Woodland Park

I've been looking for a good local birding park since I've moved to Houston. In College Station I had Lick Creek Park and in Dallas I had White Rock Lake. I had seen some stuff on an Upper Texas Coast Facebook group the last few days about Woodland Park, which is located in The Heights area of Houston. That's less than 3 miles from my apartment, and it seems like an underbirded park that has made some waves like Golden-winged Warbler and Great Kiskadee over the last few days. While it may be no High Island or Sabine Woods I figured it was worth a shot on a Friday afternoon. It's not like I was going to the coast anyways.

It's a small park with a network of trails that is cut in half by a stormwater drain. This is critical for a good migrant spot, and it probably helps make Brison Park the amazing migrant spot that it is, as a smaller storm drain passes through it as well.

For a park in the middle of the city you definitely get the feel that you're away from it all

I descended the hill into the trees, greeted by tons of Great-tailed Grackles. It was a warm afternoon so I had really low expectations, but when I saw the storm drain I got pumped. There are some portions that are too deep for birds, that I actually saw bass and gar swimming in, but there are some places that are very shallow and flow enough for birds to bathe in, which is great for some of these tired migrants. I immediately saw male and female Indigo Buntings bathing, and a bird with a yellow crown, almost golden. I thought it could have been Chestnut-sided or Golden-winged Warbler, but by the time I got to a vantage point it was gone. I found the perfect spot to camp out for about 30 minutes while I watched various migrants come in.

There were a bunch of Indigo Buntings throughout the park

Indigo Bunting was the bird of the day, but Summer Tanager was also pretty common. The only positive ID on a warbler that I got was Common Yellowthroat, but I cleaned up on tanagers. A Swainson's Thrush was bathing in the creek, but a flash of red got me on one of my favorite migrants, Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I would see a few throughout the afternoon.

The male Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a stunning bird, seeing one is a highlight of migration

The star of the show was a gorgeous Scarlet Tanager. This was a bird I looked at in my field guide as a kid and thought I would never see. I noticed it through the trees because this is an almost neon red bird. All I could do at that point was stare in awe at such a beautiful bird.

Scarlet Tanager. Look. At. That.

By that point I was sweating and I wanted to get back and relax before the draft started. Overall this looks to be a great migration park I look forward to coming back!

Still can't get over this bird

Migration

This is my favorite birding time of the year. Mid-April to mid-May is one of the craziest times on the Texas coast. Neotropical migrants from Central America are coming through on their way to breeding grounds all over the country. Some will breed in Maine and some will breed in Alaska. Some are settling down in breeding territory in Texas. It's an exciting time where lots of color fills the sky and hopeful birders sit around all day waiting for a mega rarity to blow through. Huge rarities like Double-toothed Kite and Greenish Elaenia have blown in off the coast before, and the cool thing about migration is you never know what will show up. It changes week to week, even day to day. Some days are dead, some days the trees are dripping with tired birds and you have to be careful where you walk so you don't step on a bird.

One of my favorite birds, the Roseate Spoonbill can be found everywhere on the island

There are few places on the Texas coast where legendary migration experiences can be found. Padre Island and Hazel Bazemore Park in Corpus Christi are good places, although I have never been there. High Island near Anahuac is probably the most popular place. That's where the kite and elaenia were found at High Island. I'm making my next migration trip there. Quintana, near Lake Jackson, has an amazing sanctuary there and Sabine Woods is another good place up in Beaumont, although it was dead when I went there. Why are these places so great? They are literally right off the beach. As these tired migrants literally fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatan Peninsula they get so tired that as much as 40% die en route. Those that survive, especially after a storm, will drop in to the nearest patch of green they can find. With so much development on the coast these tiny sanctuaries are a beacon for the birds. Anyways, enough rambling. My favorite migration sanctuary is Lafitte's Cove in Galveston.

March 31 started out hot. Walking down the boardwalk I immediately had Orchard Oriole, Indigo Bunting, and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in a Mulberry. Eastern Kingbird flew in shortly afterwards.  This was right after a bad storm had blown in and winds were blowing south at 20 mph. I got there around 2 when the wind slowed down. As exciting as it was to get some amazing migrants from the get go, it was nothing compared to what was in store in the trees.

Orchard Orioles are pretty abundant early migrants, can't wait for their cousins, Baltimore Orioles to come through!

The trees were full of warblers that are normally tough to see. Hooded Warbler was abundant, Northern Parula was everywhere, and tired Prothonotary Warblers were all over the ground. Normally parulas and prothontaries are almost impossible to see. They love to be up high and they nest in dense Spanish Moss. You can hear them when you're around them, but good luck seeing them. To be up close with such fantastic views was an awesome experience. As the afternoon wore on there were even better sightings. Black-and-white Warblers came in and Worm-eating Warblers offered brief glimpses. A few Yellow-throated Vireos popped out as well. 

Hooded Warbler

I have learned to always check every single bird. Sometimes you miss really good birds in a flock. Not so this time! I thought it was just a Northern Parula, it was actually a lifer Yellow-throated Warbler! This nemesis bird had taken forever to find, and it was a sigh of relief to be able to get it. About an hour I was checking out what would should have been another of many Prothonotary Warblers, but it had a black stripe along the eye. Somebody had been studying their field guide, because it could only be one thing: BLUE-WINGED WARBLER! Another lifer! As the sun started to set I headed back to Houston, pumped for the next trip down there, which turned out to be 6 days later.

April 6 brought in new birds and better weather. A fog had settled over Galveston Island, but the sun came out for a gorgeous day. I had lunch plans and about 3.5 hours to bird, so I started out at Lafitte's Cove. The first bird I saw was an active Blue-winged Warbler. I had really yearned for this bird for years so it was funny that I looked so long and got it twice this year already. Hooded and Prothonotary Warblers were abundant again, but I will never tire of seeing those little guys hopping around. I took a lap around the preserve, getting Indigo Bunting, Orchard Oriole, Mottled Duck, and a FOY Black-chinned Hummingbird. Still in the early stages of migration, a lot of the birds remained the same, but I did notice a little more warbler variety. The star of the early show was a lifer Glossy Ibis that had been continuing all week. I also had the best views ever of Worm-eating Warbler, a really exciting bird to get. I had some kind of thrush/Ovenbird, but before I could lock in on it flew off.

Migrants normally love these drips when the Blue Jays aren't hogging them!

Without getting repetitive and boring I'll focus on one exciting moment. There is a boardwalk that is pretty productive for shorebirds. There was a rumor of Louisiana Waterthrush hanging around the shore of the pond, and with lunch fast approaching I had to check it out. While looking for it located a Solitary Sandpiper and baby alligator. Sure enough there was a bobbing tail that gave away the Lousiana Waterthrush's location! Huzzah! Then out of nowhere a Common Yellowthroat flew across! There was also a Summer Tanager waiting for me to head out. What an amazing few minutes! That's peak migration madness right there.

Although not the best picture can you pick out the Solitary Sandpiper and Louisiana Waterthrush?

My birding day ended at Galveston Island State Park. I focused on the beach because unbeknownst to me a Groove-billed Ani, one of favorite birds because it looks like a dinosaur, had been seen on the other side of the park. But the beach was very productive. The usual suspects like Laughing Gull, Sanderling, Caspian Tern, Willet, and Brown Pelican were abundant, and I had a great chance to brush up on my shorebirding, which I am admittedly awful at. I got great looks at Western Sandpiper and I had a Piping Plover, which is always an exciting find, especially when you consider that I actually ID'ed it myself. On my way out I had a 1 bird fall out, an exhausted Yellow-throated Warbler that was foraging in the picnic tables maybe 50 yards from the surf. Overall, a great two weeks of birding.

Piping Plover

I cannot wait to get back. I am still debating between High Island and Lafitte's Cove next weekend, and then my girlfriend and probably only reader of this blog, Katie, moves in to UTMB the next weekend so I will for sure be at Lafitte's Cove for a bit that first weekend in May, which is right when the birds will be coming in force!

In other news there are some exciting birding trips coming up. Alaska is now totally booked and we are set to go! First is Denali National Park where Arctic Warblers, Northern Hawk-owls, Northern Wheatears, and Willow Ptarmigans will be sought after, followed up by a trip to Kenai Fjords National Park where Kittlitz's Murrelets, Tufted and Horned Puffins, and Pine Grosbeaks will steal the show among probably 100 other incredible species. I also have a Big Bend trip booked for Memorial Day weekend to look for Colima Warbler, Painted Redstart, and Blue-throated Hummingbird! It's an exciting time to be a friend of Birding with Christian!