Road Trip Tally States: AL MS LA TX Miles: 1070 Total_Miles: 2000 Keeper Photos: 300 Total: 650 New Species Added: 70 Total Road Trip Bird List: 70

This portion of the roadtrip was designed to correspond with the annual spring wave of neotropical migrant birds arriving on the coast after crossing the Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, my focus was less on photography and tourism, and more on serious science and nature study. These days in the southern part of Texas resulted in identifying 70 bird species, two of which were life IDs for me. The full list appears at the bottom of the post.

Most images can be clicked for full size view.

Although wildflowers weren’t officially on the agenda until later in the week, I did note a few Texas wildflowers making an appearance along the trails.

A few of the many bird species I was able to spot along the Gulf Coast are shown below. Notable are the Orchard Oriole, out of place in the grassy marsh. He would seem much more at home in a tree a little farther north. The Summer Tanager, most likely dropping in from Central or South America, is the other red bird, distinctly brighter and more thoroughly red than a Cardinal or Scarlet Tanager. The egrets are rocking their plumes this time of year. Those plumes nearly wiped them out back when such plumes were fashionable on ladies hats. The fancy feathers will all be gone in a few weeks.

Bird Lists for Texas Leg

April 9 Alabama Traveling 25 Species

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Killdeer
Bonaparte’s Gull (new life species)
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tree Swallow
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Field Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal

April 10th Louisiana Grand Chenier 28 Additional Species

White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Gallinule
Black-necked Stilt
Willet
Laughing Gull
Anhinga
Brown Pelican
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
White Ibis
Osprey
Belted Kingfisher
Crested Caracara
Eastern Kingbird*
White-eyed Vireo*
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
Purple Martin*
Barn Swallow *
Boat-tailed Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler*
Common Yellowthroat*
Hooded Warbler*
Northern Parula*

April 11 Texas Sabine Woods 15 Additional Species

Blue-winged Teal
Mottled Duck
Lesser Scaup
Neotropic Cormorant (new life species)
Least Bittern
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Downy Woodpecker
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo*
Loggerhead Shrike
Savannah Sparrow
Orchard Oriole *
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler*

April 11 Texas High Island 2 Additional Species

Roseate Spoonbill
Summer Tanager*

*Neotropical Migrant