The Scene from Rollover Pass, Texas: 4 April 2010

Once again today the shorebirding at Rollover Pass on the Bolivar Peninsula was phenomenal. Before we got there a couple of distinctive silhouettes flitting over the car en-route heralded the arrival of two more Scissor-tailed Flycatchers to the Upper Texas Coast. Packs of Black Skimmers formed "black islands" out on the sand, groups of terns coated the sandy spits, sandpipers fed at the muddy edges, while American Avocets and Marbled Godwits worked the deeper waters. Main species present included Western Sandpipers, a single Long-billed Curlew flew in gently and displayed its impressive bill for all to see, while a Whimbrel sat in the background. Tern packs held the from the smallest (Least Tern), to the largest (Caspian Tern), along with Common, Forster's, Sandwich, Royal, and Black Terns too. A couple of Wilson's Plovers hid in amongst the tern horde, and a tight party of Short-billed Dowitchers tucked their bills into their back, although the "dancing" troop of 4 Reddish Egrets almost stole the show with their characteristic acrobatic fishing technique.