Sweet Louisiana-A Clean Sweep--Quick Update, November 9

I am back home in Cincinnati, but should have stayed in Texas.  I wrote the previous post since I got back home.  I needed to go home, because I had been on the  road for two months since August 23 except for three days.  I also had some financial issues to resolve.  Charges on a credit card had been denied but resolved while on the road.  I needed to check on some things.  I also needed to fix some issues with my laptop, which is now completed, except for sharing my list.

I went to Louisiana trying for six new birds for the year, King Rail, Yellow Rail, Nelson's Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Sprague's Pipit and Calliope Hummingbird.  I got all six--a clean sweep--as Donna Dittman put it in an e-mail.

As icing on the cake, on my way back to San Antonio, TX from Louisiana on Sunday, I heard about the Fork-tailed Flycatcher just seen that day on Boca Chica Boulevard east of Brownsville.  Thanks to Neil Hayward, Big year colleague, for sending me an e-mail about this.  I stayed on the west side of Houston on Sunday night and drove down to the LRGV on Monday arriving at about 12:30 to 1:00 pm.  I got the Fork-tailed Flycatcher and pictures.

I will provide more details later.  There are more rarities in Texas right now, and more birds to add in Arizona and California.  Gotta go birding!

Sprague's Pipit, Yellow Rail, Calliope Hummingbird and Fork-tailed Flycatcher raise the total to 694+2.  Hopefully, my list will share properly in the near future.