Texas Trip ~ January 10, 2022

Since I didn't have to be at the airport until 2:30 PM, I decided to go to Hermann Park in Houston where another Tropical Parula had been seen pretty regularly. I got there at 8:40 and started walking around the outside of the "Urban Forest". It was pretty cold and windy, not very favorable for a warbler, so I figured it might be feeding in the more sheltered areas. As I was walking south on the eastern loop of the trail inside the forest, I came across a small group of birds that included a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, an Eastern Phoebe, two Pine Warblers, one Orange-crowned and a Wilson's Warbler, and finally the Tropical Parula! At one point, it was pretty close to me, allowing me to get some pretty nice photos.

Tropical Parula

The bird did show a hint of eye-arcs depending on how the light hit its face. The Sibley guide shows a portrait of a "rare variant" with pale eye-arcs and I wondered if this bird fit that. With everything else pointing to Tropical, I don't think that this bird reaches the Tropical x Northern Parula hybrid classification.

As per my plan determined the night before, I left the park in the late morning and headed to the Sheldon Lake State Park fishing access area where a Limpkin had been reported. Almost immediately, I spotted the Limpkin feeding in among the trees. A little later, I saw it again perched in some brush.

Limpkin

There were large numbers of Neotropic Cormorants flying around, feeding, and roosting. I conservatively counted around 150 birds just in that area.

Neotropic Cormorant

A small group of Common Galliules fed along the edges and a young Tricolored Heron was seen through the brush.

Common Gallinule

Tricolored Heron

A few White Ibis were present, including this young bird that was with some Snowy Egrets.

Immature White Ibis

Snowy Egret

Other birds seen here included American Coot, Pied-billed Grebe, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, among a group of 67 Great Egrets.

From there, it was off to lunch at a Cracker Barrel for some chicken and dumplings before heading to the airport. I drove 1,114 miles over 4-1/2 days and saw exactly 100 species. Many more photos can be found in my Texas Photo Album.

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Texas ~ January 6-10, 2022

1) Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
2) Mottled Duck
3) Gadwall
4) Green-winged Teal
5) Northern Pintail
6) Northern Shoveler
7) Blue-winged Teal
8) Cinnamon Teal
9) Redhead
10) Lesser Scaup
11) Common Loon
12) Least Grebe
13) Pied-billed Grebe
14) American White Pelican
15) Brown Pelican
16) Anhinga
17) Neotropic Cormorant
18) Double-crested Cormorant
19) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
20) Black-crowned Night-Heron
21) Green Heron
22) Tricolored Heron
23) Little Blue Heron
24) Snowy Egret
25) Great Egret
26) Great Blue Heron
27) White-faced Ibis
28) White Ibis
29) Roseate Spoonbill
30) Turkey Vulture
31) Black Vulture
32) Osprey
33) White-tailed Kite
34) Northern Harrier
35) Cooper's Hawk
36) Harris's Hawk
37) Gray Hawk
38) Red-tailed Hawk
39) White-tailed Hawk
40) Crested Caracara
41) Bat Falcon ***
42) American Kestrel
43) Merlin
44) Peregrine Falcon
45) Limpkin
46) Common Gallinule
47) American Coot
48) Sandhill Crane
49) Whooping Crane
50) Black-necked Stilt
51) Greater Yellowlegs
52) Least Sandpiper
53) Long-billed Dowitcher
54) Laughing Gull
55) Ring-billed Gull
56) Herring Gull
57) Rock Pigeon
58) Mourning Dove
59) Eurasian Collared-Dove
60) White-winged Dove
61) White-tipped Dove
62) Common Pauraque
63) Belted Kingfisher
64) Golden-fronted Woodpecker
65) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
66) Ladder-backed Woodpecker
67) Eastern Phoebe
68) Vermilion Flycatcher
68) Tropical Kingbird
69) Great Kiskadee
70) Loggerhead Shrike
71) Blue Jay
72) Green Jay
73) American Crow
74) Black-crested Titmouse
75) Verdin
76) Carolina Wren
77) Ruby-crowned Kinglet
78) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
79) American Robin
80) Clay-colored Thrush
81) Northern Mockingbird
82) Long-billed Thrasher
83) Red-vented Bulbul *
84) European Starling
85) Orange-crowned Warbler
86) Tropical Parula
87) Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler
88) Pine Warbler
89) Wilson's Warbler
90) Savannah Sparrow
91) Lincoln's Sparrow
92) Song Sparrow
93) Northern Cardinal
94) Eastern Meadowlark
95) Red-winged Blackbird
96) Great-tailed Grackle
97) Brewer's Blackbird
98) Bronzed Cowbird
99) House Finch
100) House Sparrow

*** denotes life bird.
* denotes 'Lower 48' bird.

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