Boy Scout Woods Bird Sanctuary - Near Winnie, TX - Sat., April 23, 2005
|
|
The weather came through in a big way overnight - 12 new species and 6 new warblers. But lots of other people were wise to the weather change and
they all showed up at the most famous hotspot today. In some spots it was elbow-to-elbow and when a new bird was glimpsed it looked like an anti-aircraft gun swinging to shoot it down as all the
upraised binoculars swung in unison!!!
I may not be able to get all the pictures up tonight but I will do it tomorrow morning before I go to Mass. I missed my usual Saturday Evening Mass because the birds kept coming late in the day.
Someone I was sitting with said there is a "30 min rule" in effect at the end of the day. It goes like this - if you dont see a new bird for 30 minutes you should leave - but if you
do see a new one you have to reset the clock and stay for another 30 minutes!! Two of the people near me said they were going to another
small woods nearby before giving up. I went along because we had all heard that one of the rarest warblers had been seen there today. We hadn't been there for more than 3 minutes
until we saw it - a Cerulean Warbler.
I have extended my stay here on a day-by-day basis. With so many of the warblers under my belt it is a case of diminishing returns from here on out. The only thing in my favor is that certain of the species migrate later
than others so new ones can be spread out a bit. We'll see.
I discovered today that I had never added the Cardinal to the bird list. It was seen early in the trip
but was added as if I had first seen it today to keep from renumbering 104 birds!!
|
Sabine Woods Bird Sanctuary - Sabine Pass, TX - Sun., April 24, 2005
|
|
It's a wrap! I went to Sabine Woods today after going to 9 AM Mass in Beaumont. Got there around Noon and just used the time to scout out the whole woods to see if I missed
anything on previous visits. Then I settled in at the "drip pond" next to some people I had become friendly with at all the sites in the last week.
I only added 3 species but two were warblers and very pretty ones at that. Just missed another but I feel like I got most of the ones that were here
this week. But thats the last birding outing as such. I may add other birds as I head home but we will be leaving here Tuesday morning.
Would like to have left tomorrow morning, Monday, instead of Tuesday but there are severe thunderstorms forecast for late tomorrow in the
Dallas area which is where I would be if I left tomorrow. So I will catch up on sleep and pay some bills and hope the worst weather is north of here.
There are t-storms forecast for here but no severe ones expected.
Starting tomorrow the latest news will be on a new link at the top of each page called "Headed Home". Not sure how I will fit it in with the other links -
but thats where it will be.
|