America’s Birdiest City-Corpus Christi 2003 Report

 

What a day! The count period ran from 8 PM May 2nd until 8 PM May 3rd. With more than sixty skilled and determined observers in the field, tolerable weather, and fine orchestral performance by Larry Jordan, the final tally looks a lot better than last year.

 

Some of the outstanding birds found were Hudsonian Godwit, Swallow-tailed Kite, Western Kingbird, Western Tanager, Brown Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, Cape May Warbler, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Varied Bunting. Of course there was the expected representation of brush species, shorebirds, and migrants that rounded out this diversity exercise.

 

Contributing participants to this Spring’s diversity count include: Tom Schall, Camille Thomasson, Larry Jordan, Judith Reader, Skip Cantrell, Kim Vetter, Pat Curry, Don and Jodelle Miller, Gene Blacklock, Kent Taylor, Leah Pummill, Brooke Sween-McGloin, Jesse Grantham, Kendall Keyes, Jimmy Swartz, Jean Stewart, Mary Moore, Beau Hardagree, Linda Alley, Doug Steener, Linda Fuiman, Carolyn Goodloe, Warren Pulich, Lila Vaughn, Ken Mosely, Jean Beck, Barbara Olsen, Bob and Jo Creglow, Rik Brittain, Richard Gibbons and many more.

 

Additional thanks are in order for the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program and HEB for supplying refreshments and Audubon Texas for allowing our efforts to be headquartered at the Blucher Nature Center.

 

Well I guess you are wondering about the total.  The total stands at 228 species observed.  A full species list follows.

 

 

AMERICA’S BIRDIEST CITY CHECKLIST

 

Coastal Bend Spring Birding Checklist

 

March 15 – June 15

 

Legend:

 

** Casual (details necessary)

 

* Has bred or does breed

 

 

 

 

 

Species

Count

Red-throated Loon**

 

Pacific Loon**

 

Common Loon+

1

Least Grebe+*

1

Pied-billed Grebe*

1

Horned Grebe+

 

Eared Grebe*

 

Sooty Shearwater**

 

Audubon's Shearwater**

 

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel**

 

Masked Booby+

 

Northern Gannet+

 

Am. White Pelican*

1

Brown Pelican*

1

Neotropic Cormorant*

1

Dbl.-crested Cormorant

1

Anhinga*

1

Magnificent Frigatebird+

 

Am. Bittern+

 

Least Bittern*

1

Great Blue Heron*

1

Great Egret*

1

Snowy Egret*

1

Little Blue Heron*

1

Tricolored Heron*

1

Reddish Egret*

1

Cattle Egret*

1

Green Heron*

1

Black-crowned Night-Heron*

1

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron+*

1

White Ibis*

1

Glossy Ibis+*

 

White-faced Ibis*

1

Roseate Spoonbill*

1

Wood Stork+

 

Black Vulture*

1

Turkey Vulture*

1

Greater Flamingo**

 

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck*

1

Fulvous Whistling-Duck*

1

Greater White-fronted Goose

 

Snow Goose

 

Canada Goose

 

Brant+

 

Wood Duck+*

 

Gadwall +

 

Am. Wigeon+

 

Mallard+*

 

Mottled Duck*

1

Blue-winged Teal*

1

Cinnamon Teal+

 

Northern Shoveler

1

Northern Pintail

 

Green-winged Teal

 

Canvasback+

 

Redhead+

1

Ring-necked Duck+

 

Greater Scaup+

 

Lesser Scaup

1

Surf Scoter+

 

White-winged Scoter+

 

Black Scoter**

 

Long-tailed Duck+

 

Bufflehead

 

Common Goldeneye+

 

Hooded Merganser+

 

Red-breasted Merganser+

 

Masked Duck+*

 

Ruddy Duck*

1

Osprey

1

Am. Swallow-tailed Kite+*

1

White-tailed Kite+*

 

Mississippi Kite*

1

Bald Eagle+*

 

Northern Harrier

 

Sharp-shinned Hawk

1

Cooper's Hawk*

1

Gray Hawk

 

Harris's Hawk*

1

Red-shouldered Hawk*

1

Broad-winged Hawk

1

Swainson's Hawk*

1

White-tailed Hawk*

1

Red-tailed Hawk*

1

Ferruginous Hawk+

 

Rough-legged Hawk**

 

Golden Eagle**

 

Crested Caracara*

1

Am. Kestrel+*

 

Merlin+

 

Aplomado Falcon**

 

Peregrine Falcon

1

Prairie Falcon+

 

Plain Chachalaca+

 

Greater Prairie-Chicken**

 

Wild Turkey+*

 

Scaled Quail+*

 

Northern Bobwhite*

1

Yellow Rail**

 

Black Rail+*

1

Clapper Rail*

1

King Rail+

 

Virginia Rail+

1

Sora*

1

Purple Gallinule+*

1

Common Moorhen*

1

Am. Coot*

1

Sandhill Crane+

 

Whooping Crane+

 

Black-bellied Plover

1

Am.Golden Plover

1

Snowy Plover*