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Index of Interesting/Unusual/Rare birds

Last Updated: December10, 2020 All birds were photographed in Texas unless stated otherwise:

Two Emperor Geese, from near Seattle, Washington - added May 11, 2014.
A male American Wigeon with a striking head pattern - added Feb 23, 2004.
An American Black Duck from Fort Worth, Texas - added Jan, 2000.
A female Common Pochard from Fort Worth in November 2003 - sadly too far away for definitive pics - added Nov 23, 2003.
Poor flight pics of a female-type Harlequin Duck near Fort Worth, Texas - added Dec, 2001.
Female Common Mergansers at sunset, from west Texas - added April 12, 2013.
A Masked Duck from the Corpus Christi area - plus Lesser Black-backed Gull and Cassin's Vireofor an unlikely one-day Photo Triple ! - added Dec 23, 2004.
A pair of Masked Ducks from south of Kingsville - added May 13, 2007 .
A male Alternate plumage Ruddy Duck taking a bath, from the central coast - added April 27, 2010 .


A bit of fun with some Least Grebes... - added July 31, 2006.
A Clark's Grebe at sunset, from west Texas - added April 12, 2013.
A rare opportunity to photograph six species of grebe including Red-necked Grebe at Balmorehea Lake, western Texas - updated December 11, 2013.

an immature Brown Booby from Port Aransas, Texas - added February 27, 2005.

A Great Blue Heron swimming with cormorants near Fort Worth - re-added Dec 11, 2005.
A group of Snowy Egrets fishing on-the-fly in San Antonio - re-added Dec 11, 2005.
An Ashy Cattle Egret from Houston - added June 11, 2007 .
A flying Least Bittern from coastal Texas - Added December 07, 2011 .
The first ABA Area record of Bare-throated Tiger-Heron - added January 02, 2010 .

A striking Basic I Mississippi Kite from the central part of the Rio Grande drainage in Texas - added May 14, 2014.
A bit of fun with two Northern Harriers near Fort Worth... - re-added Dec 11, 2005.
Two interesting Northern Harriers from north-central Texas - added July 19, 2009.
A wonderful hour of hawkwatching that included eight dark-morph Broad-winged Hawks - six photographed, plus a nice flock of Wood Storks - added October 20, 2013.
A wonderful ninety minutes of watching more than 35.000 Broad-winged Hawks lift off and kettle over a McAllen, TX neighborhood - added October 10, 2016.
A January juvenile Broad-winged Hawk from coastal south Texas - added January 04, 2014.
Two Gray Hawks from SE Arizona; one a 2CY completing its PB1 molt - added September 05, 2013.
An immature Roadside Hawk from southern Texas - added Feb 06, 2005.
Two light-morph Short-tailed Hawks from southern Texas in 2004 and 2013 - updated August 04, 2013.
This Bald Eagle from Alaska is a two-fisted killer! - added September 12, 2008.

A pesky yet impressive Peregrine: you go girl! - added Feb 07, 2005 .
A flying Peregrine carrying unexpected prey - WARNING: it's a little bit gruesome... - added April 12, 2013.
A flying Peregrine stirring-up gulls feeding over a pack of cormorants - updated December 15, 2013.
A confiding Prairie Falcon near an Icterid-packed feedlot in south Texas - added May 17, 2014.
The first Gyrfalcon for Texas- Updated March 23, 2002.

Five Whooping Cranes near Fort Worth; now with sound! - updated Nov 02, 2003.
TWO(!) Common Cranes near Muleshoe, Texas; - added November 24, 2014.

All three species of Ptarmigan, from Colorado and Alaska - added April 12, 2013.

The amazing first ABA Area record of Rufous-necked Wood-Rail from New Mexico! - added July 14, 2013.
Virginia Rail: headline:- "Migrant Derailed by Front; Circumstances Grave..." - added October 08, 2013.
A Spotted Rail from southern Texas  - added December 23, 2020.

A reflective American Avocet from the north-central Texas - added May 20, 2014.
A white Killdeer from north-central Texas - added July 19, 2009.
The 1st and 2nd U.S. Collared Plovers, from south Texas - added August 02, 2014.
Some Collared Plovers from CHILE showing broken fore-collars and broad side-collars - added August 03, 2014.
Portraits of some Mountain Plovers from near Pearsall, south Texas - added March 06 2005 .
Some tail-shaking Mountain Plovers from near Pearsall, south Texas - added December 25, 2013.
A Mountain Plover from near Pearsall, Texas; it is a male in breeding plumage in January - ? - updated February 04, 2011 .
A Semipalmated Sandpiper wintering in Texas (it has a deformity) - updated Dec 20, 2005.
part of a Megaflock of Buff-breasted Sandpipers on the Texas Coastal Plain - added July 19, 2009.
A juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpiper from the Texas Panhandle - added Nov 17, 2004.
A first-summer Surfbird from the central Texas coast - added May 03, 2009 .
Wandering Tattler - Texas's only record - updated February 04, 2011 .
Two dueling Solitary Sandpipers from the central Texas coast - added September 10, 2013.
Three Ruffs from Texas - updated November 13, 2015.
Three Northern Jacanas from south Texas - updated November 13, 2015.

The first South Polar Skua for the Gulf of Mexico - added Nov 13, 2004.
A Little Gull in full juvenile plumage, from Texas in November - - re-added Dec 11, 2005.
First-cycle Black-legged Kittiwakes from the central Texas coast in early Spring and from south Texas in February - updated February 05, 2013.
Five species of Tern in thirteen days at Lake Benbrook, near Fort Worth - including Sooty Tern - added Sept 23, 2002.
Two inland waifs from Hurricane Dolly in July 2008: a close Sooty Tern, and a distant Storm-Petrel - added July 25, 2008 .
A Brown Noddy from inshore south Texas waters - added June 26, 2005.

Two male eastern Ruddy Ground-Doves from southern Texas - updated November 13, 2015.

A gray-morph Chuck-will's-widow from the Texas coast - added July 19, 2009.
Three Eastern Whip-poor-wills: from Corpus Christi, Texas - updated November 13, 2015.

Two Snowy Owls from Texas - added February 21, 2012.
A ghostly pale Great Horned Owl from west Texas - added January 13, 2013.
A Long-eared Owl on a day roost in San Antonio, Texas - added December 15, 2013.
Record pics of a Mountain Pygmy-Owl from Big Bend National Park, west Texas- added Sept 03, 2007.
A Northern Pygmy-Owl from Washington State - added February 28, 2008 .
This Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl from southern Texas had to play second fiddle, despite showing very well... - added November 11, 2014.

A Plain-capped Starthroat from SE Arizona - added September 05, 2013.
A male Broad-billed Hummingbird from OUR BALCONY (!) in San Antonio, Texas - added January 25, 2015.
A male Broad-billed Hummingbird plus adult female Magnificent and male Black-chinned Hummingbirds from SE Arizona - added September 05, 2013.
A male Broad-billed Hummingbird from Houston, Texas - added Nov 13 2004.
A juvenile Magnificent Hummingbird from near San Antonio, Texas - added Oct 24 2004.
Male Magnificent Hummingbirds plus adult male Calliope from SE Arizona - added July 28, 2014.
A male Green-breasted Mango from South Texas - added Aug 24 2004.
A male Buff-bellied Hummingbird from South Texas - added May 05 2004.
An adult Violet-crowned Hummingbird from west Texas - added December 07, 2011.
A female Calliope Hummingbird from west Texas - added December 07, 2011.
Male Calliope, Broad-tailed and Black-chinned Hummingbirds from west Texas - added July 29, 2009.
Four species of hummingbird: Allen's, Calliope, Rufous and Black-chinned (plus a bonus bird and butterfly!) on a February day in San Antonio, Texas - added February 05, 2013.

A "southern" Red-breasted Sapsucker from West Texas - added March 11, 2005.
Williamson's Sapsucker a male from west Texas - added May 23, 2011 .
A mixed pair of Red- and Yellow-shafted Northern Flickers interacting - re-added Dec 11, 2005.

Male Elegant Trogon and Blue Bunting from south Texas on January 14-16 2005 - added January 16, 2005.

A flying female Ringed Kingfisher from south Texas - added December 07, 2011.
. All four Texas kingfishers in just over six hours! - added November 10, 2013.

A Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet from south Texas - added October 08, 2013.
A Buff-breasted Flycatcher from the Davis Mtns, Texas - added May 31, 2005.
A Greater Pewee wintering in southern Texas - added January 11, 2011 .
An unexpected Thick-billed Kingbird at Portal, SE Arizona - added July, 2014.
A couple of Fork-tailed Flycatchers from Texas - added September 03, 2008.
The first documented record for North America of Social Flycatcher, from southern Texas - added Jan 09, 2005.
Poor pics of a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher from the upper Texas Coast - added April 22, 2006 .

A young male Rose-throated Becard from southern Texas - added August 15, 2010 .
An adult male Rose-throated Becard from southern Texas  - added December 10, 2020.

A leucistic Loggerhead Shrike from San Antonio - added December, 20 2005.
Three of six Northern Shrikes in three days in the Texas Panhandle - plus the first one from the Trans-Pecos in 25 years... - updated January 13, 2013.

Two Black-capped Vireos from the Hill Country - added May 16, 2005.
A Hutton's Vireo from San Antonio - added April 05, 2008 .
A Bell's Vireo from the southern coast - added October 13, 2011.

Two Tamaulipas Crows from Brownsville, LRGV - added May 16, 2005.
Two Fish Crows from eastern Texas in the summer of 2013 - added July 03, 2013.

Some southwestern Purple Martins from southeast Arizona nesting in Saguaro cactus - added July 30, 2014.
Four western Purple Martins from southeastern New Mexico - added July 14, 2013.
Two eastern Purple Martins from southern Texas with very different P-molt timing... - added March 10, 2014.
Pioneering Purple Martins from the eastern Trans-Pecos of Texas that are nesting inside light pole fixtures and on ledges under metal canopies - added June 02, 2016.
A Violet-green Swallow from Fort Worth - added June 11, 2012.
A Violet-green Swallow from Colorado - added December 07, 2011.
A selection from a huge Swallow drop-in near Fort Worth - added October 03, 2003 .

A Golden-crowned Kinglet flashing his crest, from Washington State - added February 28, 2008 .

At last, a Juniper Titmouse from Texas! - added September 24, 2013.

A comparison of Brown-headed and Pygmy Nuthatches from Texas and Colorado - added January 16, 2012.
A Brown Creeper from eastern Texas - added January 16, 2012.

Phainopeplas from west Texas - added December 07, 2011 .

An American Dipper from the western Texas, by Willie Sekula - added December 01, 2014.

The second Texas record of Northern Wheatear - plus Northern Jacana and Carolina Chickadee for an unlikely one-day Photo Triple ! - added January 02, 2010 .
Unexpected Western Bluebirds from San Antonio, Texas - added February 22, 2012 .

A White-throated Thrush from southern Texas - added January 11, 2011 .
A gorgeous male Varied Thrush from San Antonio, Texas- added November 08, 2004.

A thought-provoking Tropical Mockingbird from the Upper Texas Coast - added May 01, 2012 .
A Crissal Thrasher from west Texas - added May 30, 2013.

A delightful Painted Redstart in Corpus Christi, Texas - added April 13, 2004.
Another lovely Painted Redstart - this one from Arizona - added September 03, 2007 .
A series of pages of various warblers from an amazing Fallout at South Padre Island - added May 05 2004:
     - male Bay-breasted Warbler.
     - male and female Golden-winged Warblers.
     - male Tennessee, Cerulean and Blackburnian Warblers.
     - male Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, and Black-throated Green Warblers.
     - male Northern Parula, American Redstart.
     - female Cape May Warbler, Philadelphia Vireo, plus "combos".
A scarce Black-throated Blue Warbler from the Central Texas Coast; an educational really dull female! - plus now a male from the same spot - updated July 19, 2009.
Yellow-throated Warblers from the central Texas coast - added April 27, 2010 .
Palm Warbler from coastal Texas - updated October 13, 2011 .
Prairie Warbler from coastal Texas - added September 11, 2013.
A black-throated Tennessee Warbler from south Texas - added April 29, 2013.
A Hooded Warbler from the central Texas coast - added April 27, 2010 .
A Worm-eating Warbler from the central Texas coast - added April 27, 2010 .
An unexpected Lucy's Warbler from Port Aransas, Nueces county, plus Bar-tailed Godwit and Mag. Frigatebird from the same day! - added October 12, 2014.
A Colima Warbler from west Texas - added May 30, 2013.
Northern Parulas from the central Texas coast - added April 27, 2010 .
A Kentucky Warbler from the central Texas coast - added April 27, 2010 .
A Prothonotary Warbler from the central Texas coast - added April 27, 2010 .
Mourning Warbler two Spring males; two "broken eyering" immatures plus an unusual female from the Fall, from coastal Texas - updated November 07, 2014.
A MacGillivray's Warbler from the central Texas coast - added April 27, 2010 .
Scarce Cape May Warblers from the Central Texas Coast - added July 19, 2009.
A nice, clean-looking male Tropical Parula from San Antonio - added Jan 04, 2006.
A cooperative Hermit Warbler from the Central Texas Coast - added April 27, 2010 .
A rare Hermit Warbler from the Central Texas Coast - added May 01, 2005.
An even rarer Red-faced Warbler from the same Central Texas Coast spot as the above Hermit Warbler; at bottom of page - added May 08, 2005.
A Red-faced Warbler from southeastern New Mexico - added July 14, 2013.
A lovely male Golden-cheeked Warbler from the Hill Country - updated May 20, 2014.
An obliging Swainson's Warbler from Corpus Christi - added April 25, 2007.
A record shot of a Golden-crowned Warbler from south Texas - added December 07, 2011.
A lovely Rufous-capped Warbler from south of San Antonio - updated November 30, 2004.
The long-staying Gray-crowned Yellowthroat from Sabal Palm, LRGV; but is it a pure bird??? - added May 16, 2005.

An Olive Warbler from the Davis Mtns, Texas - added May 31, 2005.

A Hatching Year Red-legged Honeycreeper from southern Texas; a potential First for the ABA area - added November 30, 2014.

A cooperative Sagebrush Sparrow from west Texas - updated November 11, 2014.
A nicely-posed adult Golden-crowned Sparrow from west-central Texas - added December 25, 2007 .
Flight shots of the Lewisville, Texas Snow Bunting. - added January 01, 2007 .
A male Varied Bunting from the central Texas coast - added April 27, 2010 .
A male Yellow-faced Grassquit from south-central Texas coast (plus a handful of interesting "photo-mates" from the same day) - added February 14, 2011 .

A Flame-colored Tanager from the southern Texas coastal plain - added October 08, 2016.
Rare on the Texas coast, Western Tanagers; male and female - added July 19, 2009.
A male Scarlet Tanager with golden wingbars from south Texas - added April 29, 2013.

Male and female Crimson-collared Grosbeaks from the LRGV - updated January 16, 2005.

A wintering Scott's Oriole from Tarrant County, TX - updated March 15, 2003 .
Audubon's Orioles from Bexar and Frio counties, TX; north of their tradional range - added May 20, 2014.
A Black-vented Oriole from south Texas - added January 11, 2011 .
A "gray-morph" Orchard Oriole from Corpus Christi, Texas - added April 20, 2015.
Yellow-headed Blackbirds in flight (landing) from the central Texas coast - added April 27, 2010 .

Four forms of Rosy Finch from Sandia Crest, NM; all 4 types in flight, standing, and together in one shot. - updated May 23, 2011 .
A female Evening Grosbeak from west Texas - added January 13, 2013.