South Padre Island, 4/16/10

Well there was a Bobolink found at the convention center at South Padre Island yesterday afternoon but I didn't find out about it till afternoon today. So I raced out to SPI but as it turned out no one had seen it today. Well, actually the photographers there (who outnumbered the birders) acted like they didn't know what I was talking about. I don't think they would know a Bobolink from a Humperdink. But I got a good pic of a Blackpoll Warbler so that was okay.



And then I was really happy to find this Prairie Warbler on the Campeche lot. We don't get to many of them down here.





This Tennessee Wabler and Northern Parula were taking turns at the same orange.





Here's a Black-and-white Warbler doing what Black-and-whites do.

Frontera Audubon Thciket, 4/13/10

The past couple of days has seen a weird low pressure system over south Texas reminiscent of the tropical systems we see in July or August. So we're getting some rain which is grounding some of the migrant passerines and consequently I was able to see 61 species at Frontera Audubon Thicket today including 14 species of warblers. They included Worm-eating, Kentucky and this Blue-winged.



This Northern Waterthrush seems unusually dark.



I think this empid is an Acadian Flycatcher. Most empids bring up the rear of the spring migration, many not arriving till June. Acadians are one of the early ones.



Yellow-crowned Night-Herons nest at the Valley Nature Center and are frequently seen feeding at Frontera. I bet they nest here some day.



As I was leaving this morning I happened to see this "V" of about 100 double-crested Cormorants migrating north. I'm calling them Double-crested because they seem rather short tailed.



Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 12
Plain Chachalaca 10
Neotropic Cormorant 100
Anhinga 1
Snowy Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 10
Gray Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Common Moorhen 1
White-winged Dove 6
Inca Dove 6
White-tipped Dove 6
Green Parakeet 2
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 5
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Brown-crested Flycatcher 1
Great Kiskadee 3
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 4
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Purple Martin 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Cliff Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 2
Black-crested Titmouse 3
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 2
Marsh Wren 1
Clay-colored Thrush 1
Northern Mockingbird 4
Long-billed Thrasher 1
European Starling 1
Blue-winged Warbler 2
Tennessee Warbler 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 4
Nashville Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 3
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Kentucky Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Hooded Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Summer Tanager 1
Olive Sparrow 2
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Great-tailed Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Orchard Oriole 1
Lesser Goldfinch 3