San Bernard morning

I had different days off this weekend then usual,  so instead of playing golf I decided to try to find some early migrants down at the San Bernard NWR and The Brazos Bend State Park.  I had been there last month but I was more interested in passerines than ducks and geese.  I really enjoyed my trip last month but this was going to be an abbreviated version, so I decided to bypass the Brazoria NWR since I spent more time there last time.  I really wanted to spend more time at Brazos Bend to get a better chance to explore it.

So I woke up at 4 am and got out of the house by 4:30.  That is really early for me, but I made it.  I drove down to San Bernard NWR in about 2 hours and it was still really dark. I think that I need to make a packing list, because I forgot my harness/ camera straps.  Last time it was battery chargers.  I did have my binoculars case which has a short strap that I could put around my neck and used that some.  I would recognize the weight of a camera with a 70-300mm zoom by the end of the day.  When the sun started to come up, I headed into Bobcat woods and waited for everybody to start stirring.

The shorebirds started first so I headed towards the Wolfweed Wetlands a series of 4 manmade shallow lakes/ wetlands behind Bobcat Woods.  Before I got there I heard something in the reeds Chipping at me, almost like the sound of a Cardinal or Yellow Rumped Warbler.  I found the bird to be a Common Yellowthroat.  What a great looking bird!  It would turn out to be a fairly common bird, but the first birds were the only ones who were willing to come out for a nice set of shots!

There did not seem to be as many Swamp Sparrows around as last month.  As a matter of fact, there were less sparrows species and numbers in general!  That being said, this guy was just below the yellowthroat.  I kept looking for them and saw some, but this was the only guy who gave me a good look.

Getting past these birds, I started back to the wetlands and had White Ibis and ducks flying overhead.  A flock of Great Egrets flew over in formation.  Unfortunately, I didn't get their pictures until after they had flown over.

Continuing towards the water, I came across this Blue Grey Gnatcatcher who was flitting aaround the branches of this tree on the side of the path.

An Orange Crowned Warbler was in the next tree.

The Carolina Wrens were calling early:

A Marsh Wren was not as open about being seen

I had a Killdeer fly over closer to the water.  What a nice look that bird has, with the double ringed neck!

I had a lone Forster's Tern fly around the first pond:

A Gull Billed Tern was also in the vicinity:

Blue Winged Teal were the most common of the ducks on the water

We had two kinds of swallows flying over, the Cave Swallow and Tree Swallows. (They were very difficult to get good shots of. My shot of a Tree Swallow was identifiable but totally blurred.)

 There were yellowlegged shorebirds on the right of the trail.  They sounded like Greater Yellowlegs, but may have had both types out there.  Here is a definite Greater Yellowlegs and a possible lesser yellowlegs.

 All of this in just the first couple of hours of a great morning!  I will post pics from later in the day as soon as I can.

8:17 PM - April 1, 2009 - post comment

Great blog!

Great blog you've got here! I'm very jealous of some of the species you get in your neck of the woods!

Sorry I haven't got back to you before; your comment ended up in my spam folder for some reason.

All the best,

Pete (Sheffield Wildlife)

Pete - 4:20 AM - April 3, 2009

Photos

Great photo of the Common Yellowthroat. I've never managed to get a clear one yet.
BTW, I think your Tree Swallow is a Cliff Swallow.
Jeff

Anonymous - 11:22 AM - April 3, 2009

Wonderful pictures!

You have some great pictures and diversity of species to share. I really like that ruffled cardinal on your header pic! And thanks for your comment about the red-tailed hawks- :)

Beau - 12:24 PM - April 3, 2009

Cliff vs Cave Swallow

Hey Jeff, I was thinking that was a Cave Swallow. I may have overcooked the pic to make it look like a Cliff or maybe it is a Cliff Swallow. My Tree Swallow was too bad for even me to post. I will have to look at the other pictures that I took of that bird.

Dave

Anonymous - 10:08 PM - April 4, 2009

Pics of Commonthroat....

Great pics of the commonthroat; what a great look you got ! Hope to get to San Bernard in early June, on our way back from the fishing tournament at Matagorda. That's one heck of a good camera you got there, along with good skills I think you can say too!

Doug - 9:16 PM - April 12, 2009