Greetings All:
Drew Harvey and I chased a putative Glossy Ibis that had been reported
from Judge Rhye Trails Park in Brownfield yesterday ... and then spent
a good chunk of the morning at Coleman Park.
The ibis looked good, to both of us, for Glossy Ibis and, during the
course of our visit to town, relocated from Judge Rhye Trails Park to
the flooded fields just south of Coleman Park - a reversal of what was
reported yesterday. The bottom line: if you go for this bird make
sure to check out both sites.
The woodlot at the southeast corner of Coleman Park is private but can
be worked from the road along the south edge and from the park,
itself, along the west edge and it is regenerating nicely from the
drought years and, more important, it was absolutely off the hook this
morning: we both got good looks at the following highlights (real
stunners in ALL CAPS):: 1 male Broad-tailed Hummingbird, 2
Black-necked Stilts, 2 American Avocets, 2 Upland Sandpipers, 1
Spotted Sandpiper, 1 Solitary Sandpiper, 1 Least Flycatcher, 2 Bell's
Vireos, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 1 VEERY, 2 Swainson's Thrushes, 1
Hermit Thrush, 9 Chipping Sparrows (Drew had more), 2 Clay-colored
Sparrows (Drew had more), 2 Yellow-headed Blackbirds, 38 Bronzed
Cowbirds (THE LARGEST GROUP I HAVE EVER SEEN IN THE REGION), 2
Black-and-white Warblers, 1 PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, 2 Nashville
Warblers, 1 Orange-crowned Warbler, 1 male HOODED WARBLER, 1 male
American Redstart, 1 Yellow Warbler, 13+ Wilson's Warblers, 1 male
Western Tanager, 1 male Black-headed Grosbeak.
I initially thought the Veery was an eastern form but, upon consulting
the most recent Sibley, think it trended more western form. The
Hooded Warbler was stunning, especially in flight ... with the white
in the tail feathers about as good as I have ever seen in the species.
The Prothonotary Warbler was the real star: it was hanging with a
small group of Wilson's Warblers and, aside from dwarfing the, simply
glowed in comparison. Going by Sibley, it was an adult male with no
smudging in the nape, crown, or throat to mar The Glow. We worked
hard for about a half hour to get photographs but, between the dense
foliage and the somewhat restricted access, could not get it done. It
was particularly fond of a dense tangle of young 'locust' trees,
larger trees, and fines at the extreme southwest corner of the
woodlot. It responded a bit to calls but simply refused to sit still
for much longer than a few seconds at a time.
I also had a Gray Catbird in some shinoak along the railway north of
town and we both had 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 1 Say's Phoebe, 1
Yellow Warbler, and 1 gorgeous male Lark Bunting along roads northeast
of town whilst on the way back to Lubbock,