Info on High Island and area please - trip in April (1 Viewer)

Hi,

I am doing my first trip to High Island in April and have 3.5 days to get as much birding in as possible. I am staying in Winnie the nearest town with accommodation. I have been researching sites to visit.

Current plans

Day 1 High Island - Boy Scout Woods Smith Oaks
Day 2 Bolivar Flats/Rollover Pass/Horseshoe Marsh
Day 3 ???
Day 4 Anhuac reseve

I could really do with some advice, local insight ? have i covered off the main spots? Anhuac also looks like a huge reserve where are the best spots?

Is it worth doing a second day back at High Island.

Any help much appreciated.

Good birding.

James

Birders can often cover all of your stops in a single day, depending on how long they want to work a particular location.

I often hit Anahuac at dawn, hitting the Willows and Shoveler Pond, then proceed to High Island. Depending on the winds, High Island can be hot or very slow. BTW, don't forget to visit Hooks Woods, the TX Ornithological Society sanctuary (with two drips) on 1st St. in High Island. Often, it's the birdiest of the three big sanctuaries. Please adhere to the payment request at Hooks Woods if you're not a TOS member. It is NOT a Houston Audubon Sanctuary, so your patch or day pass for HAS sanctuaries does NOT apply.

Always check in at Boy Scout Woods to see the list of what's been seen. Smith Oaks birds are listed with an "SO" designation. The white board on the wall of the bathrooms lists bird sightings from locations other than the songbird sanctuaries.

Houston Audubon hosts bird walks to their songbird sanctuaries and to Bolivar Flats for shorebirds. These walks are guided by Tropical Birding guides, so the quality is good.

A trip to Sabine Woods, another TOS sanctuary, is a must. It's often birdier than the High Island sanctuaries, and last year we had Tropical Mockingbird (a first ABA record if accepted) and Black-whiskered Vireo in the same day. It's about an hour's drive from High Island (40 min. from Winnie), and the most likely place for eastern warblers such as Black-throated Blue and Cape May.

So, my suggestion would be this: stay flexible in where you bird from day to day. You might have a weather system that will keep you at a songbird sanctuary all day, or you might have very few birds in the woods. Keeping abreast of TEXBIRDS, TOSRBA, and eBird alerts will allow you to know when rarities are found. Don't force yourself into one location per day, as you may miss out on great opportunities elsewhere.

You asked about Anahuac. Driving Shoveler Pond is usually enough for rails, Least Bittern, etc. The other roads will get you Seaside Sparrow, etc. Look into the schedule for the Yellow Rail walks led by David Sarkozi if you're ready for a slog (a productive slog, but a buggy, hot, exhausting slog nonetheless). Yellow, Black, and Sora rails are often seen, and Seaside Sparrows, Sedge Wrens, etc. are seen incidentally.

Hope this helps. If you'd like other information, feel free to contact me directly.

Steve Gross
President, Texas Ornithological Society
sgross77 AT comcast DOT net

Steve,

What a great post, thanks a lot for the in depth and extremely useful response. Great tips on Hooks and Sabines woods, and I really appreciate the advice on staying flexible which is exactly what I will do.

Will definitely drop you a note if I have any additional questions.

Thanks again for the information very much appreciated.

Regards

James