Townsend's Solitaire in Port Aransas!!!!

Late this evening I went over to Paradise Pond to check on my hummingbird feeders and on my way out a Townsend's Solitaire landed on the fence next to me! I hurried to my truck and got my camera and got a couple pictures.

Calliope Hummingbird in Corpus Christi

I found out yesterday that my friend Linda Alley had a Calliope Hummingbird in her yard for the last few days. I went over to her house today and had the bird within 5 minutes!

On the beach today I found the Lesser Black-Backed Gull at marker 58 and a lone Bonaparte's Gull at the jetty.

Rough-Legged Hawk in the Coastal Bend!

My parents and I went out today looking for the reported Rough-Legged Hawk near the Aransas NWR. We had the bird about 2 miles north of Cavasso Creek on 35.

At the Guadalupe River Delta, we had a Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Northern Waterthrush, and a Fox Sparrow.

Guadalupe River Delta CBC and More

I started out this morning on River Road in the Guadalupe River Delta. On the drive in, we had a Common Pauraque sitting in the middle of the road. At dawn, we had a couple Great Horned Owls sitting on telephone poles along with several Short-Eared Owls flying around. Once it got daylight enough to look for woodland birds, we started playing tapes and had a Dickcissel, along with 2 Harris's Sparrows.

At the boat ramp, we added a Fox Sparrow, Green-Tailed Towhee, Green Jay, 2 Bald Eagles, and a House Finch. I had to leave early to make it to work.

On the way to Port Aransas, I had a dead American Woodcock about a mile from the ferry landing!

I made a quick stop by the birding center and Paradise Pond, adding Northern Waterthrush and a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.

Little Gull in Port Aransas 2/15

I refound the Little Gull in Port Aransas today, plus I found another Little Gull!!! Here are some pics.

Yellow-Faced Grassquit 2/4

Some pics of the Yellow-Faced Grassquit I took on 2/4 at Goose Island SP.

A Indigo Bunting as well....

Slaty-Backed Gull in Corpus Christi

Here are a couple of pics of the 1st winter Slaty-Backed Gull at the Corpus Christi landfill today (2/3). Thanks to Martin Reid for the phone call!

Little Gull in Port Aransas

Here are some terrible pics I took of the Little Gull yesterday (2/1) near the Port Aransas jetty.

Flying

Sitting (on right)

Sitting (back)

Franklin's Gull and Short-Eared Owls 1/26

Today I had a Franklin's Gull at Hazel Bazemore Park.

This afternoon in Jim Wells county, we had at least 5 Short-Eared Owls. Here is a link to a video of one this afternoon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teh43EjsWxw

Coastal Bend 1/23

Lots of good birds today around the Coastal Bend today. We had 4 Northern Gannets and the Lesser Black-Backed Gull off the beach in Port Aransas. At Blucher Park, we found the female Hooded Warbler. We also had the Hammond's Flycatcher at Rose Hill Cemetery in Corpus. The male Anna's Hummingbird was present at Clay Taylor's house in Corpus. We ended the day on some county roads near Orange Grove and had an amazing concentration of about 70 Northern Harriers and 35 White-Tailed Kites. 2 Short-Eared Owls made an appearance around 6pm. Some pics below-

Hooded Warbler

Black-Headed Grosbeak

Hammond's Flycatcher

Anna's Hummingbird

Short-Eared Owl

Odd Birds in Coastal Bend 1/17

It was like spring migration in mid-Jan. in the coastal bend today! I had a female Hooded Warbler at Blucher Park, Least Flycatcher, Summer Tanager, Western Tanager, a calling Brown-Crested Flycatcher, Ovenbird, lots of Pine Warblers, Plumbeous Vireo, Surf Scoter, and a Pacific Loon

A terrible pic of the Hooded Warbler:

Least Flycatcher at Blucher Park:

Plumbeous Vireo at Rose Hill Cemetery:

Western Tanager at Rose Hill Cemetery:

Broad-Billed Hummingbird 1/10

Female Broad-Billed Hummingbird and male Rufous Hummingbird in Live Oak county.

Valley 1/6

I made my first trip down to the valley for 2011. I got many of my "target" birds, which included Black-Vented Oriole, Greater Pewee, Dusky-Capped Flycatcher, Crimson-Collared Grosbeak, Rufous-Backed Robin, Black-Throated Gray Warbler, and many more. All together, I had 5 Texas accidentals for the day!

More Rare Birds in the Coastal Bend!

Today I found the Surf Scoter in Ingelside, also present at this location was a Pacific Loon. On the beach between Port Aransas and Corpus Christi I had an adult California Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, and 5 Red Knots.

Coastal Bend 1/2

Several good birds today in the Coastal Bend. The day started with a RED-THROATED LOON by the Copano Bay Bridge in Rockport. A couple Greater Scaup were also at this location.

The best bird of the day were 3 Rusty Blackbirds at Pollywog Ponds in Corpus Christi. They are extremely rare in Nueces county.