Tuesday, April 19, 2016

South Padre Island, 4/18/16

A Scarlet Tanager along with Palm and Canada Warblers were reported yesterday among the migrant passerines on South Padre Island so I thought it was worth a trip as I needed those for my year list.  Turns out I didn't see any of those but I still had a great day.  Upon arrival at Sheepshead the group of birders already there was excited about a Cape May Warbler.  I  failed to see one last year and they are pretty uncommon down here.  And this one was a little early.  Afraid I could not get this one in good light.


Within seconds I also saw my first Chestnut-sided Warbler of the year.



A Wilson's Warbler flitted overhead.



 Along with Northern Parulas and Black-and-white, Nashville and Tennessee Warblers.


I left Sheepshead with my warbler talley at eight species and drove over to Campeche Street.  The great vacant lot there was cleaned up and fenced a few years ago but the popinac trees remain and it still attracts a few warblers.  There I added Black-throated Green and Hooded Warblers to my list.   I got skunked on Atol but cleaned up on Oleander with Yellow and Yellow-throated Warblers, American Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat and this stonkin' Blackburnian Warbler.  I'm up to fifteen species of warblers now.



Then it was on to the Convention Center.  It was approaching lunch time so I thought I would park in the front lot by the flats and eat my lunch.  I was also hoping the crowd of birders would get hungry and leave so I could have the the birds all to myself.  The tide was high and had forced some of the shorebirds into the grass along the flats where they seemed to be enjoying their own lunch.  The Short-billed Dowitchers and Dunlins were just coming into breeding plumage.




How about a sharp Semipalmated Plover?


OK, lunch over it was time to get back to the passerines.  The few birders left told me about a Black-poll Warbler.  It was my first of the year.  I also added Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and an Ovenbird to get my list to 18.


While searching for the Ovenbird I saw this cool Wood Thrush.


Male Summer tanagers were striking in their "piebald" plumage.


This Western Tanager is rather drab but I'll take it.


Now it was back to Sheepshead to see if anything new had dropped in during the afternoon.  A Northern Waterthrush and a Worm-eating Warbler was nice.


And then this beautiful Golden-winged Warbler appeared.  This may have been the prettiest specimen I've ever seen but I sure had trouble getting my camera on it.



I finished the day with 21 species of warblers.  That was pretty good considering that it was really not a very birdy day.


South Padre Island, Cameron, Texas, US
Apr 18, 2016 8:40 AM - 5:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Comments: Sheepshead, Campeche, Atol, Oleander and Convention Center
70 species (+1 other taxa)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 10
Brown Pelican 20
Tricolored Heron 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 1
Willet 2
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 35
Dunlin 10
Least Sandpiper 10
Short-billed Dowitcher 12
Laughing Gull 25
Black Skimmer 100
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 30
Eurasian Collared-Dove 10
White-winged Dove 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 10
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Merlin 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Great Kiskadee 1
Western Kingbird 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 3
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Barn Swallow 20
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1
Swainson's Thrush 4
Wood Thrush 2
Gray Catbird 2
Long-billed Thrasher 2
Northern Mockingbird 2
Ovenbird 1
Worm-eating Warbler 2
Northern Waterthrush 1
Golden-winged Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 6
Tennessee Warbler 12
Nashville Warbler 10
Common Yellowthroat 4
Hooded Warbler 2
American Redstart 2
Cape May Warbler 1
Northern Parula 8
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 5
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1
Yellow-throated Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 2
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Chipping Sparrow 1
Clay-colored Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 2
Summer Tanager 5
Western Tanager 1
Indigo Bunting 5
Painted Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 70
Yellow-headed Blackbird 3
Great-tailed Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
Orchard Oriole 10
Baltimore Oriole 10
House Sparrow 10






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