I recently returned from a two-week Texas which encompassed at least a part of the spring birding migration.  I am fortunate in that I have relatives who live in rural locations which tend to attract birds through providing good habitat with food and water. 

On 4/15/2013, while at my sister’s house, I took 410 photos of which I kept 268!  It was an exceptional day and on that day I photographed some exceptional birds, but chief among them was the Golden-cheeked warbler.  With regard to that bird, I managed to take 77 photos of which I retained 54.  Let me tell you a little of what that bird is so special. 

The Golden-cheeked warbler breeds only in Central Texas and is both rare and endangered.  It relies on mature junipers as the only source of its nesting material.  Junipers are detested by a large segment of the population, and especially many developers and land rights advocates.  The juniper trees, commonly referred to as ‘cedars’, produce a pollen annually to which a sizable portion of the population is allergic.  The pollen causes hay fever-like symptoms that last a month or more and you don’t have to go very far to find someone who suffers from it.  The developers don’t like the junipers because their presence on land can trigger environmental regulations that limit the use of the land.  There’s many a tract of land that has been quickly cleared to eliminate habitat for the warblers although now regulations are so tight that the practice has slowed.  

In the late 1990s, when I lived in Austin, I used to make many trips each year to one of the Travis Audubon sanctuaries to try to photograph the Golden-cheeked warbler.  Despite the time and expense to which I went I was never able to successfully photograph one.  I saw the birds occasionally, and once had one land only about five feet above my head on the top of a juniper, but I never successfully photographed one.  And on one day this past April I managed to obtain 77 photos based on two separate visits to a water source.  Of those photos I deemed 54 worth keeping! 

I have to say that if it had been the only bird I photographed on the trip it would have made the trip worth it to me, but I managed to photograph many other migrants that we don’t get to see here in the Pacific Northwest.  More of the other migrants will be displayed on my blog site in the coming weeks. 

So here are a few more photos of the Golden-cheeked warbler…