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Orioles, grosbeaks, and Scarlet Tanagers like this fabulous male were all hitting the mulberries pretty hard in the woods at High Island. (Photo by participant Brooke Miller)

This was a great week with multitudes of migrants coming in to High Island each day and wonderful birding in the east Texas area, where we found many breeding specialties. Though the wind conditions didn't seem conducive to bring in birds, there was enough unsettled weather in the area to drop migrants and keep us busy. We started at Jones State Forest north of Houston, where we had wonderful views of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers near their nest holes before we started seeing our first breeding warblers. We soon had seen Northern Parula, Pine, Prothonotary, Hooded, Kentucky, and a few singing migrant Tennessee Warblers that put down that morning. One of the best birds of the week, a Swallow-tailed Kite, was spotted over the river. That afternoon we also encountered Prairie and Yellow-throated warblers, but the highlight had to be a very cooperative Swainson's Warbler that showed well. We finished the day with a great pair of calling Barred Owls.

The next day found us leaving early to get to prime habitat for Bachman's Sparrow. We were not disappointed as we watched this subtly marked specialty singing from its perch for several minutes. Heading back south toward the coast we detoured for Fish Crows, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and a lone Upland Sandpiper before arriving at the migration mecca of High Island. Our first afternoon we found a good number of passerine migrants, and we were treated to Louisiana Waterthrush, Cerulean Warbler, fabulous Blackburnian Warblers, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, and American Redstart among others.

Over the next days we hit marshes, beaches and rice fields in the mornings and returned to High Island in the afternoon to see what had arrived or was just dropping in. At Anahuac NWR we had a distant view of a Ruff but great views of Least Bitterns, Sedge Wren, Seaside Sparrow. perched Common Nighthawks, and a strange relationship between a (presumed) male Clapper Rail that approached and mounted a (presumed) female King Rail. Seeing some distant birds in a rice field, we talked to the owner, who allowed us to get close to a plethora of shorebirds that included a couple of Hudsonian Godwits, White-rumped, Baird's, Stilt, and Pectoral sandpipers, and American Golden-Plovers.

On the Bolivar Peninsula we found gobs of water birds including nine species of terns and skimmer, close Wilson's and Piping plovers, more Upland Sandpipers, American Oystercatchers, dancing Reddish Egrets, a late Nelson's Sparrow, and a surprise Glaucous Gull on the beach. Driving to Sabine Woods we stopped at another rice field and found our only Buff-breasted Sandpiper hanging out with a large group of Whimbrels.

But it was the migration sites that stirred our passion each day. Over our time at High Island we saw heaps of Tennessee Warblers, Golden-winged and Blue-winged warblers, Yellows, more Hoodeds, more Chestnut-sideds, more of everything, and the arrival of the first Magnolia and Bay-breasted warblers of the year. Equally engaging were the myriad Orchard Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Summer Tanagers, Scarlet Tanagers, and an afternoon flight where several groups of 7-8 Baltimore Orioles were arriving as we watched. Also, Swainson's and Gray-cheeked thrushes, Veery, and Wood Thrush all appeared in the woods. It would have been great to stay another few days.

On our final day we had a close calling Black Rail that was in an impossible-to-see-it place, a Great Horned Owl, a great view of a singing male Painted Bunting and, continuing a theme that included our rails, a mating pair of Horned Larks and a couple of species of mating terns. We watched a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers enjoying each other's company on the side of a tree, too.

We observed American Alligators, green American Anoles, four young and very tame Armadillos, and enjoyed onion rings, Becky's desserts, and the cultural experience of life on the upper Texas Coast. I hope to see all of you again soon.

--John

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 210 bird taxa and 7 mammal taxa