313. White Ibis

Date         June 11, 2020

Location    Galveston Island State Park, Galveston, TX

A few minutes after the duck flyover, next came a single ibis who flew almost in the same flight path and also landed in the pond. I also saw him a second time when I went back to the pond, although he was closer to the road and a bit more timid, flying away soon after I arrived. The black wingtips were an aid along with that long red beak, of course.

Cornell: White Ibis

312. Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Date         June 11, 2020

Location    Galveston Island State Park, Galveston, TX

I had turned off the second road where I'd seen the rails onto a mowed grassy trail to the left. There was a pond to my left. As I walked along, one flew over me and landed in the pond. I saw him later when I backtracked to go back to my tent.

There was simply no mistaking this one, with the bright orange beak and, well, everything else that's so unique about this bird!

Cornell: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

311. Clapper Rail

Date         June 11, 2020

Location    Galveston Island State Park, Galveston, TX

I walked along the main road for some time, then turned right on another road. I suddenly saw a bird emerge from the tall grasses lining both sides of the road. I strongly suspected right away that it was a rail -- I had seen only one before, the King Rail at Prairie Oaks metro park -- and the behavior sure looked similar.

I spent a good 20 minutes in the area examining two of these rails as they ventured into the road many times, often crossing to the other side. They were calling almost constantly as well. I needed to make sure they weren't King Rails.

I got many excellent views of a fairly secretive bird, even watching their beaks open and shut as they made their clicking call notes.

I finally decided that they were Clappers for these reasons: 1) I was in a salt marsh (or at the very least, brackish, which I confirmed the next day with a local (my old friend Charlie S.) who assured me that Galveston island has no fresh water), 2) one made the grunt-chip call like a Clapper and unlike the King, and 3) the bird overall was duller than what you would expect to see on a King.

Cornell: Clapper Rail

310. White-tailed Kite

Date         June 11, 2020

Location    Galveston Island State Park, Galveston, TX

I went back to the campsite after my swim and was just sitting in the shade, having some dinner and water before heading out to explore the state park itself. There were plenty of birds flying overhead, but they were usually Laughing Gulls.

Then I saw one that looked somewhat different. The two black spots under the wings were very diagnostic, along with the white underparts.

Cornell: White-tailed Kite

309. Forster's Tern

Date         June 11, 2020

Location    Jamaica Beach, Galveston, TX

After checking in at the campsite, I decided to take a swim in the beach. Aside from the Brown Pelicans diving nearby in the water and the ubiquitous Laughing Gulls, while swimming I looked up and identified this tern. The call notes were key to the identification.

Cornell: Forster's Tern

308. Neotropic Cormorant

Date         June 11, 2020

Location    Saltgrass Bait & Tackle, Freeport, TX

I went over to the other side of the road and saw this bird perched on a post near the shore. I reckon it was a juvenile because it looked very similar to this picture of a juvenile and didn't have the really sharp triangle orange on the cheek.

Cornell: Neotropic Cormorant

307. Little Blue Heron

Date         June 11, 2020

Location    Saltgrass Bait & Tackle, Freeport, TX

While visiting family in Texas, I took an overnight trip down to Galveston to do some birding and swim in the ocean, something I rarely get the chance to do. My camping reservation was at Galveston Island State Park, but before the trip I scouted the various beaches nearby and decided to come up from the south and maybe stop along the way.

I found just such a place before even reaching Galveston (or the ocean). Along the highway near Freeport were several ponds and lakes on both sides. I pulled off the side of the road near a bait shop, and there were several people fishing. It was just a short walk to the water on the side of the road that I had pulled off on, so I went there first.

After a spectacular view of a Black Skimmer, who flew not 50 feet away from me -- so close I could hear the water swishing around his lower bill as he skimmed the water -- I saw a Little Blue Heron flying from my left to my right over the water a bit further away, just like in the photo above.

Cornell: Little Blue Heron

306. Upland Sandpiper

Date         May 26, 2020

Location    Galitzin State Forest, Cambria county, PA

I went to this location in hopes of finding a Henslow's Sparrow. One had been reported and my Audubon app alerted me. So I was listening especially carefully. I heard a fairly brief wolf whistle call, and I suddenly realized what it could be. I was not convinced on the first repetition, but on the second I was sure.

I continued birding in the area I was in, hearing the call about a dozen more times up-slope, not really thinking I would be able to find it. I decided to drive up the hill and give it a try anyway.

A classic pose of this bird is to perch on a post in a field and vocalize. I did find such a post and thought I saw something on it, but it was too far away to identify for sure if it was an Upland Sandpiper or any bird for that matter.

I found a couple of people further up the road, and they asked me what I was looking for. One lady had a camera with a monster lens on it, and she had a picture of it on a post, probably the one I had looked at. It wasn't a great picture -- it was still quite a distance even for the large telephoto lens.

I hung around there a bit longer then started walking back down to my car. By now it was early dusk. I saw a bird flying ahead of me that I wasn't sure I recognized. I found it in my binoculars. Well, it was perfectly backlit, or perhaps not sufficiently lit, so it was just a dark shape. It paused its normal flight, swooped up in the air, and make the classic wolf whistle.

Cornell: Upland Sandpiper