Padre Island National Seashore, 6/22/26

On Sunday Willie Sekula and Caley Thomas found an adult breeding plumaged Arctic Tern while plying the beach at the Padre Island National Seashore.  I'm sure this wasn't just an accidental find but an intentional attemp to locate this and other rare species that can show up on Gulf beaches during the summer.  Willie knows his stuff!

Arctic Tern is my Texas nemesis species by a long shot.  I have driven many beaches hoping to find one and I've chased several, all to no avail.  So I got up early Monday morning and made the nearly 200 mile drive to the Padre Island National Seashore where it is possible to drive sixty miles of beach.  There were plenty of terns to sort through.  These are mostly Royal Terns.  Breeding is over and white foreheads are coming back.

Sandwich Terns were also around.

But I was after the smaller Arctic Tern which means fishing through the Common Terns.  These are all in basic plumage.  I don't know if they are young of this year or non breeders.

There were also breeding plumaged Common Terns known as alternate plumage.

I don't know if this is a Common Tern or a Forster's Tern.  iNat say's Forster's but the bill doen't seem orange enough to me though it is pretty big.  I didn't see any basic plumaged Forster's which is easy to ID.

I ran into long time Texas lister John Berner and his wife from Houston.  Arctic Tern is his nemesis bird too.  Turns out neither of us were able to find it.  Willie's list on eBird had a lot more birds.  I'm sure many were driven off by the Sunday afternoon beach goers.  So maybe it wasn't our fault.

Best bird for me was this young Aplomado Falcon.  I'm sure it hatched nearby.  Tag says B 04.  I remember seeing my first along the coast of Veracruz many years ago.  Aplomado Falcos were once extirpated from the US but are now realitvely easy to find due to captive breeding programs and providing nesting birds with preditor proof nest boxes.

And at the same spot I was also rewarded with three Magnificent Frigatebirds.  I picked up six new birds for my Kenedy County list.

So I didn't get what I wanted but it was still a beautiful day at the beach.

My Best Ever Bay-breasted Warbler, 5/7/26

A late "cold" front was trying to enter the Lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas yesterday and I thought it might cause something interesting to land at South Padre Island.  I headed east and after passing San Benito the WhatsApp dinged.  Tammy Bulow had just found a Sulphur Bellied Flycatcher at the Convention Center.  It's probably the same one that was seen at the Birding and Nature Center five days ago.  A second chance!

Well have half dozen birders or more searched thoughout the day but to no avail.  I checked my records and found I saw a Sulphur-bellied back in 2006 at the Convention Center back before I had a camera.  I saw another at Quinta Mazatlan in 2008 and got photos of that one.  So it's not the end of the world.  Meanwhile there were other migrants to see.

I really got spoiled with warbler photography last weekend and despite quite a few warblers around, I found few I cared to shoot at.  After a while at the Birding and Nature Center where I found this cool Epimelissodes petulcus, I returned to the Convention Center.

Long time Valley bird photographer Larry Ditto and another photographer whose name I can never remember had chairs pulled up to the water feature waiting for action.  I may be a snob but I find most "photographers" have terrible nature observation skills.  They can only get photos if the bird is in their face.  But this afternoon they had warblers in their face and I joined in.

Most of the photo opps were OK but still not as good as I had last weekend.  The one exception was the Bay-breasted Warbler.  I was closer to them last week but the lighting and angles were always off.  This bird coming in to the Convention Center drip was really putting on a show.

 

Bay-breasted Warblers are just uncommon enough to always be a treat in the valley.  Their unique coloring is unlike any other bird species I know.  So no Sulphur-bellied Flycathcer but still a good day.

Good Fallout on SPI, 5/2/25

The forecast late spring cold front blasted in right on shedule during the height of spring bird migration so I made the long drive over to South Padre Island hoping for a good day.  I was not disappointed.  First stop was the Valley Land Fund's Sheephead lots.  About twenty cars were wedged in best they could and close to fifty birders were milling about.  The only problem was which bird to photograph first.  How about Bay-breassted Warblers?  These are uncommon enough to always be a treat.

Chestnut-sided Warblers put on a show.

Black-throated Green Warblers Can be seen from early migration all the way to the end.  Some even winter in the Valley.

 I think all the empids were present.  The amazing spring of Acadian Flycatchers continued.

Then word came across WhatsApp that Rice University flycatcher guru Cin-ty Lee had just found a Sulphur-bellied Flycathcer at the Birding and Nature Center.  It's been years since I've seen one in the Valley so I raced over.  I have Cin-ty's flycather guide out now even as I type this.  When I arrived everyone was looking but no one was finding.  I had to settle for bad shots of a Palm Warbler.

And a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.

It was looking like no Sulphur-belly so I decided to head over to the nearby Convention Center.  I arrived to find the parking lots choked with cars.  It was UIL elementary school cheerleader competition.  Seemed like dosens of families with three foot tall cheerleaders were all over the place.  But many were leaving for lunch so I managed to find a good parking place and got back to birding.

I soon ran into Mary Volz who told me everyone was getting great photos of a posing Chuck-wills-widow behind the Convention Center.  She led me to the spot and sure enough a reddish nightjar was sitting in the open.  A reddish nightjar with a small head.  That doesn't look like a Chuck.  It's a rusty Common Nighthawk.  Well I caught hell for that opinion by new local expert.  "Look at the color.  It's a Chuck."  I said "But the head's too small.  And it's sittng in the open like a Common Nighthawk."  Later he admitted there actually is a rufous morph Common Nighthawk in Sibley's guide.  This old birder's still got it!

There was also word of a male MacGillivray's Warbler.  It was tough to get shots of it but I finally did.  And later I found a female.

The Veery was very accommodating.

Warbling Vireo has recently been split into pretty much identical Eastern and Western species.  They have different songs and I guess there are some slight plumage differences.  Our migrants are supposed to be Eastern Warbling Vireo.  This will be a problem for state records committes across the country.

My first Philadelphia Vireo for the year.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak was the bird that started me birdig fifty years ago.  It's referred to as your "spark bird."

This is either an Alder or a Willow Flycatcher.  They are best separated by voice and this one was silent.  I think the well defined eye ring makes it an Alder.  I need to study Cin-ty's book some more.

This little Ovenbird was a real charmer.

I think this is my best ever Magnolia Warbler photo.

Lizzy and Tammy told me of roosting Mississippi Kites in the mangroves.  I walked the boardwalk but got distracted by this tired looking Least Bittern.  We have summering Least Bitterns but this one might be a migrant.

The Mississippi Kites were a bit distant for good photos.

American Redstarts were out in force.

After shrimp wraps and a pint at The Brewery, I returned to Sheepshead where birders were still at it.  Some Black-and-white Warblers continue to pass through.

My first Canada Warbler for the year.  I think I finished the day with sixteen species of warblers.

One of the most common summer woodland birds of the eastern United States is the Red-eyed Vireo.

I finished the day with this Western Tanager.  I was the only one to see it.

Hell of a day!

More Great Migrants on South Padre Island, 4/25/26

After fun on the SPI flats, I ran over to the nearby Convention Center just in time for lunch.  Parking spots were filled by participants of some even at the Center but I still managed a close one just in time for lunch by the water feature.  My peaceful lunch was soon interruped by a loud ringing warbler chip.  I was expecting a Hooded Warbler or a waterthrush but instead found this Kentucky Warbler.

  Back to work after lunch.  I like the screwy plumage on this young male Baltimore Oriole.

Common Yellowthroat at the water.

A couple of birders joined me by the water feature as this Yellow Warbler came in.

One of them told me he had just seen a Worm-eating Warbler.  Dang!  I would like to see that.  A perky Ovenbird stole my attention.

Then something small and brown was digging around for bugs in the leaves.  I was expecting the Worm-eating Warbler, but saw someting better.  It was a Swainson's Warbler!  I suggested to the birder next to me that this may have been his Worm-eater.  He concurred.  We stayed on it and eventually got nice shots.  Pretty fantastic!

My other goal for the day was to see the Cape May Warbler.  A couple reported seeing it earlier in the morning but i couldn't find it.  So here's a couple of Tennessee Warblers.

Nothing new was happening so I mosied on down to Sheepshead.  As soon as I got out of the jeep I heard "Black-troated Blue Warbler."  It was a real skulker in the SW corner that refused good photographs despite a bunch of us looking for it.  These trans-Gulf migrants are hard to get in the RGV.

Meanwhile the Chestnut-sided Warbler was posing for photos.

It's been a good spring for Prothonotary Wrblers.

Finally got a Worm-eating Warbler on the day.  This one is an orange eater.

Friendly Hooded Warbler.

First Veery for the year.

Sixteen species on warblers on the day including Swainson's and Black-throated Blue along with a Parasitic Jaeger makes  for a pretty good day.