Find more High Island sighting information on Winnie Burkett's facebook page.
April 9: Birding was fine on High Island over the weekend. A good variety of warblers were found at least 20 species. Swainson's at the Boy Scout Woods drip was a surprise. Ceruleans were found in Smith Oaks and in Hook's. Orioles, Tanagers and grosbeaks have come in and it is a good thing because there are lots of ripe mulberries. Nesting activity is picking up in the Rookery. Sunday count was Neotropic Cormorant -- 485 adults (201 nests), Great Egret -- 269 adults (148 nests), Snowy Egret -- 46 adults (only 1 nest so far), Spoonbill -- 207 adults (7 nests). Tricolored Herons have arrived -- 9 adults were looking around to see what nest sites were still available. Shorebirds are everywhere. Mowed fields in Crystal Beach hosted Upland Sandpipers and Golden Plovers. Bolivar Flats and Rollover Pass have variety and numbers. It is a great time of year to be on the coast. .-- Winnie Burkett
April 2: Heavy rain this morning slowed down some migrants and mixed species foraging flocks were found through out the day in Smith Oaks.-- Winnie Burkett
April 1: About 12 different warbler species. At the Rookery I counted birds & nests: Neotropic Cormorants: 327 (198 nests); Great Egret adults: 189 (142 nests); Roseate Spoonbills: 170 (1 nest); Snowy Egrets: 6 (0 nests).
-- Winnie Burkett
March 26: The Smith Oaks Levee Trail reopens on March 27.
-- Marc Reid
March 23: Golden Plovers, Marbled Godwits and Dowitchers were in Port Bolivar's wet fields yesterday. A Peregrine Falcon was sitting on the Port Bolivar Coast Guard tower watching the thousands of shorebirds that were feeding there. A pair of Great-horned Owls in Boy Scout Woods serenaded us all night. They should have a nest now shouldn't they? There is still a nice assortment of early warblers and vireos in Boy Scout Woods this morning, but numbers have declined with the favorable winds.
-- Winnie Burkett
March 21: Volunteers reported nice numbers of early warblers and vireos at High Island.
-- Winnie Burkett
March 19: White Ibis are on the move. I have seen several flocks the last couple of days. I have been surprised that I haven't seen more herons and egrets moving. With all the wind they are probably making great time. There are still flocks of ducks off shore and lots of shorebirds at Bolivar Flats. High tides had birds on the beach last night -- I could only find one Piping Plover and one Knot. Wilson's Plovers are returning; 7 were along the beach. Nice numbers of sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones were working the sargassum which seems to be early. A peregrine is still working the shorebirds. Not too many migrating passerines on the Bolivar Peninsula. Yellow-rumped Warblers are on the move and Harris Sparrows were with White-crowned and White-throated in a yard in Port Bolivar on Saturday. There are a lot of flowers at High Island but no hummingbirds -- they are probably in Kansas already.
--Winnie Burkett
March 17 Smith Oaks Levee Trail Update: Some birds seem to be moving to the front of the island, but the trail will remain closed until significant nesting activity begins.
--Marc Reid
March 11: Over the weekend, Northern Parulas and Yellow-throated Warblers joined the Yellow-rumped Warblers at High Island. High tides and high winds have shorebirds in fields and high spots in the marsh. No place to feed makes unnecessary disturbance dangerous to the birds. Bonaparte's Gulls were all over. A Swallow-tailed Kite was over Rettilon Rd midday.
--Winnie Burkett
March 10: Smith Oaks Levee Trail Update: The birds in the Smith Oaks Rookery are easily disturbed by people on the levee trail, so the portion of the trail close to the island has been closed in order to give the birds an opportunity to get "comfortable." This usually happens when they start to build nests. The rookery can be observed from the #1 observation platform or the far end of the pond. The birds thank you for your cooperation.
--Marc Reid
March 8: At High Island on Thursday, March 8 there were 265 spoonbills, 58 Black-crowned Night-Herons, 17 Little Blue Herons, 30 Snowy Egrets, 18 Great Egrets, 175 Neotropical Cormorants and 15 alligators. Birds were nervous and stayed as far away from the trail as possible.
--Winnie Burkett
