Three Rare Texas Birds

 

Male Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia).
Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Kerr County, Texas 

Texas is rare bird central for the United States.  The long border with Mexico and the southern projection of the state means many tropical species drift into Texas.  Diane and I, along with two friends, visited the San Antonio area to view the total solar eclipse this April.  While we did not see the eclipse (it was cloudy) we did find some rare birds. 

We encountered Golden-cheeked Warblers (Setophaga chrysoparia) at Lost Maples State Natural Area and Kerr Wildlife Management Area.  These striking birds have black and white bodies, black crowns, black throats, a black eye line, and golden feathers on each side of the face.  Females are more subtlety colored but still have the golden cheeks.  Golden-cheeked Warblers nest only in Texas and arrive from Central American and Mexico in early spring.  Males stake out territories in the Juniper-Oak forests, singing throughout the day.  After raising their young the Golden-cheeked Warblers depart Texas for the mountains of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Golden-cheeked Warblers are an endangered species and face threats on both their breeding grounds and their wintering areas. In Texas, their nests can be parasitized by Brown-Headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) and in the tropics the Pine-Oak forests where they winter are being converted to agriculture. We were lucky enough to find male Golden-cheeked Warblers singing from exposed perches and gathering nest material.  

Male Golden-cheeked Warbler.
Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Kerr County, Texas. 

Black-capped Vireos (Vireo atricapilla) have a greenish-gray back and wings, white belly and breast and in the males a black cap with white spectacles.  Females and juvenile birds look similar, but their heads are gray.  These vireos breed in a small area of Oklahoma, central Texas and northern Mexico.  Black-capped Vireos winter in the scrub forests of western Mexico. Conservation efforts including Brown-headed Cowbird control and prescribed burns have allowed Black-capped Vireo numbers to increase in Texas and they are now listed as threatened rather than endangered.   We found Black-capped Vireos singing and skulking in the brush at Kerr Wildlife Management Area.

Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapilla).
Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Kerr County, Texas. 

An unexpected bonus bird turned up at Lost Maples State Natural Area.  A male Tropical Parula (Setophaga pitiayumi) was singing its buzzy song in the tops of the trees along Can Creek.  This tiny warbler is found throughout the American tropics but in the United States they breed only in south Texas.  Tropical Parulas have a blue back, white wing bars, a yellow throat and belly, and in the males, an orange breast.  Ironically, climate change may cause an increase in numbers of Tropical Parulas in the United States but reduce their numbers in parts of the tropics.  

Male Tropical Parula (Setophaga pitiayumi) singing.
Lost Maples State Natural Area, Bandera County, Texas

While the Texas Hill Country is not the Lower Rio Grande Valley, we had an excellent birding experience.  We saw some exciting birds in that slice of Texas.

Male Tropical Parula.
Lost Maples State Natural Area, Bandera County, Texas.