High Island Texas.

Anyone who has dreamed of going to Texas will certainly have decided springtime is best and they will also have decided that High Island is a must-visit destination with the mouthwatering lure of Nearctic warblers lighting up the trees.

Magnolia Warbler

So when Elis and I discovered that we would be passing the end of the road on our Wader Quest journey from Galveston to Cameron Parish, Louisiana, we felt we just had to stop by and see what all the fuss was about! So on the 27th of April we stopped at Boy Scout Woods in High Island on a day that, we were told, was going to be a 'good' one with plenty of birds about.

We parked the car and as we walked to the centre we were stopped by a chap who asked "Is your name Simpson?" Naturally I confirmed this and he introduced himself as Gerald Mueller, one of our facebook friends. It was good to shake his hand after so much toing and froing and admiring of each other's photographs on the facebook pages.

Elis and Gerald Mueller

We spent a little time wandering around the sanctuary with Gerald and enjoyed the birds, the best spot by far though was a bottle-brush bush just outside the sanctuary gate in a private garden! In this I saw my first ever Prothonotary Warbler, some Tennessee Warblers and a lovely Bay-breasted Warbler.

Prothonotary Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

In addition we had a female Summer Tanager, Orchard Orioles and a White-crowned Sparrow in a tree next to the bottle-brush.

Female Summer Tanager

Male Orchard Oriole

Female Orchard Oriole

1st summer male Orchard oriole

White-crowned Sparrow

Other birds encountered were Kentucky Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Scarlet Tanager.

Kentucky Warbler

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Male Scarlet Tanager

Our stay at High Island was all too short, but we certainly got a feel for the place and could just imagine what it would be like on one of the big fall-out days, even on this day, which was considered merely 'good' there were birds in every tree and movement everywhere, but apparently this was not unusual according to the regulars, "Y'all should be here on a fall-out day!" one enthusiastic local birder told us happily.

Elis joins the viewing gallery.

As we drove away we came across this pair of Eastern Kingbirds but couldn't decide if they were being aggressive or courting, such is the course of true love I suppose!  

Eastern Kingbird