Second Time in Texas

For my second trip to Texas this year, I  flew with Maribel directly from Vancouver, British Columbia to Houston at the conclusion of the repositioning cruise on the morning of April 28, 2023. My son, Nick Jr., picked us up at Bush Intercontinental Airport at about 6 PM that afternoon after driving several hours from his home in Austin. We headed east towards Louisiana. At dusk we stopped in good habitat for nightjars. We were hoping for Eastern Whip-poor-will or Chuck Will’s Widow, but settled for a distant nighthawk species and a distant view of Barred Owl, which had been skillfully spotted by Nick’s young eyes. 

April 29 

Our targets this first morning in East Texas were mainly birds of the piney woods. But migrants were also plentiful, as we found ourselves in the heart of the Central Flyway at the peak of spring migration. Some of these species I had seen in Puerto Rico in late January/early February. By reencountering them in Texas I could count them for my lower 48 and ABA Area year-list totals.  By 9 AM, in the Angelina National Forest near Boykin Springs we had added Carolina Chickadee (562), Pine Warbler (563), Prairie Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat (564), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (565), Bachman’s Sparrow (566), Brown-headed Nuthatch (567), the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (568), Black-throated 

Green Warbler (569), Blackburnian Warbler (570), Hooded Warbler (571), Brown Thrasher (572), Baltimore Oriole (573), Indigo Bunting (574) and Blue-headed Vireo (575).

At Martin Dies State Park, new species included Chimney Swift, Red-headed Woodpecker, Broad-winged Hawk (576), Swallow-tailed Kite (577), Mississippi Kite (578), Eastern Wood-Pewee (579), Acadian Flycatcher (580), Great Crested Flycatcher (581), Philadelphia  Vireo (582), Red-eyed Vireo (583), Swainson’s Thrush (584), Gray-cheeked Thrush (585), Tennessee Warbler (586), Prothonotary Warbler (587), Ovenbird (588) and Swainson’s Warbler (589). 

At the Big Thicket Kirby Trail we added Yellow-billed Cuckoo (590), Veery (591), Wood Thrush (592), Kentucky Warbler (593), Canada Warbler (594) and Golden-winged Warbler (595). 

We ended the day at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge Skellet Tract, where we found more migrants, including Purple Martin (596), Western Kingbird, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (597), American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush and Blue Grosbeak (598). 

April 30.  

We had rented an apartment opposite Galveston Beach for 4 nights. We decided to stay close to home on Galveston Island this day. After breakfast, we visited Galveston Island State Park and found the shrubs along the entrance road crawling with colorful migrants: numerous Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Indigo Bunting, Summer and Scarlet Tanagers (599). In the marshy areas we added Least Tern (600), Sandwich Tern and Common Nighthawk (601).

After an excellent lunch overlooking the Bay at Waterman’s Restaurant, we visited a popular nearby sanctuary called LaFitte’s Cove. It is actually a small forest grove with well maintained trails and water drips to attract thirsty birds and benches to facilitate observation. Here we found a good variety of species including Least Flycatcher (602), another Kentucky Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler (603) and a female Cerulean Warbler (604). I added a few others to my Lower 48 list: Glossy Ibis, Solitary Sandpiper and Cape May Warbler. 

May 1

To celebrate the arrival of May, we headed out early in order to arrive at High Island just after sunrise. This required a ferry crossing from Galveston Island to the Bolivar Peninsula plus almost an hour of driving. At High Island, we paid to enter Houston Audubon’s Smith Oaks Sanctuary.  Except for the din from nesting waders and Neotropic Cormorants (and Anhingas) the trees were quiet. The sanctuary is quite large and as we explored the numerous trails and boardwalks, the activity increased. By the end of the morning, we had tallied more than 80 species. New year birds for me were Painted Bunting (605), Blue-winged Warbler (606), Olive-sided Flycatcher (607) and a flyover heard-only Upland Sandpiper (608).

After a picnic lunch, we headed back to the extensive marshlands of Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in search of rails (King, Yellow and Black Rails). We drove the auto loop around Shoveler Pond. The only marsh birds we found were Sora (a small rail) and Least Bittern. We did see some new shorebirds including Wilson’s Phalarope (609) and White-rumped sandpiper (610). 

Next we visited another Houston. Audubon Sanctuary at Bolivar Flats. The specialty here are birds of the Gulf Coast beaches and mudflats. There were gulls (Laughing, Franklin’s, Herring), terns (Least, Common, Black), plovers (Wilson’s, Snowy, Semipalmated, Black-bellied), and assorted sandpipers (Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, American Avocet, Willet, Red Knot, Dunlin), many of which were in alternate (i.e. breeding) plumage. The Common Tern (611), Black Tern (612) and Red Knot (613) were year birds. 

May 2

Nick and I left the apartment at sunrise and went a short distance to Galveston Island State Park hoping to find some new sparrow species. Instead we found a locked gate. The park would open at 8 AM. So we scurried to a nearby eBird hotspot that should have similar avifauna. Upon arrival, we were thrilled to hear the distinctive “ki-ki-doo” call of the diminutive Black Rail, an endangered species. Because of it’s tenuous conservation status, eBird masks all reports of the species to help protect it from harrassment by overzealous birders and wildlife photographers. This was a species that Nick Junior really wanted to find during this trip so we were very pleased to hear one this morning. I had already observed Black Rail in Petaluma, California in March. 

Returning to the State Park at 8 AM, we quickly located our target species: Seaside Sparrow (614) and Nelson’s Sparrow (615) in the salt marsh grassland they call home. Satisfied, we returned to the apartment where Maribel had prepared a hearty home-cooked breakfast.  

Over breakfast Nick Jr checked the Galveston County Rare Bird Alert in eBird. A new checklist from the previous day reported two American Golden-Plover and three Buff-breasted Sandpiper from the golf driving range adjacent to the Galveston Airport.  I needed both species. In spring, these species are found on grassy lawns and fresh-cut fields. Most had already migrated north and we had given up hope for finding them during this trip to the coast. But now there was renewed hope. Off the three of us went. Arriving ten minutes later we scanned the large grass lawn through our binoculars. No shorebirds. Four Western Kingbird and a Yellow-headed Blackbird were noteworthy.  “What do you want to do?“ Nick asked me.  There was an impatient tone in his voice. He wasn’t surprised these early migrants had moved on. He was ready to search for more warblers.  “Let’s scope the field” I replied. I pulled my spotting scope from the trunk and assembled the tripod. After several minutes of scanning the far reaches of the field, I saw a plovers head pop up from a concealed dip in some taller grass. “Golden Plover” I announced. It took a while to convince Nick that the distant lump was indeed a bird. Eventually the American Golden-plover (616) moved into the open field. Nick was impressed. Once we were satisfied that no other shorebirds were lurking in the field, Nick asked again “What do you want to do?” I wanted to check the vicinity for the missing rarities, so we drove to some nearby sports fields and checked around the airport runways. No luck. “ what do you want to do?“ Nick asked a third time. “Let’s check the driving range again”. We returned to the original field. Voila! “Buffies!” A flock of five Buff-breasted Sandpiper (617) were right there in the middle of the driving range, foraging like robins among the golf balls strewn across the field. “Nice work Dad.”

During the remainder of the day we visited the East End Lagoon, Sugarbean Pond and LaFitte’s Cove. Birds were everywhere. But new species were hard to find. Nick spotted a Mourning Warbler (618) and a Black-billed Cuckoo, which flew before I got eyes on it. Back at the apartment after sundown, we could hear migrants chirping overhead. Remarkably, a Chuck-Wills-widow (619) sang twice from overhead while migrating north!

May 3

Our last day on the coast, we worked hard to nail down King Rail. Just after sunrise, we photographed both Clapper Rail and King Rail (620) at East End Lagoon. Then after sunset at Anahuac NWR, we saw another one and audio-recorded several others. We headed towards Houston and found lodging in the suburb of Mont Belvieu, TX. 

May 4 

Before being dropped off at the airport in Houston we headed to White Oak Park and picked up a couple of established exotic species: Scaly-breasted Munia and Red-vented Bulbul (621). 

I ended the Texas Coast trip with 222 species on the trip list. I found most of my target species but had no mega rarities. See eBird trip report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/123357/172547?view=checklists. My count for ABA Area year birds was at 569 which was good for fourth place among eBird’s Top 100 list. Next stop: South Florida, where my goal is to reach the landmark of 600 species for the ABA Area in 2023.