Texas Coast Trip List

[Steve Gross]

Here's my trip list from a weekend on the northeastern section of the Upper Texas Coast. Most of the birds were seen at Sabine Woods, a migrant trap near Sabine Pass, TX. Others were seen in the Big Thicket, the piney woods area north of Beaumont. Misses include Bachman's Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, but who can complain about 114 species!

I got one lifer - Fish Crow. It was easily seen at the Catttail Marsh in Tyrell Park, Beaumont. Year birds are noted by an asterisk (*).

GREBES
Pied-billed Grebe
PELICANS
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
CORMORANTS
Double-crested Cormorant
Neotropic Cormorant
HERONS, EGRETS AND BITTERNS
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Tricolored Heron
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
American Bittern
IBIS AND SPOONBILLS
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
NEW WORLD VULTURES
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
OSPREY
Osprey
HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
RAILS, GALLINULES AND COOTS
Common Moorhen
American Coot
AVOCETS AND STILTS
Black-necked Stilt
PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS
Killdeer
SANDPIPERS
Long-billed Dowitcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
*Wilson's Phalarope (females molting into breeding plumage)
GULLS
Ring-billed Gull
Laughing Gull
TERNS
Gull-billed Tern
Forster's Tern
PIGEONS AND DOVES
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
SWIFTS
Chimney Swift
HUMMINGBIRDS
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
KINGFISHERS
Belted Kingfisher
WOODPECKERS
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
TYRANT FLYCATCHERS
*Eastern Wood-Pewee
*Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
SWALLOWS
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
KINGLETS
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
WRENS
Carolina Wren
MOCKINGBIRDS AND THRASHERS
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
THRUSHES
*Veery
*Swainson's Thrush (even had one singing its beautiful song)
*Wood Thrush (seen and heard)
American Robin
GNATCATCHERS
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
CHICKADEES AND TITS
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
SHRIKES
Loggerhead Shrike
CROWS AND JAYS
Blue Jay
American Crow
FISH CROW
European Starling
VIREOS AND ALLIES
White-eyed Vireo
*Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
WOOD WARBLERS
Blue-winged Warbler
*Tennessee Warbler
Northern Parula
*Chestnut-sided Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
*Prairie Warbler
*Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
*American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
*Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
*Yellow-breasted Chat
TANAGERS AND ALLIES
Summer Tanager
SPARROWS, TOWHEES, JUNCOS
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
SALTATORS, CARDINALS AND ALLIES
Northern Cardinal
*Rose-breasted Grosbeak
*Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
*Painted Bunting
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, GRACKLES, ETC.
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Boat-tailed Grackle
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
*Baltimore Oriole
Orchard Oriole
OLD WORLD SPARROWS
House Sparrow

[steve_nova]

That's some list. What distinguished the Fish Crow from the Am. Crow? Was it the voice, or could you compare it's smaller size against the other species?
Have you ever seen the Tamaulipas Crow, Corvus imparatus? I heard that they come up as far as Brownsville (sometimes)
Cheers.

[Steve Gross]

Hi, Steve: The Fish Crow is distinguished from American Crow by its very different vocalization. It sounds like a toy, actually, or a compressed, higher-pitched 'caw' than the American. It's really quite comical to hear them. They are somewhat smaller than American Crow, but I was not in a position to directly compare the two species side by side.

I've not seen Tamaulipas Crow. They've been really inconsistent down in Brownsville, their normal Texas haunt. I did meet up with some ladies this weekend who'd videoed and audioed the Tamaulipas Crow in Brownsville last month, because they knew that they'd have to strongly back their sighting.

Apparently, American Crow occurs there as well and many people have just called any crow they saw a Tamaulipas. I've seen others do this with the Whooping Cranes at Aransas NWR here in Texas. People will climb to the platform of the Observation Deck, see a Great Egret (another large white bird), call it a Whooping Crane, and drive back home. Too bad they missed the real thing.

Thanks for your interest.

Steve in Houston