April and May are the time of year when birders in our area are watching out for migrants, and especially warblers, heading north. You never know quite what will turn up, particularly on days when a north wind brings the migrating birds down to land near the coast.
I haven't been very successful with migrants so far this year but I'll be watching the weather this weekend to see whether it looks like a trip out to High Island will be worthwhile. On the right day the Audubon sites at High Island can be spectacular: Some recent days have yielded over 20 species of warblers.
In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye out for migrants on the CyFair campus. A quick walk around yesterday produced only 15 species but one of them was a bird I've been wanting to see for years: a Chuck-will's-widow. It was a new life bird for me and #166 for 2009.
Congratulations! That's a good bird and not easy to see. I have fond memories from my childhood of these birds, as well as Whip-poor-wills, singing me to sleep at night with their monotonously repeated songs.
ReplyDeleteThe Whip-poor-will is still on my "must see" list.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Jeff! It's probably extra exciting to find a life bird right there on your own turf.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kyle.
ReplyDeleteLast year I got a lifer literally in my backyard: Yellow-breasted Chat.