Post by kestrel on Apr 16, 2024 20:48:27 GMT -8
On day four, we made our way into the Hill Country. Our main target here was the (endangered) Golden-cheeked warbler, which breeds only in central Texas.
After walking some distance, and hearing the songs of two others, we finally found this male:
Golden-cheeked warbler by Joel Schmidt, on Flickr
This was a lifer for us both.
Even though the weather forecast for the following day called for overcast skies, there were just enough breaks in the clouds for us to have amazing views of the total solar eclipse. We enjoyed this spectacle at Garner State Park, where I also got my lifer Woodhouse's scrub-jay and Black-capped vireo.
After seeing a report of a Brown booby, on an eBird rare bird alert, we decided to try for it. Eventually, we were able to enjoy good scope views of the bird, as it perched in a snag on the far side of a man-made reservoir.
The next local rarity we tracked down was a Green-tailed towhee at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center, near San Antonio. Afterwards, we headed over to Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge.
Though we didn't see any chickens, we did encounter several Upland sandpipers:
Upland sandpiper by Joel Schmidt, on Flickr
We ended that day with a quick visit to Cullinan Park, in the Houston area.
Saw my first Limpkin here:
Limpkin by Joel Schmidt, on Flickr
The next day, we made one last visit to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. I finally got my lifer Fulvous whistling-ducks here, which had eluded me during my first Texas trip. Also had an unexpected bonus lifer, in the form of a Least bittern.
Our last full day of birding, began with a visit to the dyke (more like a jetty) in Texas City. The bird we were looking for was a recently-reported Purple sandpiper.
Which we ended up finding within minutes of arriving at the place
:
Purple sandpiper by Joel Schmidt, on Flickr
The last lifer of the trip was my first Cave swallow, at Fort Travis Seashore Park. On our way to the airport, we also made two final birding stops, where we picked up some more US birds.
This trip exceeded both Larry's and my expectations. Here's the trip report: ebird.org/tripreport/168991
After walking some distance, and hearing the songs of two others, we finally found this male:
Golden-cheeked warbler by Joel Schmidt, on FlickrThis was a lifer for us both.
Even though the weather forecast for the following day called for overcast skies, there were just enough breaks in the clouds for us to have amazing views of the total solar eclipse. We enjoyed this spectacle at Garner State Park, where I also got my lifer Woodhouse's scrub-jay and Black-capped vireo.
After seeing a report of a Brown booby, on an eBird rare bird alert, we decided to try for it. Eventually, we were able to enjoy good scope views of the bird, as it perched in a snag on the far side of a man-made reservoir.
The next local rarity we tracked down was a Green-tailed towhee at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center, near San Antonio. Afterwards, we headed over to Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge.
Though we didn't see any chickens, we did encounter several Upland sandpipers:
Upland sandpiper by Joel Schmidt, on FlickrWe ended that day with a quick visit to Cullinan Park, in the Houston area.
Saw my first Limpkin here:
Limpkin by Joel Schmidt, on FlickrThe next day, we made one last visit to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. I finally got my lifer Fulvous whistling-ducks here, which had eluded me during my first Texas trip. Also had an unexpected bonus lifer, in the form of a Least bittern.
Our last full day of birding, began with a visit to the dyke (more like a jetty) in Texas City. The bird we were looking for was a recently-reported Purple sandpiper.
Which we ended up finding within minutes of arriving at the place
:Purple sandpiper by Joel Schmidt, on FlickrThe last lifer of the trip was my first Cave swallow, at Fort Travis Seashore Park. On our way to the airport, we also made two final birding stops, where we picked up some more US birds.
This trip exceeded both Larry's and my expectations. Here's the trip report: ebird.org/tripreport/168991
