Atop her nest of thin sticks, a Great Egret inspects her clutch of bright turquoise-blue eggs during an incubation break. Most egrets were still in the nest building phase of the reproduction cycle. A pair of Roseate Spoonbills at repose at their apparent choice for this season’s nest. No spoonbills were collecting nesting material yet. The only immature Roseate Spoonbill observed in the area adjacent to the rookery, probably a yearling, conveniently flew by the observation platform.

For something completely different last week, I enjoyed time on an elevated canopy walkway Thursday afternoon in company with nesting egrets, spoonbills, herons, cormorants, and other birds during the pre-nesting and nesting activities at High Island, near the southeast coast of Texas. My primary interest was to photograph Roseate Spoonbills in flight, and boy did I hit the jackpot! First, I was super-lucky that the sun was in my favor for the late afternoon visit I planned, but the birds were absolutely remarkable to spend time on the edge of the nesting colony – a wading bird rookery.

While it was especially interesting to observe the activities within the crowded rookery, it was hard to get a clear photo of active nest sites, most of which were partly concealed behind branches. But the real enjoyment for me was photographing the birds as they flew to and from the low rookery trees. There was constantly a bird or several birds flying by, usually from side to side in front of me. Great Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills provided most of the action, along with Snowy Egrets and Double-crested Cormorants. Eventually, Tricolored Herons flew into the area in flocks of 4 or 5 with increasing regularity as the sun became lower in the sky. Overhead, Turkey Vultures often soared, along with occasional Black Vultures, periodic Red-tailed Hawks – and even 2 Swainson’s Hawks, which were among the earliest migrants of this species to appear.

Great Egrets regularly brought a new stick to their mates on their flimsy stick nests, with a few females already incubating a clutch of turquoise-blue eggs. Roseate Spoonbills appeared to be in an earlier stage of the nesting cycle that emphasized pairing and establishing a territory around a potential nest site. Several cormorants were already incubating, but many were still collecting sticks, apparently preferring live twigs with leaves. It was great fun to see the interactions between birds and to photograph individuals and pairs in action from the top of the canopy walkway.

This thrilling combination of avian activity was all taking place at the Canopy Walkway at the Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary’s rookery on the edge of the little village of High Island, a couple miles inland from the east end of the Bolivar Peninsula on the southeast Gulf Coast of Texas. Owned and managed by the Houston Audubon chapter, it’s a remarkable birding location during spring. In addition to the nesting activities of the wading birds, beginning in the next couple weeks the trees along the canopy walkway will periodically be filled with the action of small songbirds and flycatchers – neotropic songbirds that winter in Latin America and nest in Canada and the United States, including diverse species of warblers, vireos, buntings, orioles, tanagers, and flycatchers. I could just imagine the action of the birds, and the birders attracted to them along the elevated walkway – I wanna be a part of that action, surrounded by birds and birders!

To view my favorite 5 photos taken last Thursday at the rookery, see the Bird Photography feature toward the end of this issue. You can see more about Houston Audubon’s High Island Bird Sanctuaries and the most impressive new Canopy Walkway, including a video introduction, at https://houstonaudubon.org/sanctuaries/high-island/visitor.html

Inland & Coastal Drives

To get to High Island I traveled across a broad swath of Texas, from just north of the southern border to Corpus Christi, then on to the biggest city in the state; then east. North of Harlingen, through the open expanse of the Kenedy and King Ranches, I enjoyed the variety of birds of prey again – Caracaras, Harris’s Hawks, White-tailed and Red-tailed Hawks, and American Kestrels, but it was especially interesting to see the change in the status of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. The previous Saturday I saw only 2 Scissor-tails, but Wednesday I tallied 18, including 4 apparent pairs. That suggests a big influx of migrating Scissor-tails during that period, as expected by local birders, but it was quite a thrill for me.

Along the shoreline near Corpus Christi and Rockport, Ospreys and Brown Pelicans were most obvious, along with Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and Forester’s Terns – plus one surprise Bald Eagle. The Red-tailed Hawks along the coast really seemed to be sun-bleached, perhaps like the surfers and surfettes on the beach. After a great stay with my amigo Scott in suburban Houston, I took my day trip to High Island, passing through the city of Galveston that is filled with remarkable historic houses; then hopped on the auto ferry across to the Bolivar Peninsula. Along the coast I observed similar birds as noted along the southern coast, plus a Common Nighthawk, a White-tailed Kite, a few Caracaras, a couple Loggerhead Shrikes, and 5 more Scissor-tailed Flycatchers.

Scott’s Sugarland neighborhood had a nice cross-section of birds, including American Goldfinches, Northern Cardinals, American Robins, a Downy Woodpecker, Red-shouldered Hawks, and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, plus Black Vultures I spied feeding nearby as I was leaving for Florida. Few birds availed themselves along my direct route east across Louisiana and the edges of Mississippi and Alabama on Interstate 10, although there was certainly lots of beautiful habitat awaiting neotropical migrants in the coming weeks. The same held pretty true for northern Florida on the way to Tampa, but it was especially exciting to see 2 Pileated Woodpeckers, plus the first Swallow-tailed Kite of the trip – a new migrant no doubt. These are among the many special species I hope to photograph in Florida, along with many other exciting residents and migrants.

Tampa Trabajo

I had lots of work (trabajo) to do by the time I reached Tampa, where I flushed out this issue of The Birding Wire. Enjoying the great company of Krista, Casey, and Blake – my niece and nephews – I appreciated some off-road time to write, edit, research, select and edit photos, and proof this issue in their beautiful relaxed abode – have laptop, will travel (after being vaccinated). Tampa will also be the starting point for another exciting part of this trip – birding across Florida! It will surely be a lot of fun, with birds and bird photography as the principle focus at some especially interesting birding hotspots along the way. I’ll keep you posted . . . Enjoy your week and the birds that keep it active and lively for you.

Article and photos by Paul Konrad

Share your bird sightings and photographs at editorstbw2@gmail.com