TEXAS - 13th February

Got down to Aransas National Wildfowl Refuge just before dawn and as soon as the gates opened I drove down to the observation tower and straight away there were two adult WHOOPING CRANES just below the tower – job done!   The rest of the morning was a slightly quieter than yesterday in the dull, overcast conditions but new birds included several smart WHITE-EYED VIREOS, a pair of EASTERN MEADOWLARKS, a smart singing BROWN THRASHER, brief views of a SORA on a small pool, a SEDGE WREN which came in close to me pishing and a few MOURNING DOVES.

                Birds offshore and in the bay included good numbers of ducks with big flocks of REDHEAD and Pintail with smaller numbers of Lesser Scaup, American Wigeon and Goldeneye, many AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS and a few BROWN PELICANS, a pair of calling Ospreys, Caspian Terns, FORSTER’S TERNS and Ring-billed Gulls cruising around while waders included WILLETS, Grey Plover, Killdeer, several GREATER YELLOWLEGS, a single LONG-BILLED CURLEW and a few groups of Sanderling.   There were then good numbers of warblers around the visitor centre with good numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and more White-eyed Vireos showing well.

                I then drove south through huge arable fields which produced a few bits on the power lines with quite a few AMERICAN KESTRELS, a single COUCH’S KINGBIRD and a couple of LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES while a single VESPER SPARROW was with a small flock of Savannah Sparrows at a rest stop.

 

               In the afternoon I then had a walk around Rockport in the now very pleasant, sunny, warm weather where the highlights were a great flock of 45 BLACK SKIMMERS, c30 AMERICAN AVOCETS, and 3 MOTTLED DUCKS with big numbers of Laughing Gulls, a single adult AMERICAN HERRING GULL, Forster's Terns, waders including Willets, Bar-tailed Godwits, Killdeer, Long-billed Curlew, Sanderling, Turnstone, 2 Great-northern Divers (Common Loons) offshore and common landbirds such as Brown-headed Cowbirds, Common Grackle, Great-tailed Grackle, Mourning Dove and a very confiding Loggerhead Shrike.

              

Eastern Meadowlark

Common Yellowthroat

Common Loon

Loggerhead Shrike

Willet

Black Skimmer

Forster's Tern