Translate to: English | Español | Français
News

A Recap of the 2010-11 Winter Season

September 14, 2011
A Recap of the 2010-11 Winter Season

White-throated Thrush, Kenedy Co. Photo by Tom Langschied

The 6th winter season (Nov. 2010 - Mar. 2011) of the South Texas Wintering Birds Program (STWB) is over and once again for the third year in a row that has produced over 260 bird species! This is also the first winter season in which 200 or more species were reported each month.  That is quite remarkable!   Additionally, 14 new species were submitted during this past winter season bringing the overall winter bird richness since the STWB program started to 334 species.

Among the new species added to the STWB winter list is the White-throated Thrush (formerly known as White-throated Robin), a resident of Mexico and Central America.  This thrush, a relative of the American Robin, was found on a property in Kenedy County and this particular sighting may represent the most northern record for this tropical species.   Interestingly, this past winter there were only two reports of scaled quail.  It is surprising so few records of this species have been submitted. 

The top 5 counties as far as numbers of species were Kleberg (199), Kenedy (138), Nueces (138), Willacy (132), and Jim Wells (104).  The top 5 species reported included Turkey Vulture, Crested Caracara, Mourning Dove, Northern Mockingbird, and Northern Cardinal. Overall including other seasons, 418 bird species have been reported to the STWB program.

As you can see the winter season in particular can be a great time to find birds in South Texas.  What birds do you have on your place?