Flame-colored Tanager & Yellow-green Vireo!

May 2 

After one get-my-life-and-house-back-together-post-Colorado day, I headed to South Padre Island to guide my monthly clients in search of some of the later season migrants, and was not disappointed by the additions to my year in the process! Philadelphia Vireo, Mourning Warbler, Western Tanager, "Traill's" Flycatchers, a few of which I was able to separate into Willow and Alder Flycatchers by calls, and a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher were all new for the year. 

May 3 

Beginning at Salineno at sunrise, I was in the process of completing a "dispersed flock" Texas statewide Big Day as part of the Texas Birding Classic. Having great success with so many of the "Valley Birds" - my main focus for contribution to our group of five located around the state - I was at Estero State Park working on adding some warblers for the day. I was looking at a Golden-winged Warbler when the text came through: Flame-colored Tanager at the South Padre Island Convention Center. But I'd have to wait! I spent the next few hours anxious, even though most birds that show up to South Padre Island remain there for the rest of the day. Photos had actually surfaced from May 2nd of the same bird being identified as a Western Tanager. Eventually, my Big Day route winded its way over to South Padre Island, and within five minutes of arrival, I got a close-up video of the bird (viewable on my Instagram account, tiff_k_13). While I was finishing birding the rest of the Convention Center area, teen birder Ryan Rodriguez spotted a Yellow-green Vireo. I spent a few minutes looking with some other folks, hoping it would reappear, but I didn't have time to spare. A Big Day within a Big Year is painful! 

May 4 

I guided Jan from Houston this morning. I'd met Jan in April during my time at High Island. Jan is a lung cancer survivor, and several years ago, when she was given only months to live, her goal was to see 500 species of birds. She has been to the RGV many times in the past, so there aren't many new birds for her to get here.  spent May 3 in the RGV on her own, and picked up Tamaulipas Crow as a life bird. She came to me with 497 on her ABA life list! We headed to South Padre Island to try again for the Yellow-green Vireo. The bird was incredibly active, giving only a glimpse at a time and then flitting to another tree. It was Jan's #498 for her life list, and my #559 for the year! 

Following the vireo, we headed over to try for Botteri's Sparrow on Old Port Isabel Road near Brownsville. By then it was 2:30 pm and almost 90 degrees, but it was on our way back to the mid-Valley, so we had to try! A very obliging individual teed up not far from us on an old fence post, in the very first promising looking large swath of grass, singing its heart out. 

Year List: 560