Shooting for 500

After a year hiatus, I'm hoping to write here more regularly again this year. I was fortunate enough to do a fair bit of socially-distanced traveling last year (basically the way I always travelled, just with more hand-sanitizer and face masks) and avoided contracting Covid-19. Like most of the United States, even my home state of New Mexico saw a spate of exceptionally unusual birds show up (two firsts for the state list, and a litany of other Code 3, 4. and 5 species). Frankly, it was a bit overwhelming at times. I'll likely attempt to recount some of the more exciting moments of what was a weird year for basically everyone. 

After missing it in the last few days of March, and then being unable to get out to Fort Jefferson when in Florida, turning up this Sooty Tern (Onychoprion fuscatus) amongst the Laughing Gull colony at Rockport Beach Park was not only an exciting Texas bird, but also a Life bird.
Apr. 12, 2021

I figured I'd start with a more recent trip (and milestone) I managed to reach in the first half of April 2021. After working in the western Oklahoma panhandle for the first three months of the year doing Longspur surveys, I had planned on using the bit of down time I had before my next surveying job (and summer Arctic field work) to fill in some gaps in my various lists. The highest priority was to swing through Florida for the various vagrants and regular species I had yet to connect with (but that portion of the trip will be its own post). Of only *slightly* lower priority was closing the ever-narrowing gap separating my Texas list from a 500 species milestone. After two separate trips to the LRGV in December 2020, and another in January 2021, along with a few closer-to-home twitches in the panhandle and a swing out to Dallas/Fort Worth and NE Texas in January my Texas list was sitting at 492 species. being this close to 500, and with several regular species missing (such as Prairie Warbler and Swallow-tailed Kite) was admittedly a bit excruciating. 

After bidding my supervisor good luck and adieu on the evening of March 28th, I nosed southward and began bombing south of Dalhart towards Santa Ana NWR. My initial plan for this month had been to save the Texas birding for after I had visited Florida, but with a recent spate of reports of a Hook-billed Kite along the Chachalaca Trail, I decided to bird the Valley first, and then bump on over to Florida. The 13 hour drive passed largely without incident, and I arrived at Santa Ana around 7:30 the next morning. Finding my way to the GPS coordinates provided by Josh Lefever, I felt the familiar sense of jittery anticipation that always accompanies night-long drives fueled by too much coffee, too little sleep, and set to the appropriate amount of classic rock. 

Checking my phone, I found I had arrived at Josh's pin. I began intently scanning the trees bordering the trail as I walked slowly along the trail. Not twenty meters further, a Kite flushed across in front of me and alighted on a snag in the open near by. Finally, after at least ten trips to the LRGV and many days spent standing on hawk watch platforms, hiking canals, and checking former haunts of the species, here was a Hook-billed Kite. 

Female Hook-billed Kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus), Santa Ana NWR-- Chachalaca Trail, Hidalgo County, Texas 
Mar. 29, 2021

 It sat on its chosen perch for 5-6 minutes, allowing me to get plenty of photos and just enjoy watching it. Eventually it continued on its way, disappearing into the canopy, presumably to search for more tree snails. A little dizzy with excitement, I continued down the trail and spent about an hour looking for the Rose-throated Becard that had been frequenting a section of trail behind Willow Lakes the past few weeks. I dipped on the Becard, but wasn't too shaken up. I decided to head over to Estero Llano Grande SP to see if I could turn up the Yellow-faced Grassquit that had showed up briefly at the feeder a week before. I had no expectation of actually seeing it, so I leisurely poked around the Tropical Zone and ran into Josh, with whom I'd worked for the first two months of the year in Oklahoma. It was pleasant catching up and ticking off year birds, and eventually we made our way to the Camino de Aves section of the State Park a bit after noon. There we happened upon two of the park staff, one of whom was beckoning us from a few hundred yards down the maintenance road that abuts the park boundary and an orange orchard. We jogged over and I was shocked when they informed us they had just seen the Grassquit a few minutes before. After about half an hour of searching, we managed to turn the bird up again. After some more time we finally managed good views (though all were brief). I couldn't believe I had lucked into a second life/state bird for the day. 

The morning of March 30th dawned gray and humid at Blucher Park in Corpus Christi where I flushed my life Chuck-wills-widow and found a few other migrants. I got to Rockport Beach Park a little after 10 am. I searched the Laughing Gull colony and scanned the bay for several hours but didn't see the Sooty Tern that had been reported there previously. The heat, sun, and deafening cacophony (at that point I would have said "obnoxious") of calling Laughing Gulls was starting to fray my patience, so I started North for Galveston Island SP. I got there around 6pm and began hiking back and forth along the Jenkins Trail and Kayak launch, listening in vain for Black Rails. I did find 10 photogenic Nelson's Sparrows and a few Seaside Sparrows. 

One of several surprisingly confiding Nelson's Sparrows (Ammospiza nelsoni) at Galveston Island SP, Galveston County, TX
Mar. 30, 2021

I was back at the Jenkins trail shortly after 7:00am the next morning, and after half an hour of walking around I heard the first tentative "ki-ki-brrrrr" notes from near the parking area. I listened for 30 minutes as a nearby Black Rail growled insistently, and provided my 496th Texas state bird.

From here I turned my sights Eastward, and began heading for Florida. However, I once again found myself in Texas on my return West on the morning of April 9th. I began the day at Sabine Woods, which ended up being somewhat lackluster (in stark contrast to the early migrant spectacle I had enjoyed at Peveto Woods the evening before), so I turned my attention to Anahuac NWR and Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary. I discovered a flooded field just north of the Anahuac NWR turn off of Hwy 124 where several hundred Whimbrels and many other waders were feeding. Bolivar Flats was similarly loaded, and an hour of sea watching at Rollover Pass produced a state Pomarine Jaeger (#497). 

An evidently territorial Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia) at Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary, Galveston County, TX joined the spectacle of migrant waders feeding and loafing with the incoming tide. It was great seeing large numbers of migrant shorebirds at this site, and reminded me of why I enjoy working with them on their Arctic breeding grounds so much.
Apr. 9, 2021

The next morning, dawn found me picking my way down Gore Store Road in Hardin County through a thick cloak of fog. I was making half-mile stops (like a BBS) through the various tree farms listening for singing Prairie Warblers. After a few hours I made a stop 7 miles from where I had started (Hwy 92) and immediately heard the buzzy drawl of a singing male Prairie. After some searching I managed to find him atop a short pine with my spotting scope as a Game Warden drove by and asked me what I was doing. He seemed a little bemused, but given my NM license plates and willingness to stand out in a persistent light drizzle staring at the top of a pine tree I don't blame him. He mentioned previously he'd worked in Laredo where he ran into birders all the time but didn't come across many here in the Pine Woods of East Texas. I smiled sheepishly and mentioned I may have been one of those birders and he wished me luck as he went on his way. 

The sun came out as I drove into Liberty a little while later. I hiked around Liberty Municipal Park looking in vain for Swallow-tailed Kite. Despite dipping on the Kite, I was really impressed by the extent and quality of cypress and bottomland habitat abutting the park. That evening I checked Rollover Pass again and came across several Hudsonian Godwits, Texas bird #499. After another day in the Winnie area and not seeing anything particularly exciting aside for a Glossy Ibis at Anahuac NWR I made my way to Houston on the morning of April 12th. I started the day at Houston Heights Reservoir searching in vain for Red-vented Bulbul and Scaly-breasted Munia. I was similarly thwarted at Woodland and White Oak Parks. The Arlington Street site that had been reliable last December for the Bulbul was also a dead end. By midmorning I made my way to Tulane St and began once again wandering around, checking power line and trees. After not having luck I decided to go to the exact site of the eBird Hotspot pin along a back alley between Tulane and Rutland. Here I pished twice and immediately two Bulbuls flew in. I admittedly have a weird relationship with introduced/established exotic species, but I've come to the conclusion that these "established" (what that word means is a whole different debate) birds don't have similar prejudices, they're just doing they're thing. Having given me such a run, it was a satisfying #500 for Texas and a Life bird to boot. 

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) Anahuac NWR-- Shoveler Pond Loop, Chambers County Tx
Apr. 11, 2021

I decided to give the Sooty Tern in Rockport a second try since it'd been seen several times since my failed search in March. On my way south I picked up another state bird, one of the several breeding Swallow-tailed Kites soaring over Ganado. I arrived at Rockport Beach Park amid a fine mist and gray skies, pulled over adjacent to the protected nesting Laughing Gull colony and in about 5 minutes noticed the handsome Sooty Tern loafing amidst the Laughing Gulls. It was a sweet #502 for Texas and US (continental) bird #698. It served as a nice claw-back after the disappointment of not being able to visit Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas NP while in the Florida Keys earlier in April. While I have nothing against Florida, I feel a special pride in seeing it in Texas (I feel similarly about my life Purple Sandpiper having been in Texas). 

From here I continued bumping West through Hill Country where I was fortunate to make a brief rendezvous with Kandace Glanville (who had also been a member of the Oklahoma Longspur field team this winter) at Balcones NWR. Over a Riesling and surprisingly good Texas (Lubbock) Merlot I made good my promise to toast her 300th Texas bird from a few weeks prior and toasting my 500th added a nice symmetry to the occasion. Mostly I was getting the run down on which places were best for Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler, inquiries Kandace was kind enough to oblige. At dawn I was at the Shin Oak Observation Deck being serenaded by Chuck-will's Widows. Around sunrise I had a Black-capped singing a mere 15 feet away in the nearest shrub. I next made a beeline for the Warbler Vista Trailhead where, upon stepping out of my car I had no fewer than 5 Golden-cheeked Warblers, 4 singing males and a female. It was almost anticlimactic how easy it was to find these two threatened species. At the very least, I had expected to need to work a little harder (which has been my past experience with both species). It was nice to encounter what felt like an abundance of each species, even if it was at a relatively discreet site. 

At this point I needed to get back to NM to recombobulate before starting some bird surveys in the Southeast portion of that state so I made tracks Westward, getting to a small rest area near the state line in the early evening. The next morning was once again overcast with a persistent drizzle and full of the surreal sounds of lekking Lesser Prairie-Chickens. There were nearly twice as many males present this morning as compared to when I visited this site 2 years prior, which was an encouraging sign. 

A distant photo of lekking male Lesser Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) on a misty morning
Apr. 15, 2021

I have a perhaps weird fascination/obsession with birding in Texas. It feels a little silly to have put so much time, energy, and money into listing in Texas when I have not actually lived in that state. Initially it simply was the closest or most convenient places to see a lot of more easterly/Gulf Coast species that were new to me and I couldn't hope to see in New Mexico. Living in Las Cruces for four years, adjacent to far West Texas certainly helped as well, making it easy to accumulate many range-restricted species within the state. I look forward to continuing to chip away at the 60 or so counties I have yet to visit in Texas and continue to explore the ones I already have. There are still plenty of regular breeding/passage migrants in the state that I have yet to see (a few would be life birds), though for now I feel pretty good about my state list. Unless I move to Texas (which is a serious consideration) I'll probably turn my attention more towards tracking down a few other relatively nearby life birds I haven't gotten to yet. Even so, I'll always look forward to my next foray into the Lone Star State.