Sapsuckers Break North American Big Day Record!

Our Big Day quest began at midnight on Friday with a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and Barred Owl spotted in the glow of park lights near San Antonio's famous Riverwalk—followed by a calling Common Pauraque, a tropical relative of the Whip-poor-will. In the first frantic moments of daylight in Uvalde we noted both a Blue Jay and Green Jay, as well as the slow melodious song of an Audubon's Oriole. From there we went to the Hill Country near Neal's Lodges where Golden-cheeked Warblers and Hutton's Vireos sang from the hillside, a Scott's Oriole flew overhead, and a Spotted Towhee scratched on the ground. Heading back through San Antonio after the morning rush-hour, we scored a Monk Parakeet at a nest along the interstate.

In the afternoon, a promising kettle of raptors turned up a Swallow-tailed Kite soaring far above Swainson's Hawks and Mississippi Kites, and a huge migrating flock of some 400 American White Pelicans. The woodpeckers in Victoria were wonderful—Downy, Red-bellied, and a nesting Pileated. The rice fields produced Glossy Ibis, American Golden-Plover, and Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Sunset near Corpus Christi brought only a handful of migrant warblers, but enough to pull us near the record. As the sun set, Northern Bobwhite called while Clapper Rail grunted from the marshes. In darkness, the calls of Virginia and Black rails signaled our final birds to end the day at the new high-water mark of 264.

A number of species that we found have only moved into the area of the route within the last 10-20 years, especially Mexican birds that are marching northward in Texas. Green Jay, Great Kiskadee, Audubon's Oriole, Hutton's Vireo, Elf Owl (?), and several others were almost unknown from the Uvalde/Hill Country region just a decade ago. By the same token, Texans lament the increasingly poor migration along the coast, the increasingly infrequent cold fronts, the loss of Seaside Sparrow habitat, and the population crashes for species like White-tailed Kite and Northern Bobwhite that have declined markedly in recent years. Finding all these species in a single day reminded us about how dynamic bird populations are and how important your regular submission of complete checklists is to being able to understand the complex changes that are occurring.

It was a memorable 24 hours, not only for the spectacular diversity of birds we experienced in such as short amount of time, but for the inspiring support of all who contributed to advance bird conservation.

Below is our complete species list, with the first location marked for each species. A selection of our rarer finds are in boldface and italics. Many species (such as Black-bellied Whistling-Duck) were seen at more than one location, and we are working now on getting our day's sightings into eBird (of course!). Below this list is a list of possible species that we did not see.

SPECIES LIST 

1. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck: Breckenridge Park--Tuleta Dr. (San Antonio)
2. Fulvous Whistling-Duck: Copano Bay--south end LBJ causeway 
3. Snow Goose: Riverside Park, Victoria
4. Wood Duck: Cooks Slough 
5. Gadwall: Sabinal WTP 
6. American Wigeon: Sabinal WTP 
7. Mallard: Breckenridge Park--Tuleta Dr. (San Antonio) 
8. Mottled Duck: Riverside Park, Victoria 
9. Blue-winged Teal: Sabinal WTP 
10. Cinnamon Teal: Sabinal WTP (male)
11. Northern Shoveler: Sabinal WTP 
12. Green-winged Teal: Dupont Wetlands
13. Redhead: Sikes Road Catfish Ponds 
14. Greater Scaup: Oso Bay Bridge (distant)
15. Lesser Scaup: Sikes Road Catfish Ponds 
16. Bufflehead: Sikes Road Catfish Ponds (*late; two females)
17. Red-breasted Merganser: Sikes Road Catfish Ponds (*late; male and female)
18. Ruddy Duck: Sikes Road Catfish Ponds 
19. Northern Bobwhite: Port Aransas--Murphy's Pasture (heard; third to last bird of day)
20. Wild Turkey: Cooks Slough 
21. Common Loon: Copano Bay Causeway SP (alternate plumage)
22. Least Grebe: Dupont Wetlands
23. Pied-billed Grebe: Sabinal WTP 
24. Eared Grebe: Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge 
25. Neotropic Cormorant: Dupont Wetlands
26. Double-crested Cormorant: Nueces Bay Causeway (scarce this late!)
27. Anhinga: Cooks Slough (Not seen by all: MJI only; female)
28. American White Pelican: DeWitt County 
29. Brown Pelican: Copano Bay Causeway SP 
30. Great Blue Heron: Cooks Slough 
31. Great Egret: Dupont Wetlands
32. Snowy Egret: Dupont Wetlands
33. Little Blue Heron: Rt. 316 fields 
34. Tricolored Heron: Dupont Wetlands
35. Reddish Egret: Nueces Bay Causeway Island 
36. Cattle Egret: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane field 
37. Green Heron: Cooks Slough 
38. Black-crowned Night-Heron: Cooks Slough 
39. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron: Breckenridge Park--Tuleta Dr. 
40. White Ibis: Dupont Wetlands
41. Glossy Ibis: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.) 
42. White-faced Ibis: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.)
43. Roseate Spoonbill: Dupont Wetlands
44. Black Vulture: Concan--Cielito Ridge 
45. Turkey Vulture: Concan--Cielito Ridge 
46. Osprey: Rt. 35--Guadalupe River 
47. Swallow-tailed Kite: DeWitt County (pick of the day by Andy)
48. White-tailed Kite: Aransas grasslands (near probable nest site)
49. Mississippi Kite: DeWitt County (up to 50 seen on drive)
50. Northern Harrier: road near Bird Seed Factory
51. Cooper's Hawk: Towhee Church 
52. Harris's Hawk: Tyler Rd.--mp 3.1 (on nest; ATLAS: ON)
53. Red-shouldered Hawk: Cooks Slough (ad)
54. Broad-winged Hawk: DeWitt County 
55. Swainson's Hawk: Uvalde quarry (ad)
56. White-tailed Hawk: Sikes Road Catfish Ponds (ad)
57. Red-tailed Hawk: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane (south) 
58. Crested Caracara: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane (south) 
59. American Kestrel: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane field (on fence)
60. Merlin: Oso Bay Bridge (Not seen by all: JHB, BLS, AF, TCL only)
61. Peregrine Falcon: Mustang Island mangroves (on tower)
62. Black Rail: Cape Valero 
63. Clapper Rail: Port Aransas--Murphy's Pasture (singing)
64. Virginia Rail: Port Aransas Birding Center (second to last bird of day)
65. Sora: Cooks Slough (flushed from pond edge)
66. Common Moorhen: Dupont 
67. American Coot: Sabinal WTP 
68. Black-bellied Plover: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.) 
69. American Golden-Plover: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.) 
70. Wilson's Plover: Coast Guard Base 
71. Semipalmated Plover: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.) 
72. Piping Plover: Coast Guard Base 
73. Killdeer: Dupont Wetlands
74. American Oystercatcher: Indian Point causeway (on nest)
75. Black-necked Stilt: Dupont Wetlands
76. American Avocet: Dupont Wetlands
77. Spotted Sandpiper: Cooks Slough 
78. Solitary Sandpiper: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.) (flying over car)
79. Greater Yellowlegs: Copano Bay Causeway SP 
80. Willet: Copano Bay--south end LBJ causeway (Eastern & Western ssp.)
81. Lesser Yellowlegs: Dupont Wetlands
82. Upland Sandpiper: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane Ranch (private) 
83. Whimbrel: Coast Guard causeway 
84. Long-billed Curlew: Indian Point causeway 
85. Marbled Godwit: Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge 
86. Ruddy Turnstone: Nueces Bay Causeway Island 
87. Sanderling: Nueces Bay Causeway Island 
88. Semipalmated Sandpiper: Dupont Wetlands
89. Western Sandpiper: Dupont Wetlands
90. Least Sandpiper: Dupont Wetlands
91. White-rumped Sandpiper: Dupont Wetlands
92. Baird's Sandpiper: Dupont Wetlands
93. Pectoral Sandpiper: Dupont Wetlands
94. Dunlin: Dupont Wetlands
95. Stilt Sandpiper: Dupont Wetlands
96. Buff-breasted Sandpiper: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.) 
97. Long-billed Dowitcher: Dupont Wetlands
98. Wilson's Phalarope: Dupont Wetlands
99. Laughing Gull: near Bloomington Landfill 
100. Franklin's Gull: near Bloomington Landfill 
101. Ring-billed Gull: Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge 
102. Herring Gull: Oso Bay Bridge (SY)
103. Least Tern: Indian Point causeway 
104. Gull-billed Tern: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.) 
105. Caspian Tern: Nueces Bay Causeway Island 
106. Black Tern: Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge 
107. Common Tern: Mustang Island--crossover 1A beach (ad)
108. Forster's Tern: Copano Bay Causeway SP 
109. Royal Tern: Copano Bay--south end LBJ causeway 
110. Sandwich Tern: Coast Guard causeway 
111. Black Skimmer: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.) 
112. Rock Pigeon: Uvalde (town) 
113. Eurasian Collared-Dove: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo 
114. White-winged Dove: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo 
115. Mourning Dove: Cooks Slough 
116. Inca Dove: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane Ranch (private)
117. Common Ground-Dove: Rt. 2690 (Not seen by all: CLW only)
118. Monk Parakeet: San Antonio (Not seen by all: CLW, BLS, AF, JHB, TCL only. Marshall was driving and could not use his binoculars to check the nest!)
119. Yellow-billed Cuckoo: Cooks Slough (Not seen by all: BLS, AF only)
120. Greater Roadrunner: Cooks Slough
121. Barn Owl: TX-2690--large open field (sitting on fence)
122. Eastern Screech-Owl (McCall's): TX-127--wash west of TX-2690 (photos)
123. Great Horned Owl: TX 400--mp 2.5 (young on nest found by KVR)
124. Elf Owl: TX-400--mp 1.1 (whistled up in same spot where first found (as first Uvalde Co. record?) three days earlier)
125. Barred Owl: Breckenridge Park--Tuleta Dr. (San Antonio) (heard calling pre-dawn; flew in in response to hoots)
126. Lesser Nighthawk: TX-2690--southern portion 
127. Common Nighthawk: Port Aransas--Murphy's Pasture 
128. Common Pauraque: Mitchell Lake--entrance (whistled up at night)
129. Common Poorwill: TX-2690--bend to right 
130. Chuck-will's-widow: TX-2690--bend to right 
131. Chimney Swift: Cooks Slough 
132. Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Blucher Park 
133. Black-chinned Hummingbird: Neal's Lodge--Cattle Guard feeders 
134. Buff-bellied Hummingbird: Blucher Park 
135. Belted Kingfisher: Cooks Slough (MJI, JHB, and TCL only)
136. Green Kingfisher: Cooks Slough (MJI, CLW only; 'dzzrrt' call heard)
137. Golden-fronted Woodpecker: Cooks Slough 
138. Red-bellied Woodpecker: Riverside Park, Victoria 
139. Ladder-backed Woodpecker: Cooks Slough 
140. Downy Woodpecker: Riverside Park, Victoria 
141. Pileated Woodpecker: Riverside Park, Victoria (in nest hole)
142. Eastern Wood-Pewee: Paradise Pond (Not seen by all: BLS only)
143. Least Flycatcher: Cooks Slough 
144. Black Phoebe: Concan--Sabinal River bridge 
145. Eastern Phoebe: Towhee Church (heard singing)
146. Vermilion Flycatcher: TX-2690--southern portion 
147. Ash-throated Flycatcher: Cooks Slough 
148. Great Crested Flycatcher: Riverside Park, Victoria 
149. Brown-crested Flycatcher: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo 
150. Great Kiskadee: Cooks Slough 
151. Couch's Kingbird: Cooks Slough 
152. Western Kingbird: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane Ranch (private) 
153. Eastern Kingbird: Packery Channel (flyover)
154. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Cooks Slough (flyover)
155. Loggerhead Shrike: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane Ranch (private) 
156. White-eyed Vireo: Cooks Slough 
157. Bell's Vireo: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo 
158. Black-capped Vireo: Concan--ridge to east (Not seen by all: CLW, JHB, BLS, AF only; scold call heard)
159. Yellow-throated Vireo: Concan--Pecan Grove 
160. Hutton's Vireo: Concan--HUVI bend (singing)
161. Red-eyed Vireo: Concan--Cielito Ridge (singing)
162. Green Jay: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo 
163. Blue Jay: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo 
164. American Crow: north of Victoria (flew across road)
165. Chihuahuan Raven: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane (south) 
166. Common Raven: Concan area 
167. Horned Lark: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane field 
168. Northern Rough-winged Swallow: Concan--Sabinal River bridge 
169. Purple Martin: Cooks Slough 
170. Bank Swallow: duck pond off Rt. 35 
171. Barn Swallow: Cooks Slough 
172. Cliff Swallow: Sabinal--bridge to north 
173. Cave Swallow: TX-400 
174. Carolina Chickadee: Riverside Park, Victoria (heard singing)
175. Black-crested Titmouse: Cooks Slough 
176. Verdin: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane (south) 
177. Cactus Wren: Cooks Slough 
178. Rock Wren: Uvalde Quarry 
179. Canyon Wren: Concan--Cielito Ridge (heard singing)
180. Carolina Wren: Cooks Slough 
181. Bewick's Wren: Cooks Slough 
182. House Wren: Cooks Slough 
183. Sedge Wren: Copano Bay Causeway SP
184. Marsh Wren: Dupont Wetlands
185. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: Cooks Slough 
186. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher: TX-400--mp 1.7 
187. Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Cooks Slough 
188. Eastern Bluebird: Concan--Pecan Grove 
189. Swainson's Thrush: Port Aransas--Paradise Pond 
190. Hermit Thrush: Concan--ridge to east (giving mew call)
191. Wood Thrush: Port Aransas--Paradise Pond 
192. American Robin: San Antonio Botanical Gardens (on nest)
193. Gray Catbird: Blucher Park 
194. Northern Mockingbird: Sabinal WTP (singing)
195. Brown Thrasher: Blucher Park (*late; continuing bird seen well)
196. Long-billed Thrasher: TX-127--wash west of TX-2690 (singing at night)
197. Curve-billed Thrasher: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo (calling at dawn)
198. European Starling: Cooks Slough 
199. Sprague's Pipit: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane (south) 
200. Cedar Waxwing: Concan--Cielito Ridge (flock seen)
201. Tennessee Warbler: Port Aransas--Paradise Pond 
202. Orange-crowned Warbler: Cooks Slough 
203. Nashville Warbler: Cooks Slough 
204. Northern Parula: Riverside Park, Victoria (singing)
205. Yellow Warbler: Packery Channel (male)
206. Chestnut-sided Warbler: Port Aransas--Paradise Pond 
207. Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle): Cooks Slough 
207. Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's): Cooks Slough [likely split soon]
208. Golden-cheeked Warbler: Concan--Cielito Ridge 
209. Black-throated Green Warbler: Port Aransas--Paradise Pond 
210. Yellow-throated Warbler: Towhee Church
211. Blackpoll Warbler: Port Aransas--Paradise Pond (female)
212. Black-and-white Warbler: Towhee Church 
213. American Redstart: Port Aransas--Paradise Pond (yellow start)
214. Ovenbird: Blucher Park (Not seen by all: CLW, JHB, and AF only)
215. Northern Waterthrush: Blucher Park 
216. Common Yellowthroat: Port Aransas--Paradise Pond 
217. Hooded Warbler: Blucher Park (female)
218. Wilson's Warbler: Cooks Slough 
219. Yellow-breasted Chat: Cooks Slough 
220. Olive Sparrow: Cooks Slough 
221. Spotted Towhee: Towhee Church (female feeding along edge of fence)
222. Rufous-crowned Sparrow: Concan--ridge to east 
223. Canyon Towhee: Concan--ridge to east (MJI, BLS, AF, TCL only)
224. Cassin's Sparrow: Cooks Slough
225. Chipping Sparrow: Cooks Slough 
226. Clay-colored Sparrow: Cooks Slough 
227. Field Sparrow: Concan--Pecan Grove
228. Vesper Sparrow: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane (south) 
229. Lark Sparrow: Cooks Slough 
230. Black-throated Sparrow: TX-400--mp 1.7
231. Savannah Sparrow: Sabinal WTP
232. Grasshopper Sparrow: TX-400--mp 1.1
233. Le Conte's Sparrow: Copano Bay Causeway SP
234. Seaside Sparrow: Mustang Island mangroves (heard singing)
235. Lincoln's Sparrow: Cooks Slough 
236. Swamp Sparrow: Hans Suter (Not seen by all: TCL, BLS, CLW, AF only)
237. White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern): Cooks Slough 
238. Summer Tanager: Concan--ridge to east 
239. Northern Cardinal: San Antonio Botanical Gardens (calling at night)
240. Pyrrhuloxia: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane (south) 
241. Blue Grosbeak: Cooks Slough 
242. Lazuli Bunting: Neal's Lodge--Cattle Guard feeders (CLW only; female)
243. Indigo Bunting: Blucher Park 
244. Painted Bunting: Cooks Slough 
245. Dickcissel: Cooks Slough
246. Red-winged Blackbird: Cooks Slough 
247. Eastern Meadowlark: TX-2690--mp 5.8
248. Yellow-headed Blackbird: Uvalde--Dunbar Lane Ranch (private)
249. Brewer's Blackbird: Sabinal Feedlot (female)
250. Common Grackle: Tyler Rd.--mp 1.5 
251. Boat-tailed Grackle: TX-1289 ricefield (Calhoun Co.) 
252. Great-tailed Grackle: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo 
253. Bronzed Cowbird: Sabinal Feedlot 
254. Brown-headed Cowbird: Cooks Slough 
255. Orchard Oriole: Tyler Rd.--mp 0.5 
256. Hooded Oriole: TX-400--mp 1.7 (female)
257. Bullock's Oriole: Cooks Slough 
258. Audubon's Oriole: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo
259. Baltimore Oriole: Blucher Park 
260. Scott's Oriole: Concan--Cielito Ridge (female and male)
261. House Finch: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo 
262. Pine Siskin: Neal's Lodge--Cattle Guard feeders (calling flyover)
263. Lesser Goldfinch: Neal's Lodge--Cattle Guard feeders 
264. House Sparrow: Uvalde--4th and Cenizo 

MISSES--EASILY FOUND AND EXPECTED SPECIES (for this route)

Least Bittern: missed at expected location
Snowy Plover: missed at expected location
Acadian Flycatcher: no territories on route?
Tropical Kingbird: missed at expected nesting location
Warbling Vireo: poor day for migrants
Western Scrub-Jay: missed at expected location
Magnolia Warbler: poor day for migrants
Prothonotary Warbler: poor day for migrants
Scarlet Tanager: poor day for migrants; one seen while scouting.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: poor day for migrants; one seen while scouting.

MISSES--HARDER TO FIND SPECIES

Northern Pintail: several seen before and one seen following day
Canvasback: none reported during scouting week
Ring-necked Duck: three present on Friday were gone by Saturday
Scaled Quail: not found during scouting
Northern Gannet: none reported during scouting week
Magnificent Frigatebird: one seen following day
American Bittern: seen only twice while scouting
Bald Eagle: seen rarely but regularly in scouting
Sharp-shinned Hawk: seen rarely but regularly in scouting
Zone-tailed Hawk: seen rarely but regularly in scouting
Ferruginous Hawk: none reported during scouting week
Yellow Rail: seen miraculously on the day after scouting
King Rail: encountered regularly on scouting
Purple Gallinule: one present through Wednesday was gone by Thursday
Whooping Crane: most departed early this year and were not around.
Mountain Plover: very rare
Hudsonian Godwit: In the ricefields the day before and day after scouting
Red Knot: seen only once (!) during scouting
Short-billed Dowitcher: surprisingly scarce; we had no stakeouts
Wilson's Snipe: none reported during scouting week
Bonaparte's Gull: none reported during scouting week
Lesser Black-backed Gull: none reported during scouting week
White-tipped Dove: regular at sites just beyond the limits of the route
Black-billed Cuckoo: none reported during scouting week
Western Screech-Owl: regular at sites just beyond the limits of the route
Burrowing Owl: none reported during scouting week
Eastern Whip-poor-will: none reported during scouting week
Rufous Hummingbird: none reported during scouting week
Ringed Kingfisher: regular at a site just beyond the limits of the route
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: none reported during scouting week
Say's Phoebe: one present up through Tuesday was gone on Wednesday
Blue-headed Vireo: a poor day for migrants for us
Philadelphia Vireo: none reported during scouting week
Tree Swallow: Seen only twice early in scouting week.
Bushtit: should be present in Hill Co., but we failed to find them
Red-breasted Nuthatch: one sighting during scouting week of birds on passage
Townsend's Solitaire: none reported during scouting week
Veery: a poor day for migrants for us
Gray-cheeked Thrush: none reported during scouting week
American Pipit: two seen the day before were not present on the day
Blue-winged Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Golden-winged Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Blackburnian Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Prairie Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Bay-breasted Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Cerulean Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Worm-eating Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Swainson's Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Louisiana Waterthrush: a poor day for migrants for us
Kentucky Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Mourning Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Canada Warbler: a poor day for migrants for us
Rufous-capped Warbler: none reported during scouting week
Eastern Towhee: none reported during scouting week
Lark Bunting: none reported during scouting week
Nelson's Sparrow: two stakeouts evaporated before the day
White-throated Sparrow: none reported during scouting week
Bobolink: one flyover was the only report during scouting week
Western Meadowlark: stakeouts seen the day before were not seen on the day

A few additional interesting statistics

The Sapsuckers' final list of 264 species includes the following:

Total bird families -- 52
Waterfowl -- 18
Raptors -- 18 (includes both vultures)
Shorebirds -- 31
Gulls and Terns -- 13
Owls and Nightjars -- 10
Warblers -- 19
Sparrows -- 18
Blackbirds and Orioles -- 15

This pair of 'McCall's' Eastern Screech-Owls near Concan was about our 20th species at 3:30 a.m. Although Big Days rarely allow much time for leisurely enjoyment of the birds we find, we couldn't resist studying and photographing these owls, in part because Team Sapsucker believes this distinctive south Texas form, with distinctive vocalizations, may be split from nominate Eastern Screech-Owl once they are studied in detail.