High Island, Texas: An Introductory Tour May 17, 2006
Posted by Barry Lyon
Barry Lyon
Barry Lyon's passion for the outdoors and birding has its roots in his childhood where he grew up in southern California. Through his early years his developing interes...Our 2006 High Island Introductory tour was a bird-filled, fun-filled, and educational event?one in which we recorded 155 species of birds during four days in one of the best birding regions in North America. Though our trip was comparatively short, we visited all the major areas that have made the High Island region famous among birders for so many decades.
Since this trip was an introductory tour, our focus was NOT to embark on a madcap dash through east Texas, compiling a list of as many birds as we could find. Instead, the focus of our trip was on learning and having fun. The High Island region is known for its breathtaking numbers of migrating shorebirds and songbirds that surge through the region each spring on their journeys to more northerly breeding grounds. The vast array of habitats found here provides food and shelter for millions of breeding and migratory bird species. For birders, there is probably not a more exciting place to be in April than on the Upper Texas Coast.
From the time we left the airport we were greeted by one exciting find after another. A Swainson’s Hawk over the highway east of Houston was an auspicious start, while a large number of supreme Buff-breasted Sandpipers in a flooded field were unforgettable. Truly one of our most elegant shorebirds, this species is always a priority for visiting birders. How fortunate we were to be able to study a large group of them so close and at length.
For four days we traveled back and forth among all the essential areas. The woods at High Island were a little on the slow side for overall bird numbers, but this was more than offset by the fabulous birding at nearby Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. Fulvous and Black-bellied whistling-ducks preened side-by-side for extended viewing, and American and Least bitterns were viewed at close range and seen by all. Purple Gallinules paraded around in the open, and Boat-tailed Grackles called and strutted in their breeding displays.
Our search for Yellow Rails was a trip highlight, culminating in the sighting of at least two birds. Rarely seen by birders, this species was an awesome bonus for an introductory birding tour.
Flooded fields outside the refuge hosted plenty of water-loving species, including White Ibis, Pectoral Sandpipers, and Gull-billed Terns. The heron rookery at High Island is a must-see spectacle. We enjoyed incomparable views of most of the herons and egrets of the Gulf Coast in their full breeding attire. Scope views of close Roseate Spoonbills, Tricolored Herons, and all the others made leaving truly difficult.
Our morning in the piney woods was terrific, and arguably the most exciting of the trip. Unlike most other migration hot spots, the High Island area also offers a profusion of breeding songbirds. Warblers are always the primary attraction, and justifiably so. The woods, tangles, and rivers of east Texas offer enough room for many species to coexist in harmony. A couple of hours of birding produced close views of Yellow-throated, Pine, Prairie, Hooded, and Parula warblers, while the golden-hooded Prothonotary and stealthy Swainson’s were also tallied. Yellow-throated and Red-eyed vireos were found, to our additional delight, and a mid-morning flock of Mississippi Kites was exhilarating.
Our visit to Sabine Woods on the final afternoon finally yielded what we had been hoping for?a myriad of songbirds in one place, totally beautiful, and totally easy to see. Fruiting mulberry trees and a water drip attracted scores of eastern songbirds, with Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Orchard and Baltimore orioles, Painted and Indigo buntings, and an Acadian Flycatcher all present. The warbler show continued unabated, with Canada, Black-throated Green, Kentucky, Magnolia, and Tennessee gracing the scene. In all, we would go on to record an impressive 21 species of warblers.
The final morning at Bolivar was a perfect ending to our trip, with nothing but shorebirds, terns, and wading birds to occupy our time. Piping, Semipalmated, Snowy, and Wilson?s plovers on the same beach were terrific, as were American Oystercatchers, Reddish Egrets, and Sandwich Terns.
The virtues of an introductory birding trip are many. The camaraderie, the time spent on common birds, the basics of how to use binoculars and field guides, and the appreciation of the lives of these birds and the habitats they occupy contributed to a perfect birding weekend.