Spring Break Lone Star Sampler

While many students my age head to Texas during Spring Break in order to partake a week inebriated excess, I chose to tour the state for a very different reason. Several vagrants had hung around for the duration of the winter, so my break provided a good opportunity to not only chase these, but also search for several regular species that I had yet to run across in my peregrinations to the state.

A friendly Plain Chachalaca (Ortalis vetula) 

Quinta Mazatlán, McAllen, Hidalgo County, TX

Mar. 17, 2018

Here I present a summary of my 2659 mile trip throughout the Lone Star state over the course of 5 days, stretching from the mahoganies of McAllen to Spartina marshes of Anahuac NWR, from the Piney Woods of Zavalla to the Ashe Juniper clothed canyons near Lampasas. I birded 31 counties, recorded 210 species (7 of which were life birds) and bumped my Texas state list to 392 (having added 20 state birds).

Texas counties I had birded before completing my Spring Break Texas trip

Texas counties I have birded after completing my Spring Break Texas trip

Lower Rio Grande Valley
The sun had abandoned me a hundred miles before I took exit 72 off I-37 for Hwy 281. As I nosed ever southward, my excitement increased exponentially. The last time I was on this road just 4 months ago it was snowing hard and at times had trouble seeing the road. Much to my bemusement, the next time I exited the air-conditioned interior of my car at Choke Canyon SP (McMullen County), my glasses and binoculars fogged up instantly, bringing back fond memories of my first ever Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) bird chase with my friend Roger in August of 2015 (Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris)). 

After driving all day, I arrived in McAllen, TX around 01:30. Low gray clouds and thick humid air greeted me the next morning as I arrived at Quinta Mazatlán around 08:00. As luck would have it, I chose the day of the annual Monarch Butterfly Festival to look for a lingering Blue Bunting (Cyanocompsa parellina) that had been frequenting the feeder on the premise. I happened to run into John Brush, the gentleman who found the bird in the final days of 2017. He was kind enough to point me in the right direction, and I settled in to watch the feeder at Quinta Mazatlán's amphitheater amid a cacophony of vendor music and marching band style drumming (I didn't hang around long enough to figure out why). While all this human activity was certainly annoying for someone hoping to see a notoriously shy bird, I suppose it was somewhat reassuring to see this much buzz over Monarchs.
After nearly two hours of watching (and being joined by a few other birders), the large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds finally settled in and I noticed a bird feeding near the edge of the feeding station under a shrub. It was facing away and appeared black in the dim light, but every now and again as it moved, I caught a flash of iridescence. I quickly let the other's present know that the Blue Bunting had come in, though despite my best efforts, I don't think anyone else saw it. The bird unfortunately flushed as another birder moved to reposition himself and his large camera/tripod.

A fuzzy blue blob that is my photo of the Blue Bunting (Cyanocompsa parellina) at the feeder of Quinta Mazatlán This species occurs irregularly north of the US/Mexico border often in the LRGV 

Mar. 17, 2018

Despite the awful photo, the atmosphere was becoming a little much for me (and I had gotten good looks of the Bunting anyway), so I decided to head to Santa Ana NWR to search for a reportedly singing Tropical Parula (Setophaga pitiayumi). I also figured it was a good idea to enjoy the Refuge before the potential construction of a border wall destroyed the last remaining patches of LRGV ebony and mahogany woodland found no where else in the US.

Woodland at Santa Ana NWR as viewed from the hawk watchtower. How long this modest piece of forest will remain intact is anyone's guess. Even so, desertification has already rendered Santa Ana much changed from the habitat found in the LRGV before Spanish colonization.

Mar. 17, 2018 

As the thermometer climbed into the upper 80's I began my hike of the Willow Lakes Trail. The wind had picked up, but it took only a few moments for me to hear the cheerful buzzy song of the Tropical Parula. It took me about twenty minutes to locate the compact parulid as it flitted energetically in the upper canopy over the trail. I had searched for this species on other visits to the LRGV, so detecting it with such ease and getting to study the song for an extended period was incredibly rewarding.
After an hour in the hawk watching tower searching half-heartedly for Hook-billed Kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus) the sun and humidity got the better of me and I decided to head north and eastward.

Upper Texas Coast
I arrived at the old Port Comfort causeway by mid-afternoon, and after a brief scan of the edge of the causeway, I was able to locate the lingering Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima).

Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritime) is an irregular vagrant to the Upper Texas Coast, and one of the few remaining regular breeding North American shorebirds I had yet to observe

Port Comfort- Old Causeway, Calhoun County, TX

Mar. 17, 2018

Using my car as a blind I was able to spend a lot of time watching the sandpiper work the rocky edge of the old causeway along the surf-line.
From here my mission switched from chasing vagrants to looking for life birds that were regular wintering/year-round residents and a few lingering vagrants that would be state birds. First on the docket was San Bernard NWR.

San Bernard NWR- Cow Trap Trail trailhead and marsh habitat, Brazoria County, TX 

Mar. 18, 2018

The morning began much like the previous one, with a low gray cloud ceiling and high humidity, not something this New Mexican is used to experiencing. A Barred Owl (Strix varia) barked at me loudly from a nearby woodlot as I began driving the tour road, later on a different Barred Owl even flew across the road, allowing for great looks before disappearing into a woodlot. The goal of this stop was to search for Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) and Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus). I decided to hike the Cow Trap "Trail" which turned out to be little more than a burm with tall grasses that is apparently driven over every now and again to knock down a path. I braved the large spiders and American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) as I walked out along the trail taking in the songs of Boat-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus major), Sedge Wrens, and Seaside Sparrows, I noticed a largish adult gull with a dark mantle flying around a pond. After some further study it looked good for Lesser Black-backed (Larus fuscus), a bird I'm used to getting excited about in New Mexico, but apparently a regular winter visitor along the Texas Coast.
I spent the entire morning at San Bernard NWR, and after a failed attempt to find some migrant passerines along the Scissor-tailed Trail (where I found more chiggers and mosquitos than birds) I decided to take a break from the onslaught of biting invertebrates and head up the coast.

American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) 

San Bernard NWR- Cow Trap Trail, Brazoria County, TX

Mar. 18, 2018

The next item on my itinerary was the Bolivar Shorebird Sanctuary in order to search for a Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus). Once in Galveston, I was able to take the ferry across to the Bolivar Peninsula (a novel experience for me). After getting oriented, I discovered a large conglomeration of shorebirds; hundreds of plovers, Sanderlings (Calidris alba) and terns/gulls concentrated beyond the vehicle barriers. One of these gulls happened to be the massive Great Black-backed, a state bird for me and a species I seldom get to see. Getting to see so many shorebirds in one place was particularly enjoyable, though it prompted me to fantasize about a time before widespread coastal development when much of Texas' beaches may have looked this way. Teaming with peeps instead of vehicles, beach towels, and umbrellas. It is little wonder many shorebird and seabird populations are experiencing population-wide declines when they are being forced into an ever-shrinking number of sites for wintering and migratory stop-overs. There just isn't enough space for both large populations of shorebirds, and people who want to use beaches.

Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia), one of many at Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary, Galveston County, TX

Mar. 18, 2018

Dawn broke once again clothed in muted grays, and even some rain as I began driving the roads of Anahuac NWR. My mosquito-filled quest to hear Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) the night before was unsuccessful, but the large numbers of calling Blanchard's(?) Cricket Frogs (Acris crepitans) was pleasant. However, it made me wonder how many "Heard only" Yellow Rail reports actually refer to this species as the culprit of the clicks (especially those reports with a paucity of details). One sequence of clicks admittedly had me quite excited for a period of time, but ultimately I was unable to rule out the frog as a possible source and couldn't get a recording.
I spent the morning driving the road to Frozen Point and the Shoveler Pond Loop where I once again got to enjoy the lazy buzzing of Seaside Sparrows, and a mind-boggling abundance of Common Gallinules (Galinula galeata) along with other marsh birds. I was surprised to find a flock of 19 Fulvous Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna bicolor) lounging along the Shoveler Pond Loop, though it seems these birds have been found here on and off for the past few weeks (and this species isn't unexpected this far north along the coast by now).

One of over a dozen Seaside Sparrows (Ammodramus maritimus) heard singing their hearts out at Anahuac NWR, Chambers County, TX

Mar. 19, 2018

Piney Woods
I spent an entire morning at Anahuac before steering northward towards "interior" east Texas.
As I drove through the town of Winnie I noticed a number of pine trees in people's yards. By the time I reached the town of Grayburg I had made the abrupt transition from coastal and agricultural habitat to Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) forest, complete with scattered hardwood deciduous trees and perennial grasses in the understory. As someone who has grown up in the southwest (where Pine forest is closely associated with higher elevations) the low rolling hills of pine forest was somewhat claustrophobic, but exciting all the same.

Piney Woods of the Boykin Springs area, Angelina County, TX

Mar. 20, 2018

After a short stop and hike of the Sundew Trail of the Big Thicket National Preserve in Tyler County (where I saw my life pitcher plants, many of which were blooming!) I made it to the Boykin Springs area of the Angelina National Forest where I hoped to find Bachman's Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) and the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis), both denizens of southeastern pine forest. I arrived at Boykin springs around mid afternoon and searched in vain for the sparrow and woodpecker until dark with no help from a blustery wind. I was successful in locating the Red-cockaded colony's trees down an old forest road just before the intersection of FR 326 along the Boykin Springs entrance road.

Informative sign indicating a colony of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis)

Angelina NF, Angelina County, TX 

Mar. 19, 2018

I was up at dawn the next morning (clear skies today) and after downing a cup of cool-brewed French-pressed coffee (left to sit and brew overnight, my ritual the past 4 mornings), I got to work searching and listening for singing Bachman's Sparrows and calling Woodpeckers. The Bachman's were detected almost immediately giving their buzzy note followed by a lackadaisical trill. I then began hearing a sharp "squeal" call note, similar to a Hairy Woodpecker, but similar in quality to a Robin (at least to my ears). I realized this must be my quarry, but despite a half an hour of searching the trees before me, I was unable to see the Red-cockaded in front of me. The frustration was beginning to get to me when I decided to instead break away and search for the loudly singing Bachman's Sparrow nearby. As I walked off the old road I had been following up until that point I hoped the chilly morning would mean any venomous snakes or ticks might be less apt to make themselves known. I was lucky to avoid finding either (though I can't be 100% sure none of the latter found me), and after some searching I found the Bachman's Sparrow singing only about 10 feet away and about 10 feet off the ground. I took this opportunity to watch and record the song of this handsome (if somewhat muted sparrow). I found the bright rufescent upperparts and cinnamon underparts quite striking, especially compared to its grassland loving cousin the Cassin's Sparrow (Peucaea cassinii), which I am more intimately familiar with. However, for whatever it may be worth, Cassin's Sparrow still gets points in my book for having a more inspired song (or maybe its the association of this bird's singing with the sweet smell of monsoon rains in the grasslands). Either way, both are nifty sparrows, and I had a lot of fun watching this bird, I just hope there's a female Bachman's nearby that is as impressed as I was by this male's singing.

Bachman's Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) Angelina NF, Angelina County, TX

Mar. 20, 2018

 While watching my new Bachman's friend I heard two Red-cockaded Woodpeckers squealing at one another in the background. I eventually turned my attention to trying to track one down and had taken a few steps in the direction of where I perceived the pair to be when one actually flew out and landed in a tree in front of me. What followed was more or less constant views of these charismatic little woodpeckers interacting with one another and vocalizing. Like Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus), and as the sign indicated, these woodpeckers live in colonies. This means that they are much more social than other woodpecker species, and the playful interactions of these two certainly held me entranced for sometime (I even managed to forget to worry about ticks and snakes for the time being). The birds mostly seemed to be searching for food, as evidenced by frequent tapping, but they also flaked bark off the tree (much like an American Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis). The result of the tenacious flaking of bark around their nest and roosting holes was clearly evident on some trees in the stand, which had large sections completely covered in whitish sap. It is thought that the sap serves as an irritant to potential predators, and so by ensuring the tree coats the area around their holes with the sticky substance, it helps protect the nests from predation. This reliance on Longleaf Pines (and open understories only achieved through a regular fire regime) means that this sensitive species has experienced severe habitat loss due to cutting of forests and improper fire management, leading to its listing as Endangered.

A duo of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) energetically interact with one another in the Angelina NF, Angelina County, TX

Mar. 20, 2018

 As if not wishing to be outdone, several Brown-headed Nuthatches (Sitta pusilla) threw their squeaky calls into the mix, all of this with a constant background of trilling Pine Warblers (Setophaga pinus) and singing Carolina Chickadees (Poecile carolinensis). At one point I was surprised to see an adult Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) getting mobbed by several American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos).
By midmorning I decided to continue on my way, stopping a few more places in the Pine woods of east Texas, but all while setting a mostly straight course (after getting to Lufkin at least) westward. I had reached the easternmost point on my trip.

Central Texas Hill Country
Leaving Lufkin, with a full tank of gas and surfing the local country-western radio stations, I was able to enjoy the transition from Pine woods to eastern hardwood/farmland, and eventually Ashe Juniper hill country habitat zones. This while simultaneously detecting a shift from more "twangy" country songs to those with more "red dirt" affinity. Nightfall found me at Colorado Bend State Park outside of Lampasas Texas. I never like to pass up an opportunity to look for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia), and while I have seen this species before at South Llano River SP near Junction, TX, this year I decided to search for it in a different place. I began hiking along the River Trail shortly after dawn and within an hour I was being serenaded by the buzzy songs of male Golden-cheekeds. I also encountered a Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) vocalizing unseen along the bank. Two Inca Doves (Columbina inca) hooted a mournful (dare I say "hopeless") duet from the far side of the river. On my hike back, I ran across a pair of Common Ground-Doves (Columbina passerina) strolling down the trail.

A pair of Common Ground-Doves (Columbina passerina) Colorado Bend SP, San Saba County, TX

Mar. 21, 2018

It was a pleasant morning and as I was leaving I happened to hear a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma woodhouseii) calling as it flew across the road. I was struck by just how much more nasally this bird sounded as compared to the Woodhouse's of New Mexico and Arizona that I am used to hearing. Not sure what the current taxonomic relationship is between these two groups (the only definite subspecies designations I was able to find refer to ssp found in south-central Mexico). I always enjoy encountering familiar species in unfamiliar places, or familiar species that sound or behave differently than I am used to.
This stop more or less represented the last serious birding I did before making a bee-line for Las Cruces (wind made birding difficult). Though a stop at the Junction WTP yielded an unexpected flock of Chestnut-collared Longspurs (Calcarius ornatus) which had apparently been hanging out at this location (unbeknownst to me). I also made a detour to drive 10 miles north of Sonora, Texas on Hwy 277 to stop for a quick checklist in Schleicher county. Though nothing unusual, it was interesting to hear a Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons).

Olive Sparrow (Arremonops rufivirgatus) 

Santa Ana NWR, Hidalgo County, TX

Mar. 17, 2018