Al, Jason: On one Thursday in August, 1982, I was helping a fellow re-shingle the roof on his house. I had seen a bird swooping along a line of trees that bordered San Antonio's Olmos Creek. The bird finally got close enough for even me to note that the bird was largish, was mostly white, and had pointed, wings that had black on the trailing edge, and had a forked tail with pointed ends. It was "only" my lifer Swallow-tailed Kite and, most importantly, the first record of the species in the San Antonio area for 50-60 or more years. Birders in San Antonio laughed at me until the following Tuesday. This was because Swallow-tailed Kites were "supposed" to only migrate along the Gulf of Mexico coast in the fall. That laughter ended when Vernon Ellis went outside to smoke while his wife was in a beauty parlor. Vernon looks across a fairly busy West Avenue to the trees lining that part of Olmos Creek and about has a heart attack when he sees a Swallow-tailed Kite sailing just over the tree canopy. In subsequent years people in Central Texas have seen more Swallow-tailed Kites as the birds' population has increased.
Later! Steve Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX -----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU] On Behalf Of Jason Caddy Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 9:50 AM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: Re: [mou-net] Best Bird While Not Birding? I was exploring the Mayan ruins of Tikal in Guatemala and there was a group of green toucans that flew through the courtyard. I never knew that toucans could be green and it wasn't until much later that I identified them as Emerald Toucanets. I also saw California Condors soaring over the Grand Canyon before I became a birder while riding mules up the canyon. The bird that sticks out most was a Black Oystercatcher that I saw while in Victoria, British Columbia when I was very young. I had seen them in my parents Peterson guide and thought they looked so weird. When I actually saw one on the rocky coast I was amazed at their appearance. Such an orange bill on such a black bird! Very cool! Jason CaddySouth minneapolisj.ca...@hotmail.com > Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 09:36:08 -0500 > From: alschirmac...@live.com > Subject: [mou-net] Best Bird While Not Birding? > To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU > > Sometimes the best birds show up while doing something else. > > Golden Eagle at a business convention dinner - Violet-green Swallow during a meeting break (both pointed out by non-birders) - Prairie Falcon while reading in my chair - Tri-colored Heron while visiting relatives - sure there have been others. > > You? > > Al Schirmacher > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
