First Cattle Tyrant for USA at Corpus Christi, 11/12/23

I was sitting at the computer, editing some photos from our trip to Australia four years ago.  Woops, I guess I forgot about them.  Anyway the WhatsApp dinged.  Wow!  A Bare-throated Tiger-Heron (3rd for US I think) was found on the Santa Margarita Ranch near Roma.  I saw the one at Bentsen years ago so nice but not a big deal.  But a second bird was also reported.  Someone whose name I didn't recognize had photogrpahed a potential first US record Cattle Tyrant in downtown Corpus Christi.  Dang!  I was looking at Cattle Tyrants in Argentina just a few weeks ago.  Cattle Tyrants are a mostly terrestrial kingbird like flycatcher that usually feeds in open felds, often with cattle.  They occur in South America as far north as Venezuela and Colombia but have recently been found in Panama where they are extending their range northward.

It was just before 11am so I had plenty of time to make the three hour rainy drive.  When I arrived at the location of the initial sighting at Chaparral and Shatzell, there were a few wet birders standing around and the Cattle Tyrant had not been seen for over an hour.  We scattered and fruitlessly looked over nearby areas.  At this point it was raining pretty good and I decided to head back to the car and drive around a bit.  It seemed pretty hopeless but after maybe twenty minutes, I was driving down Chaparral again and as I slowed for the intersection with Lawrence, there standing on the curb was our Cattle Tyrant.  I fired a few shots and got the word out.  Maybe twenty or so happy birders were at the spot in a couple of minutes.

Not sure what the Texas Bird Records Committee will think of this one.  From what I can glean from the literature Cattle Tyrants are not migratory.  It may well have hopped a ship going through the Panama Canal.  It does have the yellow throat of the expected northern birds.  If I was still on the Committee, I would would vote to accept but I was always a little liberal with my votes.  Time will tell.

Anyway I love coming to a group of birders at a steakout and being the one to relocate the bird.  I've done it before.  What can I say?  "Say my name.....  Goddam right!"