More new birds!

The Woman’s cousin Diane decided to spend a couple weeks in South Padre Island this winter, so we get to spend some more time with family while down here! Diane is at least as much a birder as we are, so today she decided we should visit the Birding Center on our way to dinner. Despite all the regulars we pointed out to her, we were rewarded with a pretty good look at a Yellow Rumped Warbler for the very first time for us here. I’ll let you decide if the official name fits the bird or not.

But the really big surprise was spotting this magnificent bird for the first time in the entire two months we have been here so far. We had seen them up near Port Aransas before, but not down here. The bird spotting card the Woman says this gem can be identified by its blueish grey head, its short black beak, its salmon colored belly, and the deep red stripe on its shoulder. But its most prominent feature is its split tail, even longer than its actual body, that looks like a pair of black scissors. This Scissor Tailed Flycatcher put on a show for us, flitting around right in front of us, pausing periodically on the top of a bush so we could get a good look. Bonus!

So, this is not a new bird but a new behavior for us. We had been spotting Green Herons nearly every day. But they almost always just sat there motionless. Well, during Diane’s visit, this guy suddenly took flight and grabbed a small fish out of the water. He then proceeded to squawk and crane his neck just like a chicken while he gobbled down his catch. Bonus number 2!

Talk to you soon!