Golden Triangle Audubon Bird Alert Update -- April 23, 2010

While there were many fewer migrants in Sabine Woods today (April 23), the variety and species were enough to keep birding interesting.  There was little evidence of birds arriving during the day, save perhaps for some Painted Buntings and Orchard and Baltimore Orioles during the afternoon.  These may well have been birds that hit the coast early in the day to the west of the woods and slowly worked their way towards the woods.  At least 18 warbler species were seen in the Woods, and another three species were detected along Highway 87 and at the Willows at Sea Rim!  Interesting were (another?) cooperative male Cerulean  (and a female later), and a female Magnolia found late in the afternoon.  There were not large numbers of any species, and most of the Kentucky and Tennessee Warblers that were there yesterday were gone.

A Chestnut-sided Warbler was in a bush about 1/2 mile west of Sabine Woods, and a Yellow-throated Warbler and a Palm Warbler were found at the Willows at Sea Rim, notwithstanding the fact that the trees are all dead.  There were a few Swainson's Thrushes, but very few Wood Thrushes, although both Gray-cheeked and Veery were found.  There were a number of both male and female Painted Buntings, both in the Woods and at various places west of the woods.  Similarly, Orchard and Baltimore Orioles were quite common in the woods and to the west and in McFaddin NWR.  No fewer that five Western Kingbirds, including three traveling together, were seen in McFaddin.  The birding in McFaddin was exceptionally good, and will be the subject of a separate report.  Strange to relate, there were four Chipping Sparrows in McFaddin along the road to Star Lake where it runs along the south bank of the Intracoastal.

The weather situation is interesting.  There is a line of clouds across the Gulf from Brownsville to about Venice, LA. The line is thin on the satellite picture, but contains quite a bit of moisture.  Whether it will be a factor for migrating birds in unknown.  The winds at the surface and at 3,000 over the Gulf are strong (30 kts) and southerly, and there seems nothing likely to stop any birds leaving the Yucatan Peninsula tonight.  The timing of the front and the likelihood of rain in Southeast Texas are still not entirely clear, but it seems likely the front will clear the coast about 8 to 9 a.m.  Birds migrating with a 30 kt tailwind will have a groundspeed of up to 60 mph, meaning that the trip from the Yucatan will only take 10 to 12 hours, putting the birds on the coast in the same time frame that the front is due to arrive.  If the front is wet, then we might expect the migrants to drop into the woods upon reaching.  The winds behind the front are forecast to be influenced by the circulation round the low pressure center which will by then be over about Shreveport or perhaps north of there, and will shift to a westerly direction.

A potentially interesting situation is forecast to develop after the front passes.  The forecast call for the front to continue at its current pace south to about the middle of the Gulf and then creep during Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to the Yucatan coast, and apparently stall there.  The winds behind the front will have some northerly component, but may be mostly WNW or NW.  If this situation develops as forecast, birds migrating in the first part of next week might face some adverse conditions, and may descend into the woods upon reaching the coast, possibly quite late in the afternoon.

John A. Whittle