they have not shown up in the past couple of years. We then drove about 20 miles around the NWR looking for the Aplomado Falcon. We missed the falcon but did see Alligator, Roadrunners, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, White-tailed Kites, Crested Caracara, Black-necked Stilts, and flocks of 65 White Ibis and 12 Wood Storks. After lunch in Port Isabel we looked for the Tamaulipas Crow but did not find it. We then headed out to Sabal Palms Wildlife Sanctuary. Michelle spotted our only Groove-billed Ani just as we entered the Sanctuary. Along the trails we found the Yellow-green Vireo but missed the Gray-crowned Yellowthroat that had been reported there. Along the Resaca we had great looks at Green and Ringed Kingfishers, Altamira Oriole and other south Texas specialties. After a nice dinner in Harlingen, TX we drove out to McKelvey Park looking for roosting parrots and later along farm roads hoping for a Common Pauraque – we found neither.