There really is no better place in Texas to be in the middle of fall migration then Smith Point and I enjoyed it thoroughly this morning.
I arrived at the tower at 6am and settled in to watch the stars disappear and the morning begin. The first bird that called was a Mourning Dove; next 2 Great-horned Owls started calling back and forth. A Whip-poor will started calling , I have never seen or heard one calling on Smith Point Two nighthawks were feeding over the big motte one was a Lesser , flight pattern alone was enough to indicate what it was, but fortunately it came close enough to the tower to give me a good look at the wing shape. Mockingbirds and Blue Jays started making noise next. Royal Terns head out on the bay before sunrise.
At 6:30 hummingbirds were visiting the tower feeders. I thought I would see early frigatebirds as they were flapping across the Bolivar peninsula before sunrise last weekend but it could be those frigates roost on the production platforms in East Bay not at Smith Point. Bobwhite and Cardinals were the next to wake up. Five Blue-winged Teal flew over, and Carolina Wrens started calling. Blue Grosbeaks were "chinking" in the vegetation below the tower as Dickcissels and Gnatcatchers called overhead.
At 6:46 it was light enough to see that swallows were moving west high overhead, I wondered what time they started and why I still can't immediately tell them apart by their gizz. I thought I would become an expert on swallows as I have watched so many go over Smith Point, but alas I don't seem to have the right kind of brain to sort them out immediately. Saw Barn, Cliff and Bank. Reddish and Snowy Egrets and Little Blue and Tricolored Herons came off a roost to the west. Pelicans were diving before the sun rose at 7am. An Upland Sandpiper went over making me think of the Arctic NWR where we had them calling outside our tent a midnight. It is amazing how a bird call takes you somewhere else. More Dickcissels went over and Orchard Orioles landed in the trees right in front of the tower. The first flock of White Ibis went over, ultimately I saw close to 1000. Such interesting birds they move west along the bay every fall and I wonder where they are going, around the bay? To the Trinity River bottomlands? There was a book written on White Ibis and it showed they are very interesting birds. Most of the flocks had lots of young birds and indication of a productive breeding season. Small flocks of Cattle Egrets went over, another interesting bird that could have taught us a lot if we had been looking. They had expanded far and wide but now have disappeared from the Midwest, parts of the northeast and parts of Florida. I saw hundreds heading out across the Gulf last Saturday at dawn. I usually only see them leaving in the evening but I am not always looking.
More Dickcissels and Orchard Orioles go by. Blue Grosbeaks fly up to the top of the trees and are replaced by Eastern Kingbirds. Spoonbills, Double-crested and Neotropic Cormorants go by it seems early for Double Crested. Ninety dark ibis moving west, now there is a bird we don't know enough about. More Dickcissels, orioles and kingbirds go by.
At 7:30 it is hazy and there are no swallows in the air, where did they go? Orchard Orioles and one Baltimore are feeding in the legumes infront of the tower. There is something feeding on seeds in the grass maybe Dickcissels. The fields around the tower are good candidates for prairie restoration. They were planted with exotic grasses years ago native plants would feed more birds and butterflies. Unfortunately the TPWD employee in charge of Candy Abshier is way too busy. All these pieces of land need advocates to help with habitat projects. Gnatcatchers are all over not big numbers but busy birds. Sometimes they fly so high you can hardly see them.
8am the official hawk watchers show up, there are a few low swallows now feeding not acting like they are moving. 25 White-winged Doves go over actually they go back and forth for a while. At 9am a young House Finch lands on the tower, wonder where he came from? Chickadees start calling and a couple of Common Nighthawks go by. A birder reports warblers and Olive-sided Flycatchers down the road. 9:36 it is warm with a breeze from the north and the first raptors show up, a couple of Broad-wings, then a Mississippi Kite, then more. They go back and forth as raptors are apt to do at the point.We get nice looks. Kingfisher flies by. Five frigates are low over the bay, such spectacular flyers.
10:30 a young Swallow-tailed kite comes by couldn't have a better look, plumage is crisp and perfect. There is talk of Ivory-bills and Jabirus. I take off for an early lunch, there is no better fried fish then that cooked by the Smith Point Fire Dept. If you like to be in the middle of fall migration spend a morning at Smith Point. There are always lots of birds it is always beautiful.
Here at High Island it is hot but orioles and hummingbirds are busy in the hummingbird garden. Many people are boarding up, the power of Humberto scared us all.
Houston Audubon's volunteers transported approximately 150 native plants to a new Brays Bayou Wildscape Garden installation in the 3200 block of S.
Braeswood, just west of Buffalo Speedway. This is a high profile site along the Brays Bayou Hike and Bike Trail. It is an ideal location for education outreach to Houston residents and visitors who want to learn more about our coastal tallgrass prairie.
Houston Audubon is serving as consultants to Terry O'Rourke, Project Manager for the new Brays Bayou Wildscape Garden. Citizens League for Environmental Action Now (CLEAN) is the sponsoring organization for the project. Houston Audubon donors contributed funds towards a large scale plant relocation from Saums Prairie to the new garden that occurred Friday, August 15th. Chip Davis, of Chipco, Inc., and his crew mechanically moved over 1000 sq. ft. of the Saums Prairie plant material.
