Swainson's Warbler becomes bird 981

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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's Warbler was seen the previous day, and a few other birders saw it later in the park and they told me the general location it likes. It is a hard to find bird since it stays concealed and moves on the ground slowly. I made several short walks along the trails around the place it was seen at. Through binoculars, I was looking at Hooded Warblers, a Louisiana Waterthrush and a Kentucky Warbler when one drab bird on the ground had me interested. Due to the motion from other warblers I would get distracted. I waited and id'ed all the birds I could and once again I saw this bird. I saw an overall brown bird with a lighter breast and a whitish supercilium and a dark line across the eye, slowly flitting leaves on the ground. Swainson's Warbler was bird 981. I spent some more time looking at mixed flocks and once again saw the second Palm Warbler of the day. This was the first time I'm seeing it in Texas. It was a 14 Warbler day which is the best for me at a single birding location! 

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