Seven Statebirds in Coastal Mississippi – May 2017

A short business trip to the MS and AL Gulf Coast came up in mid-May, and of course I wondered if I might have much statebirding potential.  My free time would be limited as it almost always is on these business trips, so I would have to focus on just a few key targets.  First I needed to do some research.  Although my MS and AL statelists were already pretty good (229 in MS and 238 in AL), in the back of my mind I thought that I needed several pretty easy birds in MS.  So I set up an eBird Needs Alert for MS and sure enough 10 possible targets popped near the coast – several were regular breeders.  Only a couple came up on my AL Needs Alert, and those didn’t look very reliable.  So it seemed that with limited time I should target the possible statebirds at or near the Gulf Coast in MS. 

Now I needed to develop an itinerary for the trip.  I would arrive on the coast mid/late afternoon, and would be free through that evening, so that would only give me a few hours for birding.  But the Needs Alert included possible targets in three different areas.  First there were 4 targets on the coast – Reddish Egret, American Oystercatcher, Sandwich Tern, and Seaside Sparrow.  Then 3 generally a bit inland – Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Anhinga, and Common Ground-Dove.  And then 3 even farther inland – Chuck-will’s-Widow, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and Bachman’s Sparrow – luckily all in the same general location at DeSoto National Forest.  There were reasonably reliable spots for all of these targets except the Egret and Ground-Dove, so in theory I could come up with an itinerary with 8 realistic targets.  I could start with several stops on the coast, work my way inland, and finish the evening at DeSoto NF.  That would be a lot of stops with limited time so the birds would have to cooperate quickly if I was going to be successful.  But of course I was optimistic.

My first stop was to try for Sandwich Tern.  Although this is a regular nester on the coast, there didn’t seem to be any specific locations where it was regular.  Instead there were several spots where it was being reported at least occasionally, with perhaps the best location being the lighthouse at Biloxi, so I made that my first stop.  When I got out of the car at the lighthouse parking lot I quickly spotted a small flock of birds on the beach but they were all just Laughing Gulls.  Then I scanned across the open water with my binoculars and found a number of Royal and Forster’s Terns, most coming and going from a spit of land a bit to the east.  With some nice activity I went back to the car to get my scope and then started to scan in earnest.  Soon I spotted a bird flying over the water which was a little larger than the Forster’s that was apparently an adult in non-breeding plumage – it had a dark patch near the eyes and around the back of the head, and darker wing tips.  Eventually I could confirm the ID as a Sandwich Tern (statebird #1).  Finding this bird in MS fills in the last gap in my statebird map (below) – I’ve now seen Sandwich Tern from TX all the way up to MD on the Atlantic coast, not to mention seeing it as a rarity in MA.

My next target was American Oystercatcher, which is a nester on the MS coast, but unfortunately on offshore islands that are inaccessible.  The best I could hope for was to find some birds wandering around on the coast, and the best spot appeared to be Front Beach at Ocean Shores.  Unfortunately despite several quick stops along the beach I found no shorebirds at all.  Although I dipped on this target, the silver lining was it didn’t take much time to look for it. 

Then I was off to try for Seaside Sparrow – a common nester in saltmarsh habitat all along the coast.  The challenge was to find appropriate habitat that was accessible.  I targeted Graveline Beach about 30 minutes east of Ocean Shores where there had been several recent reports.  As I approached the beach I could see lots of great Spartina marsh which would be ideal for Seaside Sparrows, and I stopped at the first area where the marsh came right up to the road.  It was pretty windy so the chances of hearing these birds was pretty slim.  I started to scan the marsh and in no time I saw two cooperative Seaside Sparrows flying low over the grasses (#2).  I now only need this species in GA as the last state in its coastal range.

My next target was Anhinga – another regular breeder in southern MS.  And indeed there had been reports of this species in a number of different locations, but the only spot where they were seen with any frequency was the New Pascagoula River Audubon sanctuary.  Up to 4 birds had been reported there on apparently regular walks through the sanctuary, so this would be my key spot to give them a try.  Just as I arrived at the park entrance I noticed a sign that said the park closed at 5 – it was now 4:45.  Yikes – this would have to be a quick stop.  I headed to the wetlands behind the building and did a quick scan of the adjacent trees hoping to find a perched bird but with no luck.  Then after a few more steps on the boardwalk I got a view of the marsh but still no target.  Then I turned the bend and there in front of me sitting right on the boardwalk was an Anhinga (#3).  A couple minutes later I was back in my car and left the park with 5 minutes to spare – that was an efficient stop!  MS was my last state for Anhinga in its regular breeding area, though I can still hope to find this species most anywhere else in the east as a vagrant.

Next I was off to try for Black-bellied Whistling-Duck which is really expanding throughout the region.  A great example of that expansion - a flock of up to 95 birds had been reported recently in the Inner Harbor of Pascagoula.  When I arrived at this spot I found what appeared to be perfect Whistling-Duck habitat – numerous houses with manicured lawns surrounding the harbor.  Although access was pretty limited I was able to search most of the lawns but couldn’t find any ducks.  Then I drove to another portion of the harbor, and with this different viewing angle, I quickly picked up a flock of 8 Whistling-Ducks sitting on a distant lawn (#4).  MS was my 7th state for this species and now the 4th across the Gulf Coast.

Next I was off to DeSoto National Forest to a whole different set of habitats in the piney woods.  Apparently I had never birded this habitat in MS since eBird reports indicated that my 3 targets (Red-cockaded, Bachman’s Sparrow, and Chuck) were quite common here.  And all in the immediate area of the Bethel Mountain Bike Trail.  In fact, all 3 were reported on some individual checklists.  After a quick 45 minute drive northwest of Pascagoula, I arrived at the beginning of a dirt road which was the start of the bike trail.  I had not walked more than 100 yards up the road when I heard the first call notes of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker (#5).  And when I was trying to track it down I heard a singing Bachman’s Sparrow (#6).  That was easy! 

I spent quite a bit of time with the Woodpeckers, and counted at least 4 adults in this colony, including this foraging bird.

And I eventually tracked down an active nest with young bird(s) calling from inside.  Note that this is a man-made nest hole.

MS was my 7th state for this endangered species.

During this time I kept my ears open for Bachman’s Sparrow and heard at least 5 singing birds.  Great to hear so many individuals of this declining species in one spot.  And good to see that all the efforts to manage the habitat at this location have been successful for both of these species.

Since I was able to get both of these birds so quickly I now had some spare time on my hands while waiting for it to be late enough to listen for the Chucks as my last target.  I walked up and down the trail a bit and found the area to be quite birdy.  For warblers there were a number of Pines along with a couple Prairies and a Chat.  And singing Painted Buntings and Orchard Orioles were very nice – I don’t hear either of these species singing often.  Then as it approached sunset I starting hearing a number of Nighthawks, which continued calling and displaying the rest of the time I was there.  Finally, at 18 minutes after sunset, I heard the first song of a Chuck-will’s-widow (#7).  And soon thereafter at least 2 others joined in.  My statebird map for this species is pretty odd- although I’ve heard this species in several northern states as a rarity, I still need it in a few southeastern states where it is common in appropriate habitat.

That concluded a most successful birding trip finding 7 of my 8 realistic targets.  In fact, given my limited time, I wasn’t even sure that I’d have time to try for all 8 of the targets.  My MS statelist now stands at 236 – 29 over the old ABA threshold.

2 Texas and 3 Louisiana Statebirds, Plus 2 More to Bank, April 2017

In planning for my March 2017 work trip to Houston I noticed a number of reports of a reliable colony of Bachman’s Sparrows a couple hours northeast of Houston.  And with a little more digging I realized that the Sparrows were in an area where Swainson’s Warblers breed – another bird I need for my TX list.  I normally only have very limited time for birding on my TX trips, so a 4-hour round-trip was not in the cards for most of my trips, including the March one.  And besides, the Swainson’s weren’t back yet anyway.  But I kept this area in the back of my mind as a possibility on a future trip. 

Then as my April Houston trip was getting scheduled, a short side-trip to Port Arthur came up.  Port Arthur is in southeast TX, near the TX Gulf Coast, and a bit closer to the Bachman’s Sparrow spot than Houston.  So with a little extra driving I could likely make a late day run to try for the Sparrows, and then make my way back to Houston for more meetings there.  Plus by April maybe the Swainson’s would have returned. 

And then there was the possibility of spending a little time at migrant hotspots on the coast.  Although my trip was in early April which was before the peak of migration, there should still be good potential for early migrants.  If I could get going early enough in the morning I could spend a couple hours at coastal hotspots starting at dawn, and still make it to work for the day.  And there had already been a few sightings of early Swainson’s Warblers on the coast, so that target was now a possibility both at a migrant spot and maybe at their breeding sites.

So my plans were set, with a bit of birding before or after work each day.  I would catch up my sleep after I got home…

Day 1 – Dawn in Houston

One of the good migrant hotspots in Houston is the Edith Moore Nature Sanctuary – a small area of native vegetation tucked in the middle of this bustling city.  A Swainson’s Warbler had been seen there about a week before my trip, so I thought it could be worth a quick stop.  When I arrived pre-dawn the woods were alive with song.  But all singing species were nesters, like Carolina Wren, Cardinal, woodpeckers, etc.  And I only found exactly one migrant warbler – a singing male Wilson’s.  So given the lack of migrants, I only spent about an hour there.  And with work only 15 minutes away, I was at the office right on time.

Day 2 – Dawn on the TX Coast, or is it the LA Coast?

With mid-day meetings in Port Arthur, my plan was to be at Sabine Woods at dawn.  This migrant hotspot is on the coast just south of Port Arthur, where a Swainson’s had been reported a week earlier.  I had birded this spot a couple years earlier to see the Tropical Mockingbird that bred there with a Northern Mockingbird.  Unfortunately the Tropical Mockingbird was not accepted by the TX Rare Bird Committee so I couldn’t count it on my lists.

But when I woke up that morning I started thinking about the possibilities of heading to the LA coast instead.  I remembered that I needed many reasonably common migrants in LA, so I quickly pulled up an eBird Needs Alert for LA to see what might be around.  Two of my targets, Ovenbird and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, had been seen in the last couple days at Peveto Woods, a migrant trap on the LA coast.  And 7 other targets had been recently reported elsewhere on the coast.  Peveto Woods was only a bit farther from my hotel than Sabine Woods, so with many more possible targets in LA, I changed my plans at almost the last minute and headed to Peveto Woods instead. 

I arrived at Peveto Woods a bit before dawn and unfortunately there was very little song – not even local nesters.  I then spent the next hour or more slowly walking the trails through the woods and didn’t find a single warbler or vireo.  Very disappointing. 

With few birds in the woods I took a short walk to the beach to see what might be there.  One of my targets was the Western inornata subspecies of Willet, which might soon be split from the Eastern semipalmata subspecies.  By April I expected that Willets in the marshes would likely be nesting Eastern birds, while Willets loafing on the beaches could include Western birds that hadn’t yet migrated to their inland nesting grounds.  There were several Willets on the beach, and at least one was larger-billed, taller, and paler than the others – a “Western” Willet.  I’ll have to bank that one as a possible new statebird for the future.

After the short side-trip to the beach I headed back to the woods and spent some more time wandering the trails.  But the best birds I could find were a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and a lone singing Blue-headed Vireo.  During my walk I noticed lots of swallows passing low overhead, most all flying east to west.  So rather than continue to look for nonexistent warblers, I decided to just spend some time watching the skies.  Most of the swallows were Trees, with somewhat lesser numbers of Barns, along with Martins that were nesting locally.  Then twice I spotted individual smaller Bank Swallows passing quickly by.  A bit later I realized that maybe I needed Bank Swallow for my LA list.  So I fired up my computer, checked my lists, and sure enough it was a new LA statebird.  That was a nice surprise. 

That fills in one of my last gaps in my Bank Swallow statebird map – I just need it in AL, DC, and OR.

Back at my “sky watch” I spotted a lone swallow flying west to east, unlike most all the other migrant swallows.  I got it in my binocs and I said to myself “pale-throated Cliff Swallow”.  Then I realized that if it had a pale throat it would be a Cave Swallow – my second swallow statebird, and again not one I had counted on.  And my seventh swallow species of the day – a personal record.

LA is my third state for the southwestern pelodama race of Cave Swallow as a breeder (or potential breeder).  I’ve also seen it as a fall rarity in 4 New England States.  Plus I’ve seen the West Indies fulva race as a breeder in FL.

But swallows weren’t the only birds passing overhead.  Twice a Caracara flew by – their numbers have increased quite a bit in LA lately.  Plus a single Whimbrel and a lone Black-bellied Plover were nice.  But by far the best was a large Buteo that circled low overhead with trailing primaries and secondaries much darker than the wing linings, and dark upper chest and head – a Swainson’s Hawk!  My third unexpected LA statebird of the morning!

One of these days I’ll get to eastern WA and OR and be able to fill in that last key gap in my statebird map for Swainson’s Hawk.

It was now time to head to Port Arthur to get to work, and as I drove out of Peveto Woods I reflected on a bittersweet early morning of birding.  I was happy to have added 3 new statebirds for my LA list – bringing my total to 273.  Plus the “Western” Willet which might be #274.  Quite a nice increase from the 256 I had when I started 2017.  Though I sure was looking forward to seeing a number of migrants in the woods.  Hopefully I would do better the next morning in Galveston. 

And one last note on the morning’s birding – just after I crossed back into TX I spotted another Swainson’s Hawk soaring low over the road.  Certainly not a new bird for my TX list but a nice find in southeastern TX nonetheless. 

Day 2 – Evening at Boykin Springs, TX

My meetings in Port Arthur went longer than I expected – which is almost always a good thing as far as work is concerned.  Though of course the trade-off is that it cuts into birding time.  Plus I was starting to feel tired from walking around Peveto Woods hours earlier.  As a result I was tempted to pass on the Bachman’s Sparrow/Swainson’s Warbler attempt that evening.  But as I pulled out of the parking lot I talked myself back into my original plans, and started my nearly 2-hour drive north.  My destination was the access road to Boykin Springs, where numerous reports of up to 10 singing Bachman’s Sparrows had been posted since February. 

It had been pretty windy on the coast that morning, but I wasn’t too worried that the wind would be a problem in the more protected pine forest.  The bigger concern was whether the birds would be singing in the evening.  As I started my slow drive down the access road there was at best only a light breeze.  Plus it was easy to pick out the likely areas where the Sparrows had been reported – areas of pine forest with limited if any brushy undergrowth and a lush carpet of grasses.  That was the good news.  The problem was - the woods were extremely quiet.  Not only were there no singing Sparrows, almost nothing else was singing either.  Twice I ran into vocal families of Pine Warblers with recently fledged young (that seemed early), but that was it.

Would the Bachman’s be tape responsive?  I hated to play tape at a location where the birds were likely breeding, but that was my only option if I wanted to find them that evening.  So I got to an area of good habitat and played just 2 songs – and almost instantly a Bachman’s Sparrow replied nearby!  It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen a Bachman’s, so I wanted to see one that day.  But not wanting to bother a breeding bird, I stopped playing tape and was content to just go with a heard-only bird.

TX is only my seventh state for Bachman’s Sparrow.  And sightings in two of those states – IN and MD – are so old that this declining species doesn’t even breed in those states anymore. 

Unfortunately I was much less successful in my Swainson’s Warbler searches.  I went to 3 nearby locations where Swainson’s had been reported in the last couple years but with no success.  Each of those reports had been later in April, and there were no inland eBird reports yet this year, so perhaps Swainson’s hadn’t yet made it to their breeding spots this year.  Or at least not to these former breeding locations.

Day 3 – Early Morning in Galveston

I had two key targets on Galveston Island – Black Rail and Swainson’s Warbler.  The Rails had been reported for a couple weeks at two locations on the island – Houston Audubon sanctuary Dos Vacas Muertas (“two dead cows” in Spanish – I can only imagine the story behind that name), and Galveston Island State Park.  Information on the specific locations was a bit cryptic in the eBird reports, but eventually I thought I had it figured out.  The reports seemed a bit more reliable at Dos Vacas Muertas, so I decided to make that my first stop.  As for the Swainson’s Warbler - although there had been no reports in Galveston yet this spring, I hoped spending some time at key migrant trap LaFitte’s Cove might prove to be successful.  And since I wanted to be looking for migrants starting at dawn, my plan was to try for (and get!) the Black Rail pre-dawn, and then quickly get over to LaFitte’s Cove. 

I left my Houston-area hotel 90 minutes before dawn and arrived at Dos Vacas Muertas just as the sky was starting to lighten.  After parking my car I took a short walk into the sanctuary and soon found the blind and boardwalk that had been mentioned as the location for the Rails.  I spent 5 or 10 minutes listening quietly at an area of good habitat, but the only calling Rails were a Sora and a King/Clapper (I was leaning toward King but couldn’t be sure).  I then played some tape but to no avail.  After about 30 minutes I decided that my target Black Rail wasn’t going to cooperate at this spot, and I would head over to the State Park.  Unfortunately that meant I wouldn’t get to LaFitte’s Cove at dawn.  On the way back to my car I spotted a Lincoln’s Sparrow – maybe there would be some good migration that morning, making my delayed arrival at a migrant hotspot more problematic.

Just 10 minutes later I had arrived at the Galveston Island State Park, heading toward the area close to the observation deck.  Over the last couple weeks several Black Rails had been heard both along the road heading toward the parking lot for the observation deck, and in the marshes just southwest of the deck itself.  As I drove up the road I was flanked by this excellent marsh habitat on both sides – a great spot for Rails!

I pulled over and walked to the edge of the marsh and almost instantly flushed a larger rail from the grasses on the side of the road; well larger than a Black Rail anyway.  At least that was my first thought so I didn’t put it in my binocs.  Then as an afterthought I raised my binocs and got it in view just before it landed in the marsh.  With my brief look I could only tell it was uniform tan bird with a short bill – could it have been a Yellow Rail?  Of course I didn’t see the white wing patches.  And I guess I couldn’t eliminate a Sora.  Ugh…

I then scanned the area and spotted a couple Indigo Buntings and a small flock of Savannah Sparrows along the edge of the road.  And then a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers flew into a low bush nearby.  Sure seemed like it could turn out to be a good morning for migration.  But I first needed to find my target Black Rail.  I listened intently but didn’t hear any Rails of any type, though I did spot a Sora walking in an opening in the marsh a short distance away.  It was now at least 30 minutes after sunrise so I figured I would have to do a bit of coaxing to get my bird.  I played a bit of Black Rail tape and almost instantly heard one reply a short distance to the north.  It called a couple more times and then it was once again quiet.  Good enough to add to my TX statelist. 

TX is only my eighth state for Black Rail.  Though for this elusive species, maybe I should be excited about having this bird in so many states.  And because this bird is so difficult to find, I fondly remember hearing, and in 3 cases seeing, Black Rail in each of those 8 states.

I wanted to stay longer but I needed to head to LaFitte’s Cove to cash in on the migrant passerines that had arrived overnight.  But there was one more possible target to look for – “Western” Willet.  As in the day before on the LA coast, I hoped that birds on the beaches might well be of the non-breeding Western race, and birds in the marshes were more likely territorial Eastern birds.  And just as I started to head out of the Park I passed by a mudflat with several Willets.  I pulled over and could pick out at least a couple Western birds feeding out in the open.  Like the LA bird the day before, it was one to put in the bank for now.  [After I returned home I checked eBird and there had been almost no inland records of Western Willet yet this year, meaning that they were mostly still on the coasts on their wintering grounds.  Maybe that’s why I had troubles finding one larger, taller, paler, larger-billed Western bird among what I thought were Easterns – maybe they were all Westerns!]

As I drove out I had to make one last stop – a pair of Bronzed Cowbirds were right along the side of the road.  I took this picture of the male by holding my phone up to my binocs.

And then I was lucky enough to get this photo as it raised its ruff to display to the female.

As I made the short drive to LaFitte’s Cove I was wondering how many migrants I missed because it took me a lot longer than expected to find the Black Rail.  After parking I took the short walk to the woods and spotted an Orange-crowned Warbler and a Yellowthroat in one lone bush along the way.  It was looking promising.  But then I met a birder leaving the area who said she didn’t see a single bird in the woods!  I spent the next 90 minutes slowly walking the short trails through the woods and found a grand total of 4 warblers – an Orange-crowned, a Parula, a Black-throated Green, and a Nashville.  Interestingly, the latter 2 would have been new for my LA statelist.  And the only singing migrant was one solitary Blue-headed Vireo.  With all the other migrants I saw earlier I sure would have thought it was going to be a good migrant day.  So rather than spending more time on a fruitless migrant search, I called it quits early and headed back to Houston.  Though on my walk back to the car I did stop long enough to snap these shots of cooperative Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.

And check out this one scanning the skies – maybe looking for Swallows like I did the day before in LA.

And then I couldn’t pass up these sleeping Redheads.  Sleeping birds are much easier to photograph when holding your phone up to your binocs.

I ended the trip with 2 new statebirds for my TX list which now stands at 438.  Plus I added the “Western” Willet which could be a new species someday soon.  And along with my morning in LA, I added 5 new ticks to my statelists – an excellent result given that I struck out on my primary objective of finding migrant songbirds.