Upper Texas Coast - April 19, 2008 - Epilogue

Even though our flight back to Los Angeles isn't until 5 pm, we both agreed that this will be a non-birding day. The angst of returning a damaged (albeit only slightly) rental car was weighing heavily on me. We wanted to get over that experience as soon as possible. The invitation by fellow photographer Joanne Kamo to join her at Sabine Woods this morning was so tempting but our concerns regarding the car was foremost in our minds. We wanted to be in Houston, a good hour and a half''s drive away, as early as possible.
It turned out that we were anxious for nothing. Will, the representative at Dollar assured us that since we took a Loss Damage Waiver Insurance and already had an insurance claim number (we called them right after the accident), we won't have to worry about what happened to our rental car.

The airplane on the flight back home was only 3/4 full and so it was a relaxing voyage. Reminiscing on the past four days, I was thankful that the accident wasn't as bad as it could have been. We tallied 28 new species in our lifelist which was quite good. Of course, coming in, my expectations were very high, even telling Cynthia that it was possible we would be getting at least 40 lifers. But vagaries of weather somehow affected the density of species that visit migrant traps of the Upper Coast of Texas.

It could have been better, but we were happy and content with what we had. One thing that was guaranteed in Texas was the hospitality and friendliness of the people.

Texans like to say these to departing visitors: "Y'all come back now, ya hear!"

Oh, we will. We will.

Upper Texas Coast - April 18, 2008 - Derailed at Anahuac

Rain was coming down hard on Friday morning. Rain is good, the birders at High Island told us. That means there will be birds coming in. But first, we have to wait for the rain to stop, right? Not! Neither rain nor sleet nor snow would stop a dedicated birder from pursuing his target bird.

After about a couple of hours the rain did stop. Still there were a few birds to be seen. Nothing unusual has made an appearance yet.

So we decided to visit Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge where "at least four kinds of rail can be seen". There we got good looks at Cattle Egrets and an American Bittern that decided to show itself.

We did an auto tour around Shoveler Pond where we picked up lifer # 21 - a Mottled Duck.

Spending close to an hour at the boardwalk hoping to find a rail - any rail -became an exercise in fulility. Thankfully, we got lifer # 22 when we caught a glimpse of a Least Bittern flying across the road. We tried the other routes but all we saw were alligators.

Back at High Island, things were still slow at 3 pm. The only thing of interest was a Little Blue Heron devouring a huge orange-colored fish.

By 4 pm, bird activity started to pick up. Colorful tanagers raided the mulberry tree above the "grandstand". By the "cathedral" we picked up three species of vireo, two of which were lifers 23 and 24, Red-eyed and Yellow-throated, respectively. The third was a Blue-headed which we have already seen two days ago.

A commotion at the grandstand indicated that warblers were coming in. We joined about a hundred other enthusiasts as the local experts started calling out the names of the warblers that showed up. Tennesee Warbler (lifer #25),

Black and White Warbler! (#26)

Blue-winged Warbler and finally Golden-winged Warbler (#27). Eventually, the excitement died down as evening approached. As a last hurrah, I spotted a Rose-breasted Grosbeak preening itself above us. It was our 28th and final lifer of the trip.

Upper Texas Coast - April 17, 2008 - Out of the Woods

Today we revisited Sabine Woods. But first we went to Willow Pond about 6 miles down the road. It was pretty quiet except for the incessant calling of the local grackle population. At first I thought they were just Great-taileds which was very common in California. However, upon closer look, I realized that they were Boat-taileds and therefore a lifer for us! (#14).

A Green Heron was hunting close to the boardwalk. Suddenly a brightly-colored Summer Tanager played hide-and-seek with us. I also managed to track down a young Ruby-throated Hummingbird and chalked up lifer #15.

As we were about to leave, flashes of chestnut and black appeared among the green willow leaves. Soon a flock of Orchard orioles were cavorting among the trees, flying back and forth across the boardwalk. Occasionally, one of them would burst into song. These gaudy serenaders were our 16th lifer.

Saying goodbye to the morning chorus, we drove back to Sabine Woods. Along the way we encountered a flock of White Ibises flying along the highway. We've seen these birds before in the Valley but they were at quite a distance. So we stopped and enjoyed a closer look at a squadron of these white waders with black-tipped red bills.

Mid-morning at the Woods was pretty slow (it's that darn south winds again, one birder reminded us). It wasn't a total disaster though for we encountered a Great-crested Flycatcher by listening for it's "tit-syew" call. It was lifer # 17.

Nothing exciting happened from noon until about 3 pm. We were tired from perambulating the wooded area so we decided to rest by the drip. Soon lifer #18 in the form of a Brown Thrasher popped into view.

Then once again the Orchard Orioles stole the show. It was while watching them that I caught a glimpse of red in the underbrush. With my binoculars, my heart leapt for joy as I saw our target bird - the Painted Bunting. Our 19th lifer is arguably the most colorful bird in the United States. Red underparts, blue head and greenish yellow back made it nature's grand masterpiece. It was just so heartbreaking that they (there were more than one) kept their distance and therefore not allowing for good photographs.

As if the parade of colors were not enough, the bright orange and black of the Baltimore Oriole (#20) shone from atop a tree. When the Painted Buntings left, they were replaced by a gorgeous male American Redstart. Although not a lifer (we've seen a female in California) we were still awed by its black and yellow-orange plumage.

We ended our day watching a spectacle of colors brought in by the Scarlet Tanagers and a Yellow Warbler.

When we took our shower that evening we were dismayed to discover that we've been the victims of chigger attack. Both of my legs were peppered with red (and itchy) polka dots caused by the microscopic insects. Cynthia had her share, too, though not as worse as mine.

And the misery continues..

Upper Texas Coast - April 15, 2008 - What a Way to End the Day

Spring at the Upper Texas Coast is famous world-wide because it is a stop-over of beautiful songbirds migrating north from the tropics. A month before our travel date I have already been monitoring the reports coming from High Island and vicinities. Sightings of 20-plus species of warblers in one day started coming in around the second week of April. Not only warblers but colorful tanagers, orioles and vireos were seen as well.

And so it was during the 3-hour flight to Houston that I have started listing in my mind the many lifers we expect to find on our 5-day trip. My expectations were high and my enthusiasm unbridled. As soon as we got settled at Best Western in Beaumont, we immediately drove to Sabine Woods about 35 miles southeast. We arrived at about 5:30 pm but the sun was still up and our hopes of seeing some migrants were undiminished. The first bird we saw and our first lifer was an Eastern Kingbird. As Cynthia and I traversed the boardwalk, we were surprised to see a tiny yellow and black bird hopping ahead of us. The Hooded Warbler was our second lifer.

A birder who was walking with us pointed to a brown bird a few feet away. "Wood Thrush", he said. We thanked him for showing us lifer number 3. It wasn't long when a gray bird appeared from the underbrush. Lifer number 4 was a Catbird. Close to the pond, it was my turn to tell the other birder that there was a Kentucky Warbler lurking by the water's edge. That was lifer number 5. I saw a glimpse of a Blue Jay which counted as the sixth lifer of the day.   

The boardwalk ended at the edge of a shallow, weeded pond. By a broken twig across the pond, a yellow and black bird was hunting for insects. Kentucky Warbler, I said aloud. The local birder who was beside me said that it could probably just be a Common Yellowthroat. I've seen Yellowthroats before and this was no Yellowthroat, I murmured to myself. The birder peered through his binoculars and confirmed almost hesitatingly it seemed, that it was indeed our 7th lifer.


Back near the entrance, a Blue Grosbeak gleamed in the afternoon sun, while a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker worked a nearby tree.

It was almost 7 pm when we saw our 8th and final lifer of the day - a lovely yellow Blue-winged Warbler.

Along the road on the way home, we marvelled at the many waders flying in to roost at the roadside canals. The reddish rays of the setting sun accentuated the pink feathers of the Roseate Spoonbills. White Ibises and Egrets joined the Herons as they prepare to settle for the night.

As much as possible we try to rely on our GPS to take us to places we want to go. Unfortunately our hotel address is different than what the GPS had on record. After losing our way a couple of times, we finally found the correct freeway, albeit a little too late. I made a quick turn to the clover leaf that would connect us to our intended route at a 65-mph clip. The car swerved right and as I wrestled with the steering wheel and with my foot firmly planted on the brakes, the car then swung left, turned around, and hit the railings - first with the front right bumper then with the rear right bumper. All the while, Cynthia was saying, "Lord! Lord!". And it was indeed only through God's mercy and protection that we came out unscathed from the accident and the car only sustained superficial damage. Needless to say, we were quite shaken and it affected my verve and enthusiasm for the remainder of our stay in Texas.