Bird Alert - October 15, 2007

This year's fall migration of neotropic passerines seems to have been marked by a paucity of the weather events that tend to result in a concentration of migrants along the coast.  (Cold fronts stalled just south of the coast, especially cold fronts with marked temperature differences. The two or three days following Hurricane Humberto probably produced the greatest variety of warblers)  Reports from the coast on Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend indicate only small numbers of a few warbler species (Northern Parula, Wilson's Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler).

In fact, migration tended to be more obvious some distance away from the coast this past weekend.  In the western part of Jefferson Count – in this case all areas west of Beaumont and North of IH-10 – there were numerous flocks of Indigo Buntings, with well over 125 birds in five flocks noted on Sunday (14th) and a flock was seen at the Garden Center in Tyrrell Park on Saturday..  One of the flocks also contained a couple of Nashville Warblers and one Common Yellowthroat.  There were a number of family groups of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers also.

Crested Caracaras have become so common in Jefferson County that they are almost no longer noteworthy.  There has been a pair along Highway 87 along the beach, more often than not just east of the entrance to the Marsh Unit of Sea Rim SP.  Other are south of Highway 73 west of the Taylor Bayou bridge.  Still others are in the general Fannett-Hamshire area, roaming north and south of IH-10. 

White-tailed Hawk is another species being seen more frequently.  For several years, birds of this species seemed to appear mysteriously in the Anahuac NWR whenever there was a prescribed burn in progress, but recently they have been seen in Jefferson County.  A pair – they are hanging out together – have been along Highway 87 about a mile or so east of the Sea Rim SP HQ complex, often on the poles along the entrance road to the H&B Ranch.  These are both subadult (second year) birds.  The last report we have was October 7, but they are almost certainly still around.  This Sunday (October 14), one White tailed Hawk was seen soaring in the distance from the southern part of South China Road in west Jefferson County (with a Swainson's Hawk above it and a Red-tailed Hawk below it).  Later in the day, a very tame White-tailed Hawk, quite likely the same bird, was found perched at the intersection of Johnson Road and League Road (or is it Willis Road at that point?).  This was also a second year bird.

Other birds of interest in west Jefferson County Sunday included a Common Ground-Dove, flushed from the roadside of McDermand Road about 1/4 mile south of the intersection with Mason Road.

There were numerous flocks of swallows over the fields and perched on the wires in west Jefferson County.  Most were almost single species flocks of either Barn or Tree Swallows, but one flock of Tree Swallows had a Cliff Swallow in it.  One flock of Barn Swallows on League Road/Willis Road, about 1/4 mile west of where the White-tailed Hawk was perched, contained at least 15 Cave Swallows, which perched quite obligingly on wires and were seen well and studied.  Cave Swallows have been both spreading very slowly east into East Texas and Louisiana and wintering in increasing numbers in south Texas for a number of years now, but this was a large number for such a very late date.

Winter resident are returning.  There are already good numbers of American Kestrels and Northern Harriers.  A few Eastern Phoebes were present, and a few "little brown jobs" behaving like shy Savannah Sparrows doubtless were of that species, although late October/early November is a good time to look for some of the less common sparrow species.  A Red-breasted Nuthatch has been seen in Lumberton, and there was a "probable" in Sabine Woods three weeks ago.  All evidence points to a large incursion southwards of this irruptive species this year.  The last few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are straggling through and any later birds should be checked to make sure they are not wintering (or migrating) Rufous Hummingbirds or something even less expected.

From reports by Gerald Duhon, Rose Ann and Harrison Jordan, John Mariani, Sherrie Roden and John and Jana Whittle.

John A. Whittle