Shorebird Field Trip Corpus Christi 2024

Eric, Lance and I led the Shorebird Class to Corpus over the last weekend. I had a great time with highlights for me being:

“That’s him!!!” (IDing the long-staying Glaucous Gull in mid-air at 65 mph on the JFK causeway),

Identifying grass-pipers at the sod farms with the class at about ½ mile distant (definitely Uppies, 90% sure we had American Golden Plover);

Learning (re-learning) Dowitchers with Eric;

“Interesting that one of those gulls has a pink breast”, (Karlis finding a Franklin’s Gull amongst about 1000 Laughing gulls;

7 gull species on an alleged Shorebirds Field Trip (lance and I went early and got Bonaparte’s and LBBG);

Lance providing our usual run-in with Aplomado Falcon;

Learning that Chuck-wills-widows have a 26 inch wingspan, but weigh about 4 oz;

Catherine finding 2 Swallow-tailed Kites over Port A;

Comparing Brown and Long-billed Thrashers at Blucher park;

Over a dozen Gull-billed Terns; and

“Hey Lance, turn around” (turning Lance around to see his lifer Clay-colored Thrush at Hazel Bazemore).

We ended up with somewhere around 140 species for the trip (as a group). I’m thinking a few people got lifers like Cattle Tyrant, Glaucous Gull and Clay-colored Thrush and maybe a few others?

Thanks to all for your unwavering good humor and interesting questions!!