Photo by Jazmin Barrientos : Blue-winged Warbler at Valley Land Fund Birding, South Padre Island, Texas

… and so are our friends.

As soon as there was word last week that a cold front would be coming in, we made arrangements to birdwatch today (4.6.25). It was a reunion, out in the field, that we did not know we very much needed. As with the arrival of all the birds, came the arrival of all our fellow birders — friends we have made throughout the years. Old and new, always bringing a smile to our face.

The world can seem lonely at times. And we might often question if we have anyone on our side. But the reality of things is, we just have to perch ourselves with the people we belong with, our flock.

It had been a good minute since we all had hugged, laughed, caught up with life and of course, birdwatched together. As if birdwatching itself didn’t lift up our spirits enough, we encountered all of our dear friends out in the wild just as easily. We also made new friends, who we hope to keep running into in the future.

But enough with all the philosophical and personal.
You are here to know how it all went and what we found!
You are here for the birds aren’t you?

April Birdwatching

April is a momentous month in the world of birdwatching. Why you ask? Or maybe you didn’t, but we are going to tell you anyway.

Spring migration begins sometime in March and ends sometime in June. We mean it when we say sometime, because weather patterns very much influence the time of take off for these amazing creatures. April is usually the month where we start reaching the “Peak” of migration, giving us the best opportunity to see migrating birds in our particular area.

Photo by Jazmin Barrientos : Summer Tanager at South Padre Island Convention Center , SPI, Texas

As you may imagine, time is of the essence for our feathered friends and wind, rain or lightning will not stop their travel plans once they are up in the air. But, it is this precise feature, that makes it a great time for birdwatching.

Allow us to explain. Spring migration means, birds are migrating from their wintering grounds down South, towards their nesting grounds up North.

When storms hit with strong Northern winds, migrating birds face them head-on. This exhausts them, making them burn extra calories, and leaving them in desperate need for rest.

Photo by Jazmin Barrientos : 1st Spring Male Summer Tanager (immature) at Valley Land Fund Birding, SPI, Texas

**Side Note:
This is why it is very important for us to have protected wildlife refuges, and uninhabited wild land, or even an accommodating garden with native plants for our backyard buddies. When birds need to take a pause, they seek safe shelter and look for energy-rich food to recover and then continue on with their journey.**

These conditions make it a great opportunity for all of us to find migrating birds that otherwise might never stop by. We could even get lucky, and spot a vagrant bird — unfortunately for the bird, it would mean it is far off its original traveling course.

Sure. Storms can bring all kinds of chaos. But the silver lining of the story is, we get to admire the tenacity and capability of these tiny and fierce warriors. Traveling against all kinds of odds to find their way back home once more, or even for the first time.

Our finds

Today we focused on South Padre Island. If you wish to read more about the places, specifically the ones we love to birdwatch when we visit the island, check out this upcoming post which will become a green link when it is ready — right here: South Padre Island.

Some of the highlights to our day were a Palm Warbler, which is usually our nemesis bird, a Blue-wing Warbler, a Varied Bunting, which we sadly could not get a picture of, and beautiful bright Summer Tanagers.

Here are today’s three checklists:

*Location: Valley Land Fund Birding (Free / Donation Based)
*List: South Padre Is.–Valley Land Fund lots (LTC 036)

*Location: South Padre Island Convention Center (Free)
*List: South Padre Is.WBC/Conv. Center/Laguna Madre Trail (LTC 035)

*Location: South Padre Island Birding And Nature Center (Paid Entry)
*List: South Padre Is.–Birding and Nature Center

And here are some of today’s shots:

See you out there!

We can’t wait to see what we all find this 2025 Spring Migration.
Our greatest hope is to see you all out on the field birdwatching.

We would love to hear from you!
What were your favorite finds this month?
Have you birdwatched during this Spring Migration yet?
Please feel free to share your experiences and special finds with us.
Until next time!

Happy birding! Love Always,