At 992: Mexican Violetear and Pomarine Jaeger

Mexican Violetear

     Green Violetear was split into two species with Mexican Violeter being the bird seen in US. Most US records are from TX during Apr to July. If my memory is right, it is seen once in a couple of years and that too in feeders of private residences mostly. That makes it hard to chase. The one around Reagen Wells (3 hour drive one way) was seen for several weeks and sounded reliable in a relative way. I was hesitant to chase it until last week. I am keeping details to a minimum since it was at the backyard of a private residence. I got the directions from a local guide by texting him. The first attempt was sad because we saw the bird very briefly after I arrived for an unsatisfactory look. Before I could focus my binoculars the perched bird was gone. It was calling and it was huge, so we knew it was the target. I wanted a better look to count it as a lifer and waited for hours with no luck - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57355510. The other sad part was that it was frequently seen the whole morning until I came! The next day it was not seen the whole morning but reappeared in the afternoon. As soon as I got this info, I decided to make the drive one more time. On Saturday, I started from home before 6:30 am and got the Mexican Violetear for bird 991 as soon as I arrived. I spent close to 45 minutes talking with the house owners, and kept seeing and hearing the bird frequently. I even managed a few identifiable pictures during this time - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57392795.

Pomarine Jaeger

     My next target was the Pomarine Jaeger at Apffel Park or East Beach, Galveston. This bird winters in the sea and breeds in the arctic. It was being seen in Galveston and was approachable. There was a belief that it is not in a good shape looking at the feathers and the fact that it is not continuing it's migration to the Arctic to breed. GPS said the spot was 5 hrs and 10 mins from Reagen Wells. Due to slow traffic at a few spots after Houston, and a brief rain around Houston downtown, the journey took longer. The only stops I made were to get a couple of tacos for lunch, a donut in the late afternoon, and gas stops on the way. I saw ebird reports while driving and knew I would get it. When I arrived at the beach it was hot and windy. I put on my cap and walked to the jetty area. I wasn't interested in the potential Lava Gull which I believed would not be accepted. It later turned out to be a melanistic Laughing Gull. I met a birder on the way who told me were the Jaeger was and I quickly walked towards it. It was clearly not well since people were walking quite close to it and it did not move.  It was indifferent to a small vehicle that drove by. I got the feeling it might not survive for long. Anyway, Pomarine Jaeger was bird 992 - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57405197.

     Then I joined family for Meenakshi temple, Water Wall and dinner at Maharaja Bogh. When we reached home it was 12:05 am on Sunday. This trip holds the record for being the longest time on the road on a single day for me - 13 hours. I drove about 765 miles in total.