Veteranobservers like Jim Morgan, however, in the Trans-Pecos.The Red-necked Grebe at quicklychimed in to remindus that what L. Tawakonilingered until Mar. 5 (RK,GH, TexasRegion constitutes an "outstanding" day nowadays JN). A W. Grebeat PalmettoDam, Jackson palesby comparisonto the thousandsof Mar.2 (NH) wassomewhat asurprise, while birdswitnessed on thebest days in decades a Clark'sGrebe was in ElPasoApr.19 (BZ). past.For many of us,our perceptions ofeach Observers'interests in Texaspelagics con- GREGW. LASLEY,CHUCK SEXTON, newseason unwittingly seem to bewarping, tinuedto grow,spurred on by the efforts WILLIE SEKULA,AND orperhaps our expectations areshrinking, ei- of Peake,Elwonger, Carroll, and others. A MARK LOCKWOOD ther from the diminution of our collective deep-waterpelagic off PortO'Connor May Weoften report on the quirkiness ofweather institutionalmemory of such events or out of 28 was one of the best ever in Texas,with patterns;dry regions getting rain, wet regions sdf-defense. reportsof one Greater ShearwaFer,16 in themidst of droughts.This season, within Audubon'sShearwaters, four Leacl/sStorm- tolerablelimits, each region seemed to beits Abbreviations:Ft. Bliss(Fort Bliss sewage Petrelsand 25 Band-rumpedStorm-Petrels "normal"self.. Asuccession ofrainy cold fronts ponds,H Paso); G.M.N.P. (GuadalupeMoun- (DPe, ME, m.ob.). Excellent videotape and paradedthrough eastern and coastal Texas; tainslVatlPark); L.R.G.V. (LowerRio Grande photoswere obtainedon most of these theTrans-Pecos was very dry. In between,it Valley);S.S.W.T.P. (South Side •ter 7•eat- species.The Blue-footed Booby remained at was... in-between. We recount discussions ment Plant, Dallas);T.B.R.C. [ 7•xasBird LakeL.B.J. through the period, having been in twoareas that illustrate interesting aspects RecordsCommittee (]bxas OrnithologicalSoci- seen by over 5000 people by seasodds end. An andopinions of themigration. Ken Seyffert ety)J;U.T.C. (Upper7•xas Coast); V.C.D.B. ad.Brown Pelican joined the booby at Lake wrote that folks in the northern Panhandle (VillageCreek Drying Beds, Arlington). Thej•l- L.B.J.,May 31 (GL),while another was on wereready to describe the migration as "hor- lowingare shortened names J•r therespective L. BalmorheaApr.30-May 4 (TJ,m.ob.). A rible"when reports arrived from Lubbock, a counO5state, or national parks, wildli• refuges, Double-crestedCormorant, listed as hypo- shortways to thesouth, where observers used etc.:Anahuac,Aransas, Bentsen, Big Bend, theticalin BigBend, was at RioGrande Vil- adjectiveslike "spectacular!" Seyffert astutely LagunaAtascosa,andSantaAna. lageApr. 30 (GL AW,BM). SnowyEgrets, a concludedthat springbird migrationis rarityin thePanhandle area, were more plen- "muchlike a gameof hop-scotch" and "lucky Loons to Ibises tiful thannormal, with one-two in Lubbock foryou if youare situated at the right hop at The Red-throated Loon at L. Balmorhealast Apr. 10-May 13 (L.E.A.S.),two in Briscoe theright time." seasonremained through Apr. 25 (m.ob.), May 5-6 (JR),and one at L. Tanglewood, Disparateopinions were also in evidence whileanother was at Surfside,BrazoriaApr. RandalMay14 (TLJ). Unusual heron sight- onthe upperTexas coast. It wasrightfully de- 27 (TE, JM). Two PacificLoons were on ingsin theTrans-Pecos included an ad. Little scribedas one of thebest migrations in years AransasBay Mar. 13-20 (?BO),while sin- Blueat Feather L., E1Paso Apr. 24 (JS)and a there. Diversitywas excellentand the gleswere at L. O'The PinesMar. 20-26 Tricoloredat Ft. HancockMay 14 (CB); appearanceofhundreds of warblerson some (?KN, GDL, GLu, m.ob.), Rockport Mar. both speciesare accidentalin that area. daysat heavily birded spots prompted many 30 (•'JH, JBo) and L. LivingstonMay 7 GlossyIbis reports continued to mount;at observers and even some of the bird alert (?AW). A Horned Grebe at Ft. Hancock leastsix different individuals were reported tapesto describe an "outstanding" migration. Mar.12 (BN, DE) wasthe only spring report on the U.T.C., Apr. 16-May 7 (m.ob.).A GlossyIbis was at EagleMt. FishHatchery, 7•rrantMay7 (•'GK, EW), anotherwas in Kenedythe same date (•'ML), andone-two were at San Antonio'sMitchell L., May ß Amarillo ß Buffalo Lake 17-31(•'ph., WS). NWR Waterfowl The goosemigration in n. c.Texas was out- ß Muleshoe NWR •Nichita ßHagerman NWR Falls standing,with higher than normal numbers ß Lubbock of Canadas and Greater White-fronteds re- Fort Worth ß ß Dallas portedfrom several localities during March (RR).Muscovy Ducks continued to beseen ßEl Paso '•' Park ßMidland in smallnumbers along the Rio Grande in Starr, but a count of 22 Mar. 12 between Davis Mrs. WacOe /.• ßBalmorhea L. Chapeftaand Fronton (TB) wasnoteworthy. TEXAS Twopairs of Wood Ducks in CrosbyApr.20 -•. Austin (KR)were unexpected. One of thebest rari- Houston tiesof theseason was an ad. (3' Garganey dis- coveredat the Presidiosewage treatment ß San Antonio pondsApr. 29 (•'ph.,AW). The bird appeared unhealthyand was found dead May 6 (AD, BG, * to DallasMuseum of NaturalHistory) providingonly the 2nd documented Texas Kingsville record.A CinnamonTeal lingeredat S.S.W.TP. at least until May 27 (RR),while a Bentsen Stata presumedN. Shovelerx Blue-winged Teal in Pad< HarrisonMar. 14-15 (GLu, DBro) wasa sur- prise.An Eur.Wigeon was at Tomillo Lakes, FIELDNOTES FALLI994 ElPasoMar. 13 (LJ).Two Com. Mergansers thefirst nesung record for the s. plains. Nest- An Am. Golden-Ploverat ImperialRes., at Ft. BlissApr. 19 (BZ) werevery late and at ing GrayHawks were present in the usual PecosApr.8-May 1 (BJP)was a goodfind, an unusual location. The Masked Duck "in- L.R.G.V. locations as well as in Rio Grande while>75 wereat S.S.W.T.P.,Apr. 1 (BG, vasion"that began in thewinter of 1992- Villagein BigBend. The only sizeable move- RR) andat L. TawakoniApr. 9 (RK etal.) 1993continued, with <25 at a private Kenedy mentof Broad-wingedHawks reported was Another 75 Am. Golden-Plovers were in locationMar. 19-Apr.5 (JGoetaL), several 15,000over Calallen, NuecesApr. 3 (GS). A BastropApr. 10 (JSu).A lateSnowy Plover alongHwy 77 in Kenedyduring March singleBroad-winged in CastroApr. 19 was at Miller's Creek Res., Throckmorton (m.ob.),two at BrazosBend S.P. through at (CDL) wasrare. Providing only the 2nd May 31 (KN), while a rarerecord in n.e leastApr. 20 (m.ob.), two at Brazoria documentedTexas record was an ad. light- Texaswas provided by 11 Mt. Ploversin N.W.R., Apr.3 (?ph.,JBu), one at Laguna morphShort-tailed Hawk soaringover Delta Mar. 19 (MWh). A N. Jacanawas at AtascosaApr. 20+ (?ph.,BM) and oneat BentsenMar. 8 (?ph.,BM). An increasingly SantaAna April 5-May 10 (?ph.BM). A SantaAna during late May (fideJI). Increased commonsummer resident in e.Texas, 6 pairs countof 32 SpottedSandpipers at Ft. Bliss numbersof exoticwaterfowl were seen flying of Swainson'sHawks (1 pairin Brazoria,5 May 4 (BZ) wasan impressive number for freein theFlour Bluff area of CorpusChristi, pairsin Harris)were exhibiting nesting be- the Trans-Pecos.Three Marbled Godwits at withothers reported in Austinand San Anto- haviorby late in theseason (fide GDL, PG). thesame location Apr. 19 werea surprise nio.Among the moreconspicuous species SingleZone-tailed Hawks at Colorado Bend HudsonianGodwits were reported in typi- were White-cheeked Pintail, West Indian Mar. 28-30 and GovernmentCanyon, cal numbersat manylocations near the Whistling-Duck,White-faced Whistling- BexarMay5 (ML) wereaway from their ex- coast,but inland observationsacross the e Duck,Red-crested Pochard, RingedTeal, and pectedrange. A "Harlan's"Red-tailed Hawk half of the state were rare. Texas' fifth Surf- EgyptianGoose. These birds are escapees nearPost, Garza Mar. 19 providedan unex- birdwas on N. PadreI., KlebergApr.15-21 from various waterfowl collectors and ob- pectedrecord for thes. plains(ph, ML). A (?ph.A&MC, m.ob.).A RedKnot May 1 serversshould not be deceived into thinking CrestedCarcara seen Apr. 2 on N. PadreI. anda SanderlingMay 17 at ImperialRes. theyare wild vagrants. (AC) wasinteresting as the species seldom (BJP)provided rare spring inland records for frequentsbarrier islands, while a pair of thisunderbirded area. AnOther Sanderling Raptors CrestedCaracaras in JohnsonMar. 20 (CE) atBuffalo L., May7 (KS)was noteworthy. A S•ngleBlack Vultures in ClayMar. 20 and was a rare find. Six Panhandle area records of countof 7660W, Sandpiperswas made at Apr.3 (D&TMc, GJa)provided a tirst, over- PeregrineFalcons during the seasonwas LagunaAtascosa Apr. 1 (TB), while5933 duecounty record. After several seasons of morethan normal, with a birdseen May 14 Dunlinswere counted there May 14.A gor- strong,if notcondusive, evidence for nesting at BuffaloL. (KS) representingthe latest geous,breeding-plumaged Curlew Sand- Swallow-tailed Kites in Texas, a nest was springrecord there. piperwas at SantaAna May 3-7 (?TB,ML, foundMar. 31 nearSpurger, Tyler (RB). By ph. BM, MPawetal.), providingonly the season'send the proudparents had a half- Prairie-Chickens to Shorebirds 4threcord for the state. Continuing with the grownyoung in thenest (ph. CSh, RB), pro- The precipitousdrop in the Attwatter's rare shorebird records, a Ruff was near v•dingthe first documented nesting record in Prairie-Chickenpopulation continued and Anahuac,Chambers Apr. 21 (?JHu),and the state since 1911. A White-tailed Kite it seemsinevitable that the subspecies four Red-neckedPhalaropes were in Cal- Mar. 27 in FortWorth (GK, ph. CH) pro- cannotsurvive. A few wereseen during hounMay15 (JT). v•deda veryrare n.c. Texas record. A Missis- Marchat twoRefagio locations (CCo, LHu, s•ppiKite arrived early in LubbockApr. 10 A&MC). Texasbirders turn up BlackRails Jaegersto Murres (LSm)while a migratingflock of 1500over in morelocations each year; as many as three A probableLong-tailed Jaeger passed by w. CorpusChristi Apr. 16 (GS) wasthe werecalling on N. PadreI., Apr.21-May 9 Beatonand Peake Apr. 23 at BolivarFlats. A largestflock reported. Two pairs of Sharp- (A&MC) and five were observedin San LaughingGull in MidlandApr.