The typical Whataburger: We would chase two Whooping Cranes that were nearby, and after seeing them, we would drive for another 1.5 hours to a state park in the southeast corner of Texas in pursuit of a vagrant Gray Kingbird. We would abort our Louisiana plans for the 6th and bird the extreme east Texas portion that included a location called Gore Store Road and then go to a forested area called Boykin Springs. Gore Store Road held Swainson's Warbler and Boykin Springs was a good bet for Red-cockaded Woodpecker. From east Texas, we would drop into Louisiana for a little while before a major trek to the Guadalupe Mountains in west Texas. The Gray Kingbird that was throwing things around wasn't seen since the morning and would be a likely bird for us on a future Florida trip.
The Double Meat Whataburger: We would chase the Whooping Cranes and choose either Gore Store Road or Boykin Springs to close the day out. In the following morning, we would chase the Gray Kingbird further south and then work our way back up eastern Texas to bird the intended hotspots and take a small dip through Louisiana before the journey to start driving homeward and back to west Texas. This option would give us one more hardcore day in Texas and mostly say never mind to Louisiana.
The Triple Meat Whataburger: This was our other option, the one that made the most sense. Heck, it was triple layered. Maybe I'm calling it this because this was the option I wanted to take the most. After Whataburger, we would go see the Whooping Cranes. After that, we would drive for just under an hour to Gore Store Road to search for Swainson's Warbler and others. Following Gore Store, we'd drive around the east Texas fields, forests, and lakes and owl before camping out at Boykins Springs, Texas. We'd spend the early morning hours of the next day, May 6th, birding Boykins Springs, and we would follow that with the remainder and most of the day birding in Louisiana at several awesome hotspots. Regarding the Gray Kingbird, we would be rather close to it as we'd make our way to southwestern Louisiana by the end of the day, and if it was reported by birders, we could weigh our options with a chase from there.
We ended up saying, let's go with the Triple Meat Whataburger.
Just northwest of the Census-Designated Place called Winnie in Chambers County, Texas, we drove along roads lined with fields en route to the field where the Whooping Cranes were frequenting off of a road called Oak Island. Our eyes were peeled for Swallow-tailed Kites all along the way. As we came up on the field where the cranes were reported from, it was an immediate success when we saw two huge white figures out in the tall grass.
The Whooping Crane is an endangered bird, and at one point and time a critical number of only fifteen of them remained in the wild in the 1940's before recovery efforts were brought forth. It is a magnificent bird, and those who get to see them should feel very lucky. I know that we sure did! It was David, Josh, and Caleb's first ever Whooping Crane observation.
For me, I got to see them for the first time at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin. That population is one that is reintroduced into the wild and they have successfully bred. The Wisconsin population migrates south to Florida. That population is one of several populations of Whooping Crane that has been reintroduced into the wild where breeding attempts from birds have been successful. The other two areas for such are non-migratory populations in Florida and Louisiana. These Whooping Cranes have been reintroduced to help expand the population further and decrease the chance of extinction for the species. Because the birds have bred successfully in the wild, the ABA considers them as countable.
But we were in Texas here, not Wisconsin, not Louisiana, and not Florida. That meant something really special for me in seeing these birds. 1941 was the year that fifteen Whooping Cranes were left in the population and were found along and near the Texas Coast. It was a mystery as to where their breeding grounds were for a considerable amount of time until they were discovered in Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada, in 1954. This bird has become famous in North America since then as the United States and Canada have both hustled and worked hard to recover this species from extinction from this Canadian-breeding population. These birds migrate to the Texas Coast where they spend their winters, especially in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge as the main location. Over the years, recovery programs slowly boosted the Whooping Crane numbers and there are now over 500 birds from the Alberta population that is chiefly migratory to Texas. The three reintroduced flocks nears 180 birds, and there are also 160 birds in captivity. After the danger of a near extinction, the Whooping Crane is still endangered and heavily monitored, but the population is growing. Seeing them in Texas meant we were seeing the birds from the one self-sustaining population of Whooping Crane that there is, the ones that weren't reintroduced.
Whooping Crane video I took:
The Whooping Crane is the tallest bird in North America as it stands at a height of five feet. It's wingspan is impressive too and reaches 7.5 feet. It's loud, whooping, trumpet-like call can be heard from up to two miles away and the birds will give their calls before performing courtship dances with their mate. We saw one of the cranes vocalize and then perform a dance with it's partner.
Most of the Whooping Cranes on their wintering grounds near the Texas Coast leave by mid-April, but some will linger into early May. Luckily, these two birds waited around for us. At times, the cranes have even summered in Texas. The fields had some marshy habitat nearby too, and it was good enough to produce a King Rail. Other birds present were Mottled Duck, White-rumped Sandpiper, and Cattle Egret. The Whooping Crane viewing party lasted for twenty minutes, and aside from my poor photographs, I did have excellent scope views. From Oak Island Road, Liam had to go back on his way to central Texas and Josh, Caleb, David, and I would head further east into Texas. The road named Gore Store in Hardin County was next for us, and we were targeting Swainson's Warbler.
I really enjoyed the drive to Gore Store Road as more and more pine forests and thick deciduous woodlands came into play. Swainson's Warbler was a regular ricochet through my mind, and I knew that it would be the warbler to give us a challenge. I also knew that it would be my fiftieth true Wood Warbler for the United States if we could land it. When we got to Gore Store Road, we drove for a few miles on the road itself to what is considered to be the most productive part of the road when a bridge goes over a creek. In the world of birding, creek crossings are among the best of places to bird as more species are drawn to the environment. Looking over a map, the creek did have a name. It was named Beech Creek.
When we parked just off of the bridge, the others walked down the road while I walked down to Beech Creek. Deciduous woodland lined the creek and the surrounding habitat was long-needled pine forest. Both Red-bellied and Red-headed Woodpeckers were present, and so was a heard only of a lifer in a Tufted Titmouse off in the distance. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo sounded off, and we detected a Hooded Warbler. Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers were also calling nearby, and a Blue Jay made it's way onto our Texas lists. Caleb and I imitated a Barred Owl a few times hoping to bring birds in, and an actual Barred Owl called right back who was near to us and was up high and out of sight in only a few trees away.
We studied the call note of the Swainson's Warbler a few times while we listened and waited by the bridge. Beech Creek had great habitat on both sides of the bridge. A call note emerged in the thick habitat and it sounded a lot like that Swainson's Warbler note that we had just listened to. I knew that it was the bird, and so did Caleb. Josh and David were off at the time, and Caleb and I called off to them that we were hearing what was likely our primary target. Caleb suggested that we stay on the road and wait for the warbler to come to us at the edge of the habitat. After waiting for a few minutes, I didn't think the warbler was going to come out and give us any views. I decided to go into the thick, swampy habitat it was calling from, and I can remember Caleb saying, "Ooo, Tommy's going all out!".
It wasn't long before Caleb joined me. I was anxious, and Caleb was relaxed. In such circumstances, the relaxed person usually sees the bird. "There it is!", Caleb said. He somehow got a clean and identifiable look before I did after I was already down in the habitat longer than he was. Caleb simply walked up and...saw a Swainson's Warbler pop out of the thick. I shook my head in disbelief.
The Swainson's Warbler chipped away like crazy, and I kept trying to get views without having any success. Caleb even saw it a second time. It's in the Swainson's Warbler's nature to be an elusive recluse and to hide in the thickest of thickets as possible. Birds calling at close range right in front of birders can be a huge challenge. After a few minutes, Josh and David joined us and were anxiously trying to get a look at the calling warbler. "There it goes!" Caleb said, "It flew down a little".
We walked a few strides along Beech Creek, where the Swainson's Warbler hugged the thickets while it still called away. A lopsided tree hung over Beech Creek, and Caleb nonchalantly climbed up the tree to get more elevated. He played the call note of the bird a few times. I was surprised when we caught sight of the warbler respond to Caleb's efforts and land right out in the open in front of us, as if it was trying to get level with Caleb!
Before snapping photos, I got a binocular look at this new warbler lifer of mine, which was officially my fiftieth warbler for the United States. This bird is one that is highly sought after by birders, and seeing one pop for us was truly a prize for the effort we had put in for the bird.
Swainson's Warbler doesn't have the striking colors that other warblers do, but it has it's own unique appearance among other North American Warblers and it's quite the singer.
Behavior wise, Swainson's Warbler spends most of it's time on the ground, where it slowly walks and flips leaves over in pursuit of it's food source that includes insects and spiders. It may be found by the noise it makes when tossing leaves, but for the most part it is a skulker and is hard to see. Singing birds represent the best chances for visual sightings, and most of those perches are concealed and it's songs will also come from the ground quite often.
Our quadruple combined lifer of Swainson's Warbler couldn't have been more kind to us. It gave us close to an entire fifteen to twenty seconds of visual observation as it perched on a medium-sized branch that hung down from a tree limb. When it went back into the thick to truly be a Swainson's Warbler, we were thankful for the success we had and we didn't need more.
Caleb's choice perch and playback skills were to thank as he sat over Beech Creek.
David, Josh, and I were celebrating the bird and giving each other high fives. "Guys, that was my 50th warbler" I said. David immediately said, "Tommy! It was mine too!". I knew that David was approaching fifty warblers, but I didn't know that this Swainson's Warbler would be his milestone bird too. It was awesome. David and I had to get our picture together to celebrate getting to 50 warblers on the same bird.
There is something truly awesome about four buddies driving long distances for a bird like a Swainson's Warbler, and to be successful on a Swainson's Warbler. It's what the fun of birding is all about, and this bird would go down as one of the best for the trip, if not the best.
As we walked along Gore Store Road a little further after climbing back up from Beech Creek, we then heard another Swainson's Warbler, and this one was in full song. It was fun to listen to, and the bird popped out for a few brief seconds to give us a few brief glimpses. Here is a recording I took of the Swainson's Warbler singing:
After finishing up at Gore Store Road, we would than make our way north and would travel for just over an hour to Boykin Springs Recreation Area, where we would camp out for the night and do some night birding. Boykin Springs is in midst of the classic southeastern pine forest, and we would bird the habitat at Boykins the following morning and target species like Bachman's Sparrow, Brown-headed Nuthatch. and the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Along our way north, we checked several ponds and lakes for Anhinga, a bird we really wanted on the trip and a bird that we expected on the trip. We came up empty on Anhinga, but in Tyler County, Caleb looked up and loudly said, "Hey, Swallow-tailed Kite!".
The sight of the bird was incredible, and yes, it was the bird I was looking forward to seeing the most on our trip before it all began. Looking up at Caleb's awesome find and jumping out of the car, we saw two more Swallow-tailed Kites flying near the first one. I had to pick one to look at and photograph, and I think I picked the original one that Caleb picked out. It flew south of us briefly, took a u-turn, and flew past us again and to the northern direction and it joined the others. Caleb suggested that they were flying to their night roost.
I wish the lighting would have been a little better for this observation of my first ever Swallow-tailed Kite, but it was still an epic observation to experience. Like the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, the Swallow-tailed Kite has a forked tail that opens and closes like scissors. It is a beautiful raptor and is incredibly graceful in flight. Swallow-tailed Kite is the largest of the North American Kites. It feeds heavily on insects and also preys on snakes, lizards, frogs, and birds. With swooping flight action, it takes it's prey from treetops. Swallow-tailed Kites don't hover like some of the other kites do, but constantly fly with swooping motions.
As a raptor in the southeast, Swallow-tailed Kite is found along the southern reaches of a line of states starting in the west with Texas and being widespread throughout Florida, and then extending north along the eastern sides of Georgia and South Carolina. They have shown up as strays in many areas outside of their normal range, especially north of that normal range. Swallow-tailed Kites winter in the tropics after spending early spring through early fall in the southeastern United States. As these beautiful kites flew over us and gave us a quick observation, it was a great way to enjoy the waning minutes of daylight and get that most wanted lifebird for the trip. I did crave more of the bird right after our sighting. Who could blame me.
As we drove toward Boykin Springs Recreation Area, we stopped for groceries for the camping aspect and then we were on our way. With Texas having many counties that often split the middle of birding locations, the road into Boykin Springs was no different. The entrance road fell in Angelina County and the Boykin Spring Recreation Area itself was in Jasper County. Although we drove in the dark, it was evident that the habitat was dominated by pine forest, and there were considerable amounts of deciduous trees as the lower understory. At a point where there was an intersection with a forest road, we stopped and got out of the car to listen for owls and what would be a lifer for me in the nightjar department, which would be the common-in-the-southeast Chuck-will's-widow. As soon as we got out of the car, we heard a Chuck-will's-widow immediately. I got a recording of it, and here it is on video:
The Chick-will's-widow is the largest nightjar in the United States. It's robust and is big-headed. When it sings, it sounds as if it is saying "Chuck wills widow", and that's where it gets it's name from. It's namesake song may be heard for hours upon hours at night. Even though I didn't get a chance to chase this bird around and try to see it, I have read that Chuck-will's-widow is a shy bird and is hard to approach. While seeing a Chuck seemed like a long shot, seeing an Eastern Screech-Owl seemed to be a lot more possible. After Caleb whistled the owl's call into the forest, it wasn't long before an answer was given back. It wasn't me, Josh, David, or someone's phone that went off, it was an owl calling back. It gave it's whinny call to Caleb's whinny call, and then flew in closer to where we were. A few minutes later we were looking at a brown-morph Eastern Screech-Owl, which really resembled a Red-morph in several ways.
After the Eastern Screech-Owl flew off, it was almost immediately that another one started calling on the other side of the road. It wasn't long before we got visuals of this second one too. This one was a brown morph bird too, but it had more of a gray appearance.
After enjoying the owls and listening to Chuck-will's-widows for awhile, we set up camp further into the entrance road right before the actual Boykin Spring Recreation Area was accessed. Looking at my eBird life list was fun, and I confirmed that the Chuck-will's-widow was my 598th life bird, which all have been in the United States within the Lower 48. I knew before I'd drift off that I had at least two and probably several more that I could get as lifers on the trip, and that a Boykin Spring morning would probably give me three lifers in Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bachman's Sparrow, and Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Six hundred life birds was right around the corner for me. While Caleb slept in his hammock and Josh and David slept on the ground in sleeping bags, I decided to sleep on top of the car. I could hear things very well from where I decided to sleep in elevation, and I had Chuck-will's-widows calling throughout the entire night in the times that I couldn't sleep much. Here is another video I took of them, and the audio is of two birds counter-singing to each other as the night rolled on.
On May 6th, I woke up much earlier than dawn and still enjoyed the songs of Chuck-will's-widows. I was anxious to start birding, as 600 life birds was approaching fast. In the life of a birder, it's always fun to reach a new hundred on the life list. I wondered what bird the 600 would be. It didn't really matter too much, I think I was more excited about thoroughly birding in a southeastern pine forest more than anything. One thing that was very exciting was the attempt for Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Not only is it an endangered bird, but it was to be the last breeding woodpecker I would need for the United States if we were able to land one.
As some birds started to sing pre-dawn, I was up before the sun had risen. Josh and David were up too. We started to bird around camp for awhile as some bird activity started to take place. It was good that we listened to the calls of Red-cockaded Woodpecker the previous day, because one came in right at first light and we detected it because it was calling. To my ears, the call sounds similar to that of a single call note of a Pygmy Nuthatch or like some sort of squeaky flycatcher. We looked up as we heard it calling, saw it land at the top of a pine tree, and a minute later, we saw it fly out of the pine tree. It was a great start with it being as early as it was, and the Red-cockaded Woodpecker became my 599th life bird. I stood still after it left, hoping I would hear it again nearby. Seconds after the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, I heard more calls that sound similar to that of a squeaky duck toy. They came from the tall pine trees, and right then and there I knew it was a lifer and my 600th one at that in a Brown-headed Nuthatch. Not a bad little bird for a landmark number..
The Brown-headed Nuthatch frequents the pine forests of the southeast. They are loud and noisy, and are usually detected by voice. Their foraging movements in what are most often of small groups usually take place when they are looking for insects and seeds to feed on. Brown-headed Nuthatches are essentially identical in appearance and structure to the familiar Pygmy Nuthatch we know well from out west. The difference is a brown crown and cap on the bird's head, which is quite browner than that of a Pygmy Nuthatch.
I just read that the Brown-headed Nuthatch is the one songbird in North America to be observed using a tool in it's foraging efforts. It has been seen holding a piece of bark in it's bill and using that bark to pry things open to uncover insects that are hiding further beneath surfaces. You know what, this is an awesome bird for 600! Too bad I have to give you all such crappy photographs of it...
After getting the Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Brown-headed Nuthatch lifers, I walked down a dirt road that went through the pine forest. David and Josh walked further down the road, and Caleb went elsewhere. At this point I was searching for further Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, as well as for a Brown-headed Nuthatch foraging lower in a tree. The other bird I was in pursuit of was the Bachman's Sparrow.
Some of the birds that the Texas pine forest and surrounding environment held were Wild Turkey, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Great-crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Carolina Wren, Brown Thrasher, and Pine Warbler.
As I walked down the road further, I heard the pleasant song of my 601st bird, the Bachman's Sparrow. These sparrows are heard easily, but seeing one can be challenging because of the shy habits that they possess. Bachman's Sparrows prefer grassy and brushy understory of the southeastern woodlands, and at times they will utilize the tall pine trees for singing. I walked through the brush towards the bird, and it was challenging for me to see. At one point, I did see the bird near the top of one of the pine trees as it sang it's long song. My looks were horrible, but I could see that it was the bird. In midst of a few noisy Carolina Wrens, I managed to get a recording of the singing Bachman's Sparrow.
After working my way back down to camp, I walked down the entrance road to Boykin to find another dirt road that went off of the main road. I decided to walk down it. As I walked down the road, I came upon this sign that gave informative details about the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in the area. It was then I remembered Josh saying that there was a colony of woodpeckers nearby.
What is interesting about Red-cockaded Woodpeckers is the fact that they do live in colonies. They are active near the colonies in the very early morning as well as at dusk. Between these limited times of activity at the colony, they venture out into their surrounding world for the day where they are more challenging to locate. As the sign says, I was about to enter into their world. Forest service personnel of the Angelina National Forest I was in had marked the trees that held woodpecker homes. It made things obvious, well...if we had gotten to the colony earlier in the morning.
I ran into Caleb on the road and he was also birding within the colony. We got lucky and heard a single Red-cockaded Woodpecker calling. The bird eventually popped up into view and gave us decent binocular looks, and it gave me this horrible photograph. What the photograph does show is the distinctive "white cheeks" on the bird, it's most important field mark. The white-cheeks contrast with the rest of the birds black forehead, cap, nape, and thick black malar, as well as it's mostly black back with small white spots.
Unlike other woodpeckers, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker needs live trees to live in. They rely on forest fires in the Longleaf pine savannah forests they inhabit, but indeed choose to live in the live trees that survive through fires. Males will spend over a year drilling and creating nesting and roosting cavities, and the cavities may be used for as long as fifty years. Sap and resins that flow around the drilled cavity serve as remarkable predator guards. These woodpeckers are also endangered, and management programs enhance their survival and populations. Conservation officers also build man-made nests for the woodpeckers to instantly use and drill cavities to place the nests into, and controlled burns also enhance the productivity of the species.
After the woodpecker appeared to leave the colony area for the day, I continued to work my way along the dirt road for about a half mile. Working through the forest I could hear a Tufted Titmouse singing nearby. I decided to call it in to get my life looks of the species after getting my first few birds as heard.
The Tufted Titmouse is an extremely common and well-known bird of the southeastern United States. It is most famously known to frequent bird feeders for seeds. In midst of rural neighborhoods, they become accustomed to people, are smart, and can learn to feed from the hands of humans.
Outside of it's charming bird feeding habits, the Tufted Titmouse will stay high in the trees in it's wilder environments. They usually travel in pairs or in small flocks and will join up with other birds in the winter months.
Aside from seeds, the Tufted Titmouse feeds on a variety of food that includes insects, spiders, berries, and acorns. It's song is simple, but peaceful to listen to. The Tufted Titmouse used to be one species with the Black-crested Titmouse that we saw so much of in the western half of Texas. Both birds were split fairly recently into Black-crested Titmouse and Tufted Titmouse, and were split once before too before they were lumped. Their ranges do meet in central Texas, and hybrids are common.
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| A young Long-leafed pine tree |
After our birding group had been birding for about two hours and all of us were doing our own thing, I knew that it was getting to be about the time that we would have to move on and head into Louisiana to cover that state for most of the day. I was glad to start hearing another Bachman's Sparrow singing before I started to head back. After approaching the singer slowly, I ended up getting much better views of the sparrow, and some photos to go along with it.
I got to study this Bachman's Sparrow's behavior up close this time. At times it would sit on branches of the surrounding pine trees to sing. Other times it would go down low to stay hidden in the brushy habitat it prefers most of the time. When it would flush it wouldn't fly far, and it popped up for me a few times when it was closer to the ground. This species will forage on the ground for it's food source that includes insects, seeds, and spiders.
In the pursuit of birding, I find reaching landmarks or milestones to be one of the most thrilling aspects of it all. This post had a lot of that for me and for my buddies as well in a relatively short time frame. Seeing Whooping Cranes from the self-sustained population was a majestic sight. Caleb taming a skulking Swainson's Warbler to come out of the thick for both David and my 50th warbler lifer was astounding. Passing the six hundred life bird mark showed me how far I have come in my birding passion, and how much further I am going to have to go until I reach 700. Speaking of that 600th life bird, I had another one right in front of me before we headed out of Boykin Springs, and I still didn't get the photo right!
May 6th was only getting started, and the rest of it will be up next as our adventure would become a day of Louisiana birding.
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