EAST TEXAS — As a graduating senior with decent grades, I’m exempt from finals. Spence, on the other hand, had three this morning. But Courtney was free, and the two of us went out to the iron bridge road again. The cool, cloudy weather pattern has continued, and I hoped for more warblers.

I heard a Painted Bunting singing almost as soon as we got inside the gate. I got a couple of quick glimpses of it through the branches, but it flew across the road and deep into the pines before Courtney could see it. We did get a good look at a singing chat, but the road before the bridge was fairly quiet, as it had been yesterday.

When we reached the bridge, we saw Great and Cattle egrets scattered across the lake. I almost ignored a distant white gleam, but I raised my binocs and discovered it was an Osprey. I pointed it out to Courtney, who said she’d seen something that looked like it fly by earlier. The perched Osprey was fairly distant and showed no indications of going anywhere, so we eventually moved on.

We picked up a blackpoll in about the same place I’d first seen them yesterday. We also saw a couple of Tennessees farther down the road. A Yellow-throated Warbler sang from the bare branches at the very top of a tree.

Too soon, we had to turn around so I could get back to campus for an exit interview. On the way back, we flushed two more Painted Buntings, but neither of them would sit up long enough for Courtney to get a good look. She saw one flying down the road, but that’s hardly a satisfying view of a Painted Bunting.

When we crossed the bridge, we saw the Osprey perched in the same place it had been before.

I was back a little past 1, but it didn’t matter: the interview was postponed for the second time. “We could have seen more birds,” Courtney mused. Yes. Yes we could have. Rats.

ydhttmwfi: Another chance

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