Journey to 1000 bird species

     I arrived at Houston after a long journey from Chennai on Sat evening. The original plan was to sleep well at my uncle's place, start to ATX after breakfast the next day, and have lunch at a friend's place. Madness rushed into my head. I thought I can try for some of my target birds and start after lunch.          Nelson's Sparrow should be an easy pick. I wanted to put in some effort for King Rail (not too hard, but cannot guarantee a sighting) and Ross's Goose (which should be moderate, but I'm struggling for a while). For the Rail and Ross's Goose, which can be in flocks of Snow geese in fields, I chose Anahuac NWR. For Nelson's Sparrow I chose three spots they were sighted at in good numbers in Nov. The fall morning was beautiful, and  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52HYHvabBZ8 came into play while I was driving. For some reason, this song comes to my mind when I leave my hometown. I realized I did not think of this song when I ...

     I wanted to use my jet lag period in Chennai to good advantage. I planned on Pallikarani, Arihant Apt marsh followed by my favorite shorebirds/waterbirds hotspot 'Perumbakkam marsh'. For this, I borrowed my mother's scooter. PKN produced decent birds, all of them being expected - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40635416 . On the way to Arihant Apt marsh at Thoraipakkam, I took a wrong turn and went on Customs Excise Colony Road. The roads were in a bad shape, and it became clear that these were on encroached reedy wetlands. I took a pause to scan the water bodies on either side of the road. I saw Moorhens, Waterhens, and Swamphens. Happiness:      Ruddy-breasted Crake      There was one particular rail like bird which I initially thought was a Waterhen, but when I put binocs I could see a reddish-brown head and breast and a dark back. I knew that this was a Rail/Crake and my guess was a Ruddy Crake bas...