Blue Day on the “Dome” ...(High Island, Texas): April 12, 2009

27 species of warblers were counted in the High Island woods today by all. We knew this was going to be a special day when I returned to the Boy Scout drip from my morning walk to the sight of Christian Boix punching the air in celebration of a ice blue male Cerulean Warbler that had just dropped into thrill the few gathered on the grandstand there. A few hours later I was looking for this blue ***tard and returned when Boix tipped me off that it had returned. I set off with another lady who was also in dire need of a Cerulean injection only the look up at the first bird I saw flitting around heavily leafed-out Live Oak, and be hot with the pristine gleaming white underparts and dreamy blue upperparts of a male Cerulean, the very first bird we clapped eyes on during our walk! Later in the day I popped into Smith Oaks to do my afternoon walk where we found a large roaming flock of warblers that held a Townsend’s Warbler and another “blue wonder” (Cerulean). The former being a very scarce bird in these eastern migrant traps, that had been around for the last few days but had eluded me until then. A nice High Island “tick”. This warbler-packed day was capped superbly when we ran into a glowing Blackburnian Warbler that looked like its face had been set on fire. My neck may have been feeling the strain of warbler neck, but I did not care one jot. Long may this good birdy spring continue.