South Padre Island, 3/25/14

After reading Michael Marsdens post on Texbirds last night I decided I needed to get out to the Island.  The wind was still blowing from the north and it was a very good day for March with eleven species of warblers.  My favorite was this super sharp Blue-winged Warbler that I saw saw quite a few times but it took a couple of hours to finally get a photo.



Most of the birds were far more cooperative like this Louisiana Waterthrush.



The Hooded Warblers were so abundant and fearless I was afraid I would step on them.



There were plenty of Northern Parulas also.  Most of the birds today were males headed north to stake out their territories before the females get there.



My first Kentucky Warbler of the year was feeding along the fuchsia colored wall where I saw one last year.



This Worm-eating Warbler is the first I've ever seen in March.  I usually have a tough time getting a photo of one so I'll take any pose I can get.



This migrant Orange-crowned Warbler is much duller than most of the ones that winter here.  You can just barely make out some orange on the ....uhm.....crown.



I saw quite a few Yellow-throated Warblers during the winter but I still can't resist taking their pictures.



Yellow-throated Vireos pass through here pretty early and I often miss them.  Glad to see three of them today.  This one has a lump on it's neck and was missing a few feathers on the nape.



Here's our common vireo.  White-eyed Vireos on South Padre Island are migrants but some will stay and breed inland.  Their song is a common summer sound in the south Texas brush.



Other firsts for the season for me were Baird's Sandpiper, Chimney Swift and Eastern Kingbird.  I'm sure I missed quite a few birds as I spend most of my time trying to get some good photos.  But we still have two more months of migration so I have time to get caught up.