TEXAS: High Island and the Upper Coast

‘Warm sunny weather with a light southerly breeze greeted us when we touched down. A quick check of the weather forecast showed a high possibility of thunderstorms towards the end of the week and this combined with a northerly wind could mean migrants and lots of them!

The flight arrived at Houston early afternoon, thus giving us chance to get into the field for an hour or so to whet the appetite. As we arrived at High Island it was clear that there were a few birds around, indeed our first 5 minutes in the field produced stunning Summer and Scarlet Tanagers, 2 male Baltimore Orioles, a confiding Downy Woodpecker and of course the ever-present noisy residents, namely, Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird and the most dapper of them all the bright red Northern Cardinal. Warblers were in evidence including Black-throated Green Warbler along with Kentucky, Tennessee, Northern Parula and Hooded Warbler. Nearby, a quick walk around the nearby marsh produced 25 Hudsonian Whimbrels heading north and great views of American Purple Gallinule and Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Not bad for the first hour!

Next day it was up early for the much anticipated rail walk at Anahuac. This was a huge success with Yellow, Sora and Virginia Rails all noted and then a major surprise, the near mythical Black Rail showed so well we could even see the russet patch on the nape – fantastic! Also at Anahuac we enjoyed close views of American Bittern, Northern Harrier, several Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Barn Owl, Sedge Wren, Seaside Sparrow and Mottled Duck.

Over the following days we visited many different habitats, all within a reasonable distance of our hotel. Our day in the Liberty area produced so many mouth-watering species it was difficult to concentrate on what to look at next - with such beauties as singing Red-eyed Vireo, Prothonotary and Northern Parula Warblers, a flock of Cedar Waxwings, Bald Eagle, Broad-winged Hawk and Mississippi Kites soaring overhead whilst a gaudy Red-headed Woodpecker gave crippling views on a telegraph pole, and nearby 4 summer plumage American Buff-bellied Pipits crept around in the short grass by the parking lot.

Even after heavy spring rains had forced the water levels to rise, shorebirds were still in abundance when we returned to Anahuac and once some suitable shallow pools were located we were able to enjoy many feeding flocks. Scanning through, we were able to pick out Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary and Spotted Sandpiper, cracking summer plumage Wilson’s Phalaropes, Pectoral, White-rumped and the diminutive Least Sandpipers as well as Stilt Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Hudsonian Whimbrel and Marbled Godwit . As usual for Anahuac, waterbirds were also in abundance and so easy to observe from our vehicle; Great, Cattle and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue, Little Blue, Tricoloured and the tiny Green Heron, American Bittern, huge numbers of White-faced Ibis and of course Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Heron. The marsh simply echoed with sounds of Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlarks, Common Yellowthroats and argumentative Boat-tailed Grackles. Our drive around Shoveler Pond produced Wilson’s Snipe, a very inquisitive Clapper Rail, no less than 6 Least Bitterns and some very impressive American Alligators at ultra-close range.

As it is only 17 miles from our hotel we visited the High Island area most days, calling in at Boy Scout Wood, Hooks Woods, Smith Oaks Sanctuary or even all three several times over! As we walked along the wooded trails we had to keep our eyes on the ground as well as in the trees; birds feeding in the leaf litter included Brown Thrasher, Wood and Swainson’s Thrushes, White-throated Sparrows, Northern Waterthrush and the superb Ovenbird. Up in the trees we were treated to Warbling, Red-eyed, White-eyed and Blue-headed Vireos, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Scarlet Tanager and Rose-breasted Grosbeak whilst Black and white, Yellow-throated, Yellow-rumped and dazzling Blue-winged Warblers kept us busy tracking their ‘zip’ calls while many Ruby-throated Hummingbirds whizzed back and forth from the sweet smelling Honeysuckle. The nearby well-watered lawns also need to be scanned as we often found that Killdeer is a ‘garden’ bird as was a pair of American Robins, the diminutive Inca Dove and several Blue Grosbeaks.

A visit to the upper Texas coast would not be complete without visiting Galveston Island. We took the vehicle ferry across from Port Bolivar and throughout the journey were followed by hundreds of Laughing Gulls, many terns including Royal, Forster’s and Least, and several Brown Pelicans flew past at very close range. Once in Galveston we visited a known spot for divers or ‘loons’. We were not to be disappointed with great close up views of 23 Common Loons, some in full summer plumage and a single Pacific Loon.

Several visits to the vast tidal sand-flats at Bolivar and Rollover Pass revealed many new shorebirds including Red Knot, Sanderling, Wilson’s, Snowy, Piping and Semipalmated Plovers, American Oystercatcher, Short-billed Dowitcher, both Brown and American White Pelicans and many terns including Caspian, Royal, Least, Forsters, Gull-billed, Sandwich and at least 20 American Black Terns. Peeps were also abundant and we were treated to great looks at Least, Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers and the long-billed American form of Dunlin. The commonest gull here is the noisy Laughing Gull but also present were several of its larger cousins, Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls. A scan of the breakers close offshore revealed Black Skimmers, Surf and White-winged Scoters and also a small group of Lesser Scaup whilst the bizarre Reddish Egret danced around in the nearby shallows.

With such warm weather, raptors were seen daily in varying numbers but most days Black and Turkey Vultures were noted. We also had good looks at Red-tailed, Broad-winged, Coopers, Sharp-shinned and Swainson’s Hawks, Merlin and a Peregrine also put in an appearance, and we also watched Red-shouldered Hawk bringing prey back to its nest. With large ‘kettles’ of raptors it is not uncommon for other species to join them and on many occasions we saw Anhinga, Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants and even bright pink Roseate Spoonbills passing over at height up on the thermals. Just as in previous visits the star roadside birds, Belted Kingfisher and the wonderful Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, got lots of ‘oohs and aahs’!

As we headed east towards Port Arthur some flooded fields produced great views of Buff-breasted Sandpiper and American Golden Plover as well as hundreds of Pectoral and Least Sandpipers. Sabine Woods, south of Port Arthur is always productive and our visit this year was no exception. Eastern Kingbird, Great-crested and Least Flycatchers greeted us as we walked up to the main boardwalk area and very soon we were surrounded by the ‘zip’ calls of warblers including several Black and White, Blue-winged, Worm-eating, Prothonotary, Tennessee, Black-throated Green, Northern Parula, Hooded, Kentucky and Yellow-rumped. An obliging Yellow-bellied Sapsucker posed in full view for us and in the leaf-litter below both Wood and Swainson’sThrush fed nervously alongside Ovenbird and Brown Thrasher.

Our day in the northern Pine forests started superbly with Blue Grosbeak, Pine Warbler, Red-cockaded and Pileated Woodpeckers, singing Hooded Warblers, Brown-headed Nuthatch and Carolina Chickadee. A little further down the road we had wonderful close views of another Pinewood speciality, the delightful Bachman’s Sparrow. On heading north from the reserve a welcome surprise came in the form of a superb Wild Turkey crossing the road. Nearby a visit to another area of parkland produced a ‘warbler fest’ with singing Swainson’s, Yellow-throated, Hooded and Northern Parula Warblers all vying for our attention, nesting Eastern Bluebirds were busy feeding young, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds buzzed back and forth and a dapper male Yellow-throated Vireo sang from an exposed branch. Also here some familiar ‘back-yard’ birds were noted including the delightful Tufted Titmouse, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, White-throated Sparrow and Carolina Wren.

Just as promised by the weatherman, the thunderstorms arrived on our penultimate day. This sudden change in weather is what all birders visiting Texas hope to experience, as it often results in large number of grounded migrant birds, known locally as a fallout. Our ‘fallout’ was very special indeed as it was literally breathtaking. In less than 2 hours we saw dozens of Scarlet Tanagers and Baltimore Orioles, Painted Bunting, over 80 Tennessee Warblers, 5 American Redstarts, 10 Black-throated Green, 5 Worm-eating, 3 Yellow-throated, 2 Orange-crowned,10 Blue-winged, 8 Black and White, male Blackpoll, 20 Northern Parula, male Cerulean, 3 Prothonotary, 3 Kentucky, 2 Yellow-rumped, 4 Hooded, 2 Swainson’s Warblers, 3 Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a male Yellow-headed Blackbird – Phew! However, all these combined couldn’t compete with the stars of the show; 3 gorgeous orange-faced Blackburnian Warblers, a simply stunning male Magnolia Warbler, a brief male Canada Warbler and a spectacular male Golden-winged Warbler – what a show!

The bird of the trip? Well, with our ‘fallout’ we had been well and truly spoilt and we were still ‘buzzing’ the next morning. No surprise then that the warblers swept the board with the dazzling Yellow-throated taking a unanimous top spot. Second place went to the wonderful male Golden-winged Warbler which entertained us in the late afternoon at Hooks and joint third place was taken by American Redstart and Blackburnian Warbler.

What a wonderful trip; in 8 days we’d seen 210 species of birds in a great variety of habitats, enjoyed some wonderful Texan hospitality with a wonderful group enjoying lots of laughs, and we’d also had a perfect combination of weather. All these factors combined make Texas such a fantastic place to go birding.’ – Stuart Elsom

Bird List:

This is a list of all the species seen during the last two tours to Texas.

Column A = Number of tours on which this species has been recorded.

Column B = Number of days this species was seen on the last tour.

Column C = Maximum daily count for this species on the last tour.

N = nesting evident

A		B	C
2	Common Loon	1	23		Gavia Immer
1	Pacific Loon	1	1		Gavia pacifica
2	Pied-billed Grebe	5	20		Podilymbus podiceps
2	American White Pelican	2	28		Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
2	Brown Pelican	3	500		Pelecanus occidentalis
2	Double-crested Cormorant	1	6	N	Phalacrocorax auritus
2	Neotropic Cormorant	7	‘00s	N	Phalacrocorax brasilianus
2	Anhinga	4	1	N	Anhinga anhinga
2	American Bittern	3	2		Botaurus lentiginosus
2	Least Bittern	3	5		Ixobrychus exilis
2	Great Blue Heron	5	5		Ardea herodias
2	Great Egret	7	‘00s	N	Ardea alba
2	Snowy Egret	6	‘00s	N	Egretta thula
2	Reddish Egret	2	2		Egretta rufescens
2	Tricolored Heron	6	40	N	Egretta tricolor
2	Little Blue Heron	7	4	N	Egretta caerulea
2	Cattle Egret	7	‘00s	N	Bubulcus ibis
2	Green Heron	7	10		Butorides virescens
2	Black-crowned Night-Heron	3	5	N	Nycticorax nycticorax
2	Yellow-crowned Night-Heron	4	3		Nyctanassa violaceus
2	White Ibis	6	‘00s		Eudocimus albus
2	White-faced Ibis	5	‘00s		Plegadis chihi
2	Roseate Spoonbill	5	16	N	Platalea ajaja
1	Greater White-fronted Goose				Anser albifrons
1	Snow Goose				Chen caerulescens
2	Black-bellied Whistling-Duck	3	47		Dendrocygna autumnalis
2	Fulvous Whistling-Duck	3	8		Dendrocygna bicolor
1	Mallard	1	2		Anas platyrhynchos
2	Mottled Duck	4	3		Anas fulvigula maculosa
2	Gadwall				Anas strepera
2	Northern Shoveler	2	15		Anas clypeata
1	Lesser Scaup	1	2		Aythya affinis
1	White-winged Scoter	2	1		Melanitta fusca deglandi
1	Surf Scoter	2	2		Melanitta perspicillata
2	Blue-winged Teal	5	20		Anas discors
1	Red-breasted Merganser				Mergus serrator
2	Turkey Vulture	8	100		Cathartes aura
2	Black Vulture	7	50		Coragyps atratus
2	Northern Harrier	6	4		Circus cyaneus
2	White-tailed Kite	2	2		Elanus leucurus
2	Mississippi Kite	1	25		Ictinia mississippiensis
1	Swallow-tailed Kite				Elanoides forficatus
2	Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	1		Accipiter striatus
2	Cooper's Hawk	1	1		Accipiter cooperii
1	Red-shouldered Hawk	2	2	N	Buteo lineatus alleni
2	Broad-winged Hawk	2	10		Buteo platypterus
2	Swainson's Hawk	2	1		Buteo swainsonii
2	Red-tailed Hawk	4	4		Buteo jamaicensis borealis
1	Bald Eagle	1	2		Haliaeetus leucocephalus
1	Osprey				Pandion haliaetus
2	Crested Caracara	4	4		Caracara cheriway
2	Merlin	1	1		Falco c. columbarius
1	American Kestrel				Falco sparverius
2	Peregrine Falcon	2	2		Falco peregrinus
1	Wild Turkey	1	1		Meleagris gallopavo
2	American Purple Gallinule	4	8		Porphyrio martinica
2	Common Moorhen	3	13		Gallinula chloropus
2	American Coot	3	20		Fulica americana
2	Clapper Rail	2	3		Rallus longirostris saturatus
2	King Rail	1	1		Rallus elegans
1	Virginia Rail	1	1		Rallus limicola
2	Sora	4	3		Porzana carolina
2	Yellow Rail	1	3		Coturnicops noveboracensis
1	Black Rail	1	1		Laterallus jamaicensis
2	Black-bellied Plover	4	7		Pluvialis squatarola