The Big Day.
It happens every year about this time. One day. We have 24 hours to see how many species we can identify. We begin in Nueces County on the boardwalk in the marsh listening for rails. We hear a few coots, teal, and shovelers. A sora goes off. We go out west to Jim Wells County. There is a wind from the south that makes it a little hard to hear, but by dawn we have 35 birds. An eastern screech-owl and a great horned owl. Nightjars: Common pauraque, common poorwill, chuck-will’s widow, common nighthawk, lesser nighthawk. Later on we got a whip-poor-will.
The wind dies down. We go back through Jim Wells County to Nueces County. We get a lot more birds. We’re at 125 birds when the front hits. It’s a black wall from the north with 40mph winds, gusting higher. It blasts us. The sky is suddenly filled with raptors that had been migrating high overhead. Broad-winged hawks, Swainson’s hawks, and Mississippi kites. They headed for the trees.
Back on the coast it’s still windy from the north, but we get a lot of migrants. The north wind knocks them down. Warblers, flycatchers, pewees, and tanagers. Then it’s to the point where it’s hard to get new birds. #197, Cape may warbler. That’s a really good one. It’s getting close to dark. #198, the other waterthrush, northern. Suddenly there are new birds. #199, #200, #201, Canada warbler, Kentucky warbler, and Swainson’s thrush. #202, chestnut-sided warbler. We’re almost done. One more trip out the boardwalk to see if we can hear a rail, and right out there exactly where no-one would expect to find a warbler, #203, golden-winged warbler. That could be my favorite warbler. Last bird of the night.
20 hours of birding. 250 miles in the car. 203 birds. Not a record, but a good Big Day.
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