Seventeen HAS members left Houston early on Saturday, May 24 and drove to the Big Thicket Visitors Center north of Beaumont to meet our trip leader Damien Carey at 7:00 AM. We spent the morning driving through the Big Thicket back roads including Gore Store Road in search of nesting specialties. The weather remained pleasant and we saw Prairie Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Parula, Acadian Flycatcher, Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting among others. However, Damien stressed the importance of knowing the bird's songs to be able to identify many of the areas hard to see nesters. We heard Hooded Warbler, Wood Thrush, Swainson's Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, Red-eye Vireo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Painted Bunting and others. After lunch at the new visitor's center some of the group made the drive north to Boykin Springs in search of Bachman's Sparrow. Thanks to Damien's experience and persistence we were able to get a Bachman's Sparrow to sit up in a bush until everyone's arms got tired holding up their binoculars. It was a life bird for many of the group and made the long trip home worthwhile. We had about 46 bird species for the day. We all enjoyed Damien's sense of humor and thank him for his tips on learning bird songs.

Photo courtesy of Jim Wilson