Yesterday I decided I needed to get out of the yard and over to South Padre Island for some fall migration. We had our first real cold front of the fall so I was hoping something good may be around. When I arrived at the Sheepshead lot there was Mary Volz and Agnieska looking at a Palm Warbler. Well I missed the ones they had this spring so it was a year bird for me. Later I got some pretty good pictures and even a second Palm Warbler.
Agnieska later said she saw five Palm warblers which is unheard of down here. I watched the area for a while and got the two in the bath but the other brown warblers I saw on the ground associating with the Palm Warblers were young Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Later Mary and I were watching the small water feature on the east end of the north side. A young Yellow-rumped was bathing when a wren popped in at the edge of the water. Expecting a House Wren I was pretty surprised to see the rusty coloration, pale supercilium and short coked up tail. Holy smokes it was a Winter Wren!
Later I was looking around under the Australian pines and something scurried out from under my feet. It was the Winter Wren again. I pished and it flew up on on a fence and I got some better shots. Winter Wren s spend the winter in the Valley in small numbers. It's always a treat to see one.
There were a few other migrants around like this Magnolia Warbler who had just grabbed a moth.
Up at the Convention Center there was a fall plumaged Tennessee Warbler.
An Ovenbird searched for food along the water feature.
And there was a late Red-eyed Vireo.
The mystery bird of the day was this strange hummingbird at Sheepshead.. The pale eye brow and dark center to the throat made me want to call it an Anna's Hummingbird. One wintered here last winter. But it's not short tailed enough. It's just a freaky looking Ruby-throated Humming bird in some weird molt. It looks like the new feathers are emerging before the old ones have been shed.
A few days ago a Plumbeous Vireo was photographed at Sheepshead. We all looked for it unsuccessfully. This time of year anything can show up.
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