DALLAS, TEXAS — For the first time ever, a Fan-tailed Warbler has been photographed in Texas. Carolyn Ohl-Johnson snapped the image: Fan-tailed Warbler.

DALLAS, TEXAS — The big news in Texas this week is the discovery of a Fan-tailed Warbler (Euthlypis lachrymosa) in Big Bend National Park. The species, native to Mexico and Central America, has been reported from Texas before but never documented with a photograph or other evidence. The newly reported bird has not been photographed either.

From Eric Carpenter’s report:

Maggie Burnett and I were in Pine Canyon and returning down-canyon from the pouroff last evening (13 Aug) around 6.30pm when we came across 2 Virginia’s Warblers. While attempting to bring these birds in, I did some pygmy-owl imitations, which resulting in attracting the attention of a nice small swarm of birds, including a Blue-throated Hummingbird, many titmice, Western Tanager, W. Wood Pewee and others. Amongst these was the Fan-tailed Warbler which appeared at about eye-level for less than 10 seconds at about 15-20 yards in unobstructed view. I knew almost immediately what this bird was as I could clearly see its eye crescents, white dot between the eye & bill, yellow breast, and long graduated tail with white tips. I turned to get my camera out of my backpack and we could never relocate the bird despite 40 minutes of searching.

Continue reading more info on Pine Canyon Fan-tailed Warbler.

Given that the bird is difficult to find, in a part of the park that’s difficult to access, that Big Bend is 12 hours from Dallas, that I have to work, and that we’re in a stretch of 100-degree days (sooo hot!), I don’t think I’ll be jumping in the car to chase the bird. Sad day.

GREENE CO., MO. — I can hear the katydids calling tonight. It’s a sound I always associate with Ozark summers.

On this whirlwind visit, I’ve had a few moments for birding. On Saturday morning, Charley, Lisa, and I took a tour of three known raptor nests around Springfield.

We arrived first at an old-fashioned, park-like estate on the western side of town. We’d barely pulled in the driveway before a large, dark accipiter zipped low across the yard, sending a rush of adrenaline through all of our systems. The recently fledged Cooper’s Hawks were active and noisy in the trees, though we never did see the parents. I had a good look at one bird as it paused on a limb, and I noted the fine brown streaks on its breast — almost as if they were done with a pencil. This is a characteristic plumage feature of the species.

Next was an abandoned series of lots where Mississippi Kites had nested. The young bird left the nest just days before I got back, but we did see two or three kites circling in the sky overhead. At least one was molting its flight feathers. Mississippi Kites have bred at a few locations in southwest Missouri over the last few years, but they are still scarce.

Our third stop (after a half-hearted attempt failed to turn up a previously reported Painted Bunting) was at an east-side industrial complex where Swainson’s Hawks have nested for several years. This is a bit east of their usual breeding range, but they don’t seem to mind. We had good looks at two gorgeous light-morph adults. We couldn’t locate any juveniles or the nest, and it was difficult to tell whether the parents still had young in the nest or had fledglings out somewhere. We didn’t hear any young birds calling, which seemed odd.

We finished up with a surprise: three Common Loons at Fellows Lake. They were all in non-breeding plumage, and one appeared to be growing a new set of flight feathers. Do loons molt flight feathers in the fall? If I’m reading the Missouri birds checklist correctly, summer records of loons are unusual but not so much so that the need documentation.

I miss birding with Charley and Lisa and other GOASers. They helped launch my birding career, and they encouraged me to write about birds — to share my impressions and experiences with others, even in the days when my enthusiasm was far greater than either my knowledge or my skill. (So, nothing much has changed.) Thank you.

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — Anyone who has watched a flock of gannets soaring over the ocean, and then dropping — speeding out of the sky like thunderbolts from the fist of Zeus, piercing the water with barely a splash — will understand the consternation and sadness I felt to see a young gannet huddled on the beach near Bolivar Flats last Friday.

I wanted to help the bird but didn’t know what to do. Meanwhile, I was fairly certain that gannets aren’t supposed to be in Texas in July, and I wondered how important this observation might be.

As it turns out, a few gannets wash up on the Texas coast every summer. Apparently, some of the younger birds do not go north in the spring. By summer, some of the stragglers begin succumbing to feather mites, scarcity of food, and other stresses.

In fact, the bird Brian and I observed had been found and carried down to the beach by Houston birder Joseph Kennedy. (See his pictures.) It was one of several birds that washed up on shore over the weekend, setting Texbirds abuzz with reports and speculation. This terse report indicates that one bird died and two were taken into rehab. I have not been able to find out whether the Bolivar bird lived or died, but as weak as it appeared to be, I fear the worst.

Shorebirds have begun returning to the coast. Several Long-billed Curlews put on a show, and a solitary Whimbrel picked through the seaweed. I saw two Piping Plovers, both still in breeding plumage.

Royal Terns, Gulf Coast residents, were noisy and abundant. Parents, who have already lost their black crowns, are carrying fish to begging, yellow-billed youngsters. Least Terns are molting out of breeding plumage. A Gull-billed Tern swooped over the salt marsh. Thirty-four Wilson’s Plovers congregated on a sandbar.

I had a brief glimpse of a Northern Harrier in the distance, which really surprised me. Apparently, though, the species breeds occasionally on the coast.

Two Magnificent Frigatebirds soared high — first a white-marked female, then a male.

As exhilarating as the afternoon was, it left me more aware than ever of the gaps (or gaping holes?) in my knowledge. There is so much I’d like to know about the habits, the distributions, the plumages, the voices, the lives of these birds. By spending a few hours a year at Bolivar Flats, I can become acquainted with them. But to really know them? That’s something else altogether.

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — This evening, I made a last ditch effort to find the Osprey below the Joe Pool Dam, but the bird didn’t show itself. As you can see from the GBBC results map, this bird would have been sort of in the northern tier of inland Ospreys reported this year. Oh well.

I drove to Fox Hollow Park to finish out the day and was disappointed to discover that pedestrians had flushed most of the ducks I was hoping to find in the little pond. A few ring-necks and a female scaup were still hanging around, though they looked nervous (and the ring-necks eventually bolted). A flock of blackbirds in the trees contained singing red-wings and cowbirds.

After the park visit, I submitted my fourth and final list for this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count:

1. Ring-necked Duck - 5
2. Lesser Scaup - 1
3. Killdeer - 2
4. Ring-billed Gull - 2
5. Mourning Dove - 12
6. American Crow - 1
7. Carolina Chickadee - 1
8. Carolina Wren - 1
9. Bewick’s Wren - 1
10. American Robin - 10
11. Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
12. White-throated Sparrow - 5
13. Northern Cardinal - 6
14. Red-winged Blackbird - 600
15. Brown-headed Cowbird - 100

The count window closes today, but reports of birds seen during the count can be submitted through the end of February, according to Audubon At Home’s Science Coordinator Rob Fergus.

So, the data will continue to change as records come in, but it looks as though Texas will be the state with the most species reported. California is the only other state that’s even close, but I should think we are safe from a last minute takeover. Oddly, though, Texas wasn’t even in the top five for the number of checklists submitted. New York was trouncing everybody else in that department, last I checked.

My sole claim to fame is that I added one species to the Texas list: White-winged Scoter. See the nice green dot on this map? Oh yes … scoters!

On second thought, I guess I shouldn’t celebrate too soon; another report of the species could still come in. After all, two White-winged Scoters were hanging around in Grayson County, but they haven’t been reported on Texbirds since Feb. 10. and may no longer be present.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how things stand once all the numbers have come in. It appears that the number of individual birds reported this year will be higher than last year’s figures, but the number of species might be lower. Stay tuned, and consider participating in next year’s count!