When we moved into our new house in 2023, we almost immediately started getting sparrow, finch, and hummingbird strikes on our windows. We initially just put some pieces of surveyors tape up hungfrom suction cups to alert them that the windows were there. Last spring we put up these marker dots from feather friendly and haven't had a bird strike since. https://featherfriendly.com/products/feather-friendly-pro-featuring-evolution

They really do disappear when you are looking out and don't detract from the view at all. The horizontal lines between the dots on the bottom of the right hand window and the middle and left windows are the tape used to lay the dots down. I just hadn't peeled it off yet when I took the picture. The top of the right window is what they look like with the tape removed.

Alpine, TX

Also Bastrop about 2 mins ago…

Spring Migration is well underway and there have been lots of neotropical songbirds passing through Matagorda. The cold front we had last weekend pushed a lot of the migrants down into the coastal forests due to the North wind and rain they encountered.

One of the fascinating parts of having the game cams is seeing what else shows up at the drips. The constant nightly parade of possums, raccoons, armadillo, skunks (and hogs, unfortunately) is broken from time to time by a more stealthy passerby such as this bobcat:



The buntings have been a frequent visitor including the Indigo bunting:



Many migrants will arrive in flocks of their own species and also in mixed flocks. When they are exhausted they all seem to play nice in the water rather than running each other off. Below is the Painted bunting along with the Orchard oriole and Baltimore oriole.



More warblers made it safely across the Gulf including these:

This is the Tennessee warbler, which can easily be confused with Orange crowned warblers and even Red eyed vireos given its rather drab coloring versus some of its cousins. The greenish back and grey eye line is key to the ID.



The Kentucky, Prothonotary, Chestnut Sided and Black throated green warblers are mainstays of mid April to mid May migration:









What is less typical is the Cerulean warbler. These birds have been in decline for many years but they sport remarkable and eye catching Spring colors.

Cerulean on the right:



Cerulean on the upper left:



In addition to the warblers, the tanagers have been flowing through consistently.

Summer tanager:



Summer's cousin the Scarlet tanager:



This is the male and female/immature Rose breasted grosbeak. The male gets all the color with this species (as is most in the bird kingdom).



One of the cool things about where this property is located is that it just skirts the far eastern portion of many birds territories or migration paths. Western species such as the Long billed thrasher, Vermillion flycatcher, Ash throated flycatcher and Western tanager have been seen here.

Over the last week there was a truly unexpected wanderer that normally is only seen in Mexico and the lower RGV. This is the Clay colored thrush. He has been a steady presence day after day at this drip.

My sister has had several Rose Breasted Grosbeaks at her feeders in Crosby over the last week or so. We are currently covered up with hummingbirds in Bastrop. Mostly ruby throated, but a few black chinned as well. Best we can count we have about 8-10 hanging around right now.

Spring migration is winding down, so here are a few more visitors to the drip in Matagorda county.



This is the Yellow billed ****oo. ****oos are well known skulkers - like awkward teenagers, they act like they aren't comfortable in their own bodies. They'll hide in tangles, sit completely still for long stretches then burst out of the trees with a quick, direct flight to another hiding place. Because of this I was surprised to see this one at the drip.



Even more unusual to see is the Yellow billed's cousin the Black billed ****oo. While similar to the Yellow billed, the Black billed has a fully black bill (whereas the Yellow billed is black on top and yellow on the bottom), a different pattern under the tail and the distinctive red eye ring.



Many of our songbird species migrate in rather uniform windows in the Spring. The Bay breasted warbler above is typically one of the latest migrants.



Similarly, the Canada warbler above migrate later in the season.



In the upper left is the Golden winged warbler. This species has been in decline for many years, so always nice to see a few pass through. On the drip is the Scarlet tanager.



Nice look at a Kentucky warbler, above.



There are 2 species of Waterthrush in North America, Northern and Louisiana. They can be difficult to distinguish, but I believe this is the Northern waterthrush. Unlike most warblers, they spend much of their time feeding on the ground.



On the right is the Ovenbird, another ground feeding warbler. Warblers (and other species) have adapted over thousands of years to feed at different levels of the forest - some at the tops of trees, others in the mid story, others in bushes and shrubs, and still others on the ground. It is believed this specialization by species spreads out the competition for food and increases the likelihood for individual and species survival.



Above is the Veery, one of the thrush species. There are a handful of thrushes that migrate through Texas each Spring/Fall including the Veery, Wood thrush, Swainson's thrush and Gray cheeked thrush. The Hermit thrush is a winter resident here and heads North around the time the others are passing through.



Many of the migrants fly in species flocks and mixed flocks. It is always interesting to see these flocks as they arrive to the forest having made it the non-stop 18 hour flight across the Gulf. Above is a group of Yellow warblers.

Spring migration generally can start as early as late February and run into June, However, the peak for Houston and surrounding areas is the last 2 weeks of April through the first 2 weeks of May. I'll add images of any later comers if there should be any.