American avocet in its summer plumage A short drive from Sabine Pass Battleground took the travelers to Sabine Woods, an oak motte that on this warm afternoon was loaded with warblers. They were grown in Brazoria County and planted by a local nursery. All of them have thrived. In just an hour, Ted and Bob spotted 13 warbler species. Next it was on to High Island, the mecca of springtime birding in Texas.
High Island is a salt dome that rises above the surrounding coastal plain.
At 38 feet above sea level, it is the highest point on the Gulf of Mexico between Mobile, Alabama, and the Yucat n Peninsula. During the spring migration these trees, all of them planted, are filled with exhausted warblers that have just flown hundreds of miles nonstop over the Gulf of Mexico. Although the concentration of birds was not as great on this September afternoon, the experts counted 15 species of warblers, as well as some vireos and thrushes. Hummingbirds fed on insects in the live oaks and nectar from plants in a butterfly garden at Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary. The three ended the day at Bolivar Flats.