2022 Post-Trip
Our first ever Post-Trip will be to the upper Texas coast that is legendary for songbird migration
to places like High Island.
Upper Texas Coast & Pineywoods
It is also great for shorebirds! A day in the pineywoods should produce several specialties. The lodging for this trip is the Oyster Bayou Hunt Club that includes breakfast and sack lunch. The hunt club is only four miles from the entrance of Anahuac NWR. The leader is David Sarkozi.
The cost of this trip includes transportation, experienced leader,
entry fees and lodging for Monday thru Wednesday nights.
It does NOT include dinners or lodging the night before and after the trip.
There is a minimum of four to make and a maximum of eight
to make this a very birder friendly trip.
Cost Per Person $850
Below is our expected itinerary and we’ll make every effort to get all these birds, but will remain flexible and chase rarities that show up!
High Island
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge
Day One- Monday, April 25
We’ll leave the Botanical Gardens at 7 am, be there a little early for loading. Pack as light as you can to make the ride more comfortable. After lunch and checking into our lodging we will go to Anahuac NWR, on the top ten list of places to bird in the United States. Our targets will be Purple Gallinule, Least Bittern, Glossy Ibis, King Rail, Clapper Rail, and Seaside Sparrow.
With some luck we may be able to hear the threatened Black Rail “mikiKikki-do” call. We will of course check for migrant songbirds there. Then it’s back to the lodge for a good night’s sleep.
Day Two- Tuesday, April 26
We’ll start off easy with a quick trip thru Anahuac NWR and then check out High Island and the famous rookery there. We’ll stay and enjoy a picnic lunch with the birds, hopefully lots of migrant songbirds, of High Island.
Then we will make our way down Bolivar Peninsula. Our targets will be Nelson’s Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Clapper Rail, American Oystercatcher, Marbled Godwit, Piping, Snowy Plovers, and White-rumped Sandpiper.
We’ll finish the day at Bolivar Flats with our checklist full of shorebirds and migrants. We’ll have dinner on the Bolivar Peninsula and get back to the lodge so we can get plenty of rest for our early start tomorrow.
Smith Oaks Rookery High Island
Day Three- Wednesday, April 27
The early bird gets the worm or in this case the Red-cockaded Woodpecker! We will leave very early at 4 am so we can get to the Boykin Springs Recreational Area in time to find the woodpecker while they are most active right after sunrise. We will also find Bachman’s Sparrow and Brown-headed Nuthatch in the same area. Red-bellied, Downy, and Pileated Woodpeckers will also be expected here. We will also spend time finding breeding Black-and-White, Kentucky, Yellow-throated and Pine Warblers
On our way to Martin Dies State Park we’ll stop for Prairie Warbler in the pine plantations, then at the park we will look for Swallow-tailed and Mississippi Kites. Breeding warblers in the park are Prothonotary, Yellow-throated, Kentucky, and Swainson’s Warblers. Louisiana Waterthrush should also be present.
On our way back to the coast we’ll stop to find Fish Crow and checkout any shorebird sites before an early dinner and get back to the lodge after a long but bird filled day.
Martin Dies State Park
Day Four- Thursday, April 28
After breakfast and check out we’ll spend most of the morning seeing if we can find any missing target birds. We are plenty close enough to try Anahuac, High Island or Port Bolivar. Then we will head back to Corpus Christi to get back at around 3:30, in time for a short rest before the end of the tour dinner.
