Smith Woods and Anahuac NWR

 4-25-21

I'm running on empty so I'm going to make this short. We were very busy birding the woods for warblers and Anahuac for ducks and shorebirds. Both locations didn't lived up to expectations. Although we didn't have a fallout and numbers of birds were low, we still had a good variety of species, Torrey has become a monster birder as he pulled out 82 species from Smith Oaks in less than four hours. His best birds were Canada Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Mim and I birded together and we managed fifty something in the same amount of time. But a great time was had by all. Here are some photos for the day. 

                                                                Common Nighthawk

                                                                         Glossy Ibis

                                                           Fulvous Whistling Ducks

                                                            Chestnut-sided Warbler

                                                                  Blackpoll Warbler

                                                                Pronthonotary Warbler

                                                        Black-throated Green Warble

                                                                   Magnolia Warbler

                                                                   Least Flycatcher

                                                                       Scarlet Tanager

                                                                   Purple Gallinule

Neo-tropic Cormorant 

Skillern Tract to Houston International Airport

 4-24

I spent the morning getting everything situated so that Mim and Torrey could move in. Before going to the airport to pick them up I stopped off for a bird walk at the Skillern Tract of the Anahuac NWR. I had never birded this area before and by the looks of the hotspot on eBird it didn't look that promising but I like to bird new areas so I thought that I'd give it a try. It's a nice area with some great habitat for migrating passerines. And I was the only one there which after the big crowds at High Island was a nice change. 

Things started out pretty slow but got a lot better when I heard the sweet rambling song of a Painted Bunting. I moved slowly and as quietly as possible toward him and soon I spotted him at the top of a small tree. He was hidden a little by twigs and leaves but after a while he went for center stage at the very top of the tree. Oh yes! I had my camera all ready for this moment and I snapped a shot or twenty. Here's the best one. 

                                                                        Painted Bunting

Farther up the trail I came across a very nice looking Summer Tanager, White-eyed Vireo, several Baltimore Orioles, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Kentucky Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat and a stunning dragonfly. I'm sure my friends John, Ibis, or Junco will tell me that I have misidentified this dragonfly but I think not, 

                                                                    Summer Tanager

                                                                Somekindof Dragonfly

Just when I got back to my truck I noticed several passerines flitting around in a nearby tree. I had already put my camera away and didn't want to get it back out so I just walked over with my binoculars. I knew for sure that was a mistake but I went on ahead. And wouldn't you know it! I was right! Because an eye-popping male Baltimore Oriole flew up and perched right in front of me. I just decided that instead of running back and getting my camera, hoping that he would stay there, I would just slow everything down and appreciate this magic moment, and I did and was so very touched by the beauty of the earth. 

After he flew off I noticed several other birds which turned out to be a Canada Warbler, a couple of Black-throated Green Warblers, and a Great-crested Flycatcher.  

                                                                Great-crested Flycatcher

During this walk Mim texted me that due to fog in Denver, she would be three hours late arriving. So I picked up Torrey and we randomly chose a hotspot close to the airport and headed off for some afternoon birding. Boy did he choose the right spot. I'll steal a line from Brad Pitt's character in Inglorious Bastards, "Wez in the bird watchin' business and business is a booming!" Well not exactly but you get the picture. We found not one not two but three Golden-winged Warblers, a Blue-winged, Chestnut-sided, Black and White, Nashville and a Blackburian Warbler. Very nice afternoon topped off with a Little Blue Heron and an empid that we're not sure of but think that it could be a Willow or Alder Flycatcher. If you love pain and misery, feel free to offer up an opinion. 

                                                                    Little Blue Heron

                                                      Maybe a Willow or Alder Flycatcher

 

Smith Woods at High Island

 4-23-21

I spent the morning birding Boy Scout Woods and it was pretty slow going. The mosquitos outnumbered the birds by around a million to one. I was wearing shorts because I left my clothes bag lying on the bedroom floor (Mim is bringing with her today). I was lucky because the Houston Audubon Society has a little booth at the woods and they sell the juice the mosquitoes hate. Best eight dollars I ever spent. 

After I spayed myself down, I took another walk around the woods and this time I was able to find a Kentucky Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, and Magnolia Warbler. On the walk back to my home base I was blessed with good looks at several Scarlet Tanagers and Indigo Buntings. 

At Smith Woods it was pretty slow going as well. By far the most exciting thing was walking up to within ten feet of a six foot American Alligator. Luckily for me he was somehow afraid that I was going to pick him up and throw him down and to avoid this fate he jumped up and scurried off into the water. Needless to say  I almost had a stroke! As soon as he got in the water he went under but I found him poking his eyes up about ten minutes later and his got a photo (see below). 

There was a small flock in this area so I hung around and found a Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Orchard Oriole, and Tennessee Warbler. But the really big show was at the rookery. I'll let the photos speak for that experience. 

                                                               Tennessee Warbler

                                                                        Great Egret

                                                                    Roseate Spoonbill

                                                                    Tricolored Heron

                                                                        Great Egret 

                                                                           Snowy Egret 

                                                                    Summer Tanager

                                                                    Boat-tailed Grackle

                                                            American Alligator (The One)

                                                            Yellow-bellied Water Snake

                                                        American Alligator (not the one)

                                                                Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Going Back on Down to Texas

 Hello Folks, 

I'm down in Texas with our new MicroMinnie Travel Trailer.  I'm picking up Torrey and Miriam in Houston on Saturday and we'll be spending time birding the usual hotspots of the Gulf Coast, Rio Grande Valley, and the Texas Hill Country. If you'd like to follow along you can subscribe to this Blog and you'll receive a notice when I have posted something. My intent is to update everyday.  

Cheers, Forest 

 Campsite along the way 

4-22-21

I pulled into High Island about 4:30 today and I dropped off the truck and trailer and hustled over to Boy Scouts Woods on foot. Along the way I got great looks at a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. No photos as it was on a feeder in someone's yard right in front of a window. I hear they have things called guns in Texas so I figured that's a photo that I'll have to get somewhere else. 

There's a pretty strong south wind so the migrating birds are not stopping over to fuel up. They get while the getting is good and ride the wind on up into the Mid-West. The ones that were around were pretty shy as they had all day to feed and thus noticed when you came near them. There's a north wind forecast for Sunday and if that holds we should have a bunch of hungry birds (isn't that a game?). And when the birds are hungry they could care less about you. And with a north wind there should be a whole passel of them around. 

Here are a few highlights from today's bird-walk. 

                                                                     Wood Thrush

                                                                          Veery

                                                                   Scarlet Tanager