During my winter break, we decided we wanted to end our year with a big trip. After much debating and some scheduling setbacks, we decided on spending three days in southeast Texas and 3 (well 2.5 really) days in San Diego. We knew it would be a stretch to hit 500, but we surely couldn't give up without trying.
The morning started rough. I had a flight out of Atlanta to Houston to meet up with Peter, who ended up driving from Tallahassee to Houston. For some reason (probably the same reason we kept missing rarities) my alarm didn't go off, and I woke up almost an hour later than anticipated. Long story short, after an extremely stressful morning, I made it on my flight just 5 minutes before the gates closed.
Relieved to be in Houston, I found Peter waiting for me at the airport in his Jeep. We were both pretty bleary-eyed from the travel, but too excited to be tired. We first headed to White Oak Park, a small urban park where Red-vented Bulbuls were apparently reliable. We didn't have a ton of time, and walked quickly through an overgrown part of the park after we had walked down a paved path following a river. Besides a few Orange-crowned Warblers, we weren't seeing a whole ton of birds. Finally before reaching our car, there they were! A pair hanging out at the top of a tree. I know they're established exotics, but they're still a neat looking bird.
Next we were off to chase a rarity that I've been wanting to see since I got into birding: Brown Booby. Four had been reported hanging out at Baytown Nature Center in Harris County. As reported, there were four individuals hanging out on top of infrastructure in the water. Unfortunately, they were really far out. Not too far for a positive ID, thankfully. So, we watched them for a few minutes, then we were zipping off to the coast to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.
On the way, it seemed like we were seeing raptors at every mile. I've never seen such high densities of Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels. But when you combine vast areas of open fields and farmland with a high density of prey, you're going to get raptors, and lots of them. Within minutes of driving into Anahuac, we were greeted with one of my birding white whales - Crested Caracaras! They are one of the coolest looking falcons we get in North America in my opinion.
Anahuac was northing short of impressive - the several mile drive provided tons of wading birds, ducks, and raptors. We stopped off at a short boardwalk and walked along another birding couple. Peter and I were in awe at the number of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Hundreds of these cute ducks were resting together in small groups. At the edge of the boardwalk we even got an American Pipit, our first of the year!
After Anahuac, we planned on stopping at hotspots along the southeastern coast to round out the day, with a main target of finally getting a Snowy Plover for the year. Just a few miles out of Anahuac, we noticed a different looking raptor than the Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels we'd been seeing by the dozens, a very light colored bird. We quickly pulled the car around to see my lifer White-tailed Kite! These raptors are stunning and remind me of phantoms with their red eyes and contrasting white and grey bodies. I have an affinity for kites - I think they might be my favorite raptors.
The coastline wasn't as productive as we'd hoped, and we didn't get our Snowy Plover at either Bolivar Flats or Galveston Island State Park. The later hotspot was quite beautiful, and it was a pleasant stroll. Our last stop of the day before the sun began setting was at an underpass in Galveston County where Burrowing Owls were reliable. Sure enough, hanging out under the rocks of the bridge, a beautiful burrowing owl was peering at us cautiously. Keeping our distance, we photographed and watched it before driving on to see what other birds might be around. Not much besides a few avocets, but avocets never get old. Their striking sunset-colored contrast and unique upturned bills are always a treat.
We started Friday morning driving through the Port Aransas Leon Turnbull Birding Center where we had good looks of spoonbills, harriers, and several species of wading birds. We then cruised to Sunset Lake where we saw several shorebirds and a small group of Red-breasted Mergansers, but unfortunately still no Snowy Plover.
Next we headed to Rose Hill Cemetery in Corpus Christi to chase down a Cassin's Vireo (right?) and to meet a botanist friend of Peter's, Brandi. We missed out on the Cassin's, but I had a great time watching my lifer Great Kiskadee. We also saw a Pyrrhuloxia, which will always remind me of a hardcore cardinal, and a Couch's Kingbird.
We caravanned to Pollywog pond in hopes of seeing a Green or Ringed Kingfisher. Nearly immediately we saw a small group of Least Grebes floating together near the perimeter of the pond (lifer for me!) I absolutely love grebes, and these were no exception with their small figures and bright yellow eyes. I'm not sure if the heat had started to get to me, or if I was just getting hungry, but from across the pond, I thought I saw a unique looking kingfisher perched on a snag that didn't quite look like a belted to me. Unfortunately, it flew off before any sort of confirmation could be given. So, no luck with kingfishers here.
Hazel Bazemore park honestly doesn't look like too much from the outside, but it is a great birding spot. In fact, they annually conduct a hawkwatch here in the fall. We didn't have a ton of time, but we were able to pick up Olive Sparrow and a Northern Harrier for the day. We sped off to the Riviera School Pond, where we walked the perimeter of the water's edge looking for anything new. A few scaups, a shoveler, and an avocet on the mudflat. A kiskadee called loudly. A flash of vibrant green caught our eye - we followed it to the edge of the tree line. A Green Jay! I know these birds are relatively common, and we saw many after this, but I was enthralled.
After, while travelling towards a Mountain Plover hotspot in some in-the-middle-of-nowhere fields, we got our first Harris's Hawk! I learned a bit earlier about how they are one of the only bird species known to hunt in packs, which is how they can effectively take down jackrabbits. They also have the oddest tendency to literally sit atop on another (it's super weird looking, please google it). Their charismatic personalities made this lifer super special for me. Unfortunately, we didn't see the plovers at the fields, but we got a great look at a roadrunner. Off to one of the most special parks in south Texas - Lagunas Atacosas NWR!
We were greeted at the entrance by a stoic, strikingly beautiful White-tailed Hawk (a lifer for me!) Inside the main refuge area, it was oddly quiet except for a few Red-winged Blackbirds, Olive Sparrows, Northern Bobwhite, and Green Jays.
We ended our long day at Port Isabel Road, where we managed to pick up a second White-tailed Kite, but not much else. Finally, it was time to refuel before another packed day of birding...
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