Journey to 1000 bird species

     The winds were shifting to south Saturday morning, which meant that it would not be great for migrants. However, this is one of the best weeks for migrants since a large number of them peak at around third week of April. I started doing one visit to central Texas coast from two years ago. I mostly go to Port Aransas area. I heard that the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center has been rebuilt after the hurricane (Harvey) damage. That was an option this time. There were few other hotspots around Corpus Christie which I've never been to. I wanted to bird those areas unless I get alerts from other parks about specific birds that I want to see. I had a bad sleep, and started after breakfast a little after 7 am. Chuck-Will's Widow          I reached my first spot,  Rose Hill Cemetery at 10:30 am. It was hot and the skies were clear. There was a nice Baltimore Oriole and a couple of noisy Western Kingbirds. I drove around the cemete...

     I checked the winds at the upper coast to be from the south, and so my hopes were low for migrants. Greater Prairie Chicken festival was on Apr 13 and 14. I wanted to go to the coast on Saturday and see the Chicken Sunday morning on the way back to ATX. The festival week is the only time when a reservation is not needed and multiple shuttles are done to view the lek  during the first hour or so after sunrise.          I got up around 7:30 am Saturday morning, packed quickly, had breakfast and coffee, took tea in a flask and started before 9:30 am. I reached Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR at 11:30 am. I birded the auto tour which had little activity - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S54905452 . I drove towards the coast, stopping briefly for lunch which were to-go items from the previous night. I did a brief drive around Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area (like most WMA, no public access) and did not find anything. Since I went to...

Sabine Woods      The migrant birds remaining to be seen on my list were Blackpoll Warbler and Swainson's Warbler. Easter Whip-poor-will is a nocturnal bird and I cannot target it. Swainson's Warbler migrates earlier than the other warblers. Though it is a summer resident of east TX, it is hard to find on the breeding grounds.      I have heavily birded during the last couple of weekends of April and first weekends of May. This time I wanted to bird during the early parts of April. My first trip was to Sabine Woods last weekend, and it did not disappoint. I was greeted by seven Prothonotary Warblers at the entrance. I spent good time at the woods walking the system of trails. I knew it wouldn't be spectacular due to the south winds, but it ended up being a good Warbler-day. Except for Ovenbird which I did not actively look for, I got most of the Warblers that were seen in the area that day. Swainson's Warbler      Swainson...