A Tale of Two Thrashers...TEXAS (7 April)

After yesterday's Brown Thrasher in Boy Scout, we arrived at South Padre, a stone's throw from Mexico (for the Tip 'O Texas birding weekend) and walked right into a rather tame Long-billed Thrasher at the convention center which made for a nice comparison with the similar Brown of yesterday. Essentially it comes down to eye color, with the distinctly orange eye color of Long-billed compared to the yellow irides of Brown Thrasher. Furthermore the bright rust upperparts of Brown are lacking in Long-billed.

Ridiculously tame warblers at South Padre to come...

Bump in Migrants on High Island...TEXAS (6 April)

I awoke with little hope that things had changed in the night migrant-wise, after all I'd watched the weather and little had arrived the afternoon before which is when they should arrive so the theory was the morning would be much the same...WRONG. I spent en enjoyable day getting my first Swainson's Thrush of the spring (although missing the first of season Summer Tanagers that avoided me at least in the afternoon), and watched such migration thrillers as Worm-eating Warbler (that teased the crowd watching Purkey's Pond by nipping in and out of the dense brush very so often, leaving some with crisp looks (me being one of those fortunately), and others frustrated as it crept furtively through the brush. The other showstopper was a vivid yellow Prothonotary Warbler well-described by another Brit in town as "stonking" as she got her lifer Prothonotary-a word I feel sums that one up perfectly. Sparrow numbers were on the up, with notably more melancholy sounds in the woods provided by a bounce in White-throated Sparrow numbers, along with lingering White-crowned and Lincoln's Sparrows. Aside from that Black-and-white Warbler hugged the trunks, and gaudy flash of orange in the afternoon brought me my first Baltimore Oriole of the season which was distinctly outnumbered by a waved of Orchard Orioles that slowly but surely trickled through the woods today at Boy Scout Woods.

However, many of these enjoyable birds were not ready to be photographed it seems, and that was left to my one encounter in the photo blind in Boy Scout today, where a Brown Thrasher bouncing in as only as thrasher can do.

Now I am looking forward to my first venture down to South Padre Island further south in Texas for the weekend...

Texas Birds in Flight...TEXAS (5 April)

With the storm of yesterday long forgotten, and few migrant birds in the lots it was time to venture out for shorebirds. We checked out some boggy fields near Winnie that produced a handful of the hoped-for rich buffy Buff-breasted Sandpipers, a load of American Golden Plovers and Pectoral Sandpipers, and a mass of Whimbrel too. The skies above were haunted by Swainson's Hawks, and another drier pasture was home to upwards of 30 Upland Sandpipers. Our woodland walks found little apart from a Yellow-throated Warbler, and so I went about shooting birds in flight from the Smith Oaks rookery platforms that produced some closeups of Black Vulture and Roseate Spoonbill at least to compensate for the distinct lack of migrant activity!

Rosy Times at High Island...TEXAS (2 April)

With warbler action low, we compensated with some quality action at the Smith Oaks rookery where the Roseate Spoonbills were infinitely entertaining as they were at their most magnificent in the early evening light. Their plumage is at its brightest right now as they ready for the intense breeding season to come, and their behavior at its most absorbing as they try and pick up sticks for their nests and get stuck into making a nest for the coming season.

Favorite bird of the spring...TEXAS (30 March)

OK so the spring has been slow so far, although it is early, so I have had slim pickings to chose from. However, this is nearly always one of my favorites of the spring, and it just so happens this early mover is around right now, and this is arguably one of the best times to see them. So even when it is slow along the Gulf Coast we can more than compensate with such thrillers as "pinkie" AKA Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Although I feel Scissor-tailed KINGBIRD would be a much better name? This one was shot a few days ago on the entrance road into Houston Audubon's Bolivar Flats Sanctuary, a regular spot for these distinctive flycatchers of open country. These guys even look good perched on a fence, and not many birds can pull that off!

WARNING: Not a Bird! TEXAS

Just to prove that very occasionally my attentions can be diverted away from birds, this wonderful (Eastern) Tiger Swallowtail showed up in my lens at Smith Oaks on High Island, and I just could not resist it. Supposedly this was the very first insect illustrated by European visitors to North America, when it was painted by John White on an expedition with Sir Walter Raleigh, famous explorer come pirate from Britain. Just a random fact to keep you going I hope!

More from the Gulf Coast real soon...

More from Anahuac...TEXAS (31 March)

Other birds typical of Anahuac were around too...Many Pied-billed Grebes drifted across the mirror-like waters their distinctive appearance reflected in the glassy waters below them.


The Boat-tailed Grackles were resplendent in the early morning sunlight, choosing to boisterously display and call from any dead snag they could find, shimmering in that beautiful early morning light.


Around the muddy banks that southern specialty and Mallard-lookalike, the Mottled Duck was found.

Then on the way out we bumped into a stern-looking Swainson's Hawk that soon took umbrage to its photo being taken and flapped gently off inland.

More to come tomorrow from High Island and the coastal spots of the Bolivar Peninsula. I feel a shorebird bonanza coming on!