Hoods Up...Abiding and Confiding...Foxtrot Oscar Yankee

Do you like Hooded Warblers? I like Hooded Warblers. I like them numerous and fearless. They were the bird that was impossible to ignore at South Padre Island last weekend...I'll say it again, this is not a bad place to find yourself during the spring.

I like Hooded Warblers with Louisiana Waterthrush legs.

I like Hooded Warblers on the ground.

I like female Hooded Warblers that do not make a sound.

Ok, I'll chill on the Seuss. This was the only female HOWA of the day. Her hood? Modest. The buffet-style birding out there is something I recommend highly.

Northern Parulas were also being especially confiding on this celebrated day. I found one away from the hordes of birders that would hang out just a few feet from me.

I could get used to crushing warblers this hard. The birds reminded me of some of the ones I met on the Dry Tortugas...hungry to the point of not-giving-a-fuck if there were people there or not.

Look at this thing! So sick.

I just realized that there is a completely unrelated bird that has a similar style to the parula... the winning combination of blue, black, white and yellow is worn by Tricolored Heron as well.

Unlike parulas, they are skilled at fish-juggling.

Here's a different individual, with the bright blue lores of the breeding season.

The light was pretty harsh but the bird was abiding. This was off the boardwalk at the birding center. For many years I have heard tell of this boardwalk, and the rumors seem to be true...there are animatronic birds strategically placed throughout the marsh for quality observation.

I'm kidding about that. A joke was made...do not be alarmed. Perhaps this Little Blue Heron will appease you. They are not as fancy as a Tricolored, but not exactly cringe-inducing either.

Ah, the Clapper Rail. This posture makes it look especially kiwi-esque.

The abundance of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in the region is truly something to reckon with. Talk about an adaptable duck.

Foxstrot Oscar Sierra/Foxtrot Oscar Yankee Tango Echo Whisky Alpha.

The convention center has a few signs posted to encourage birders and photographers (especially photogs) to not act like treacherous douchebags. While I was there some photographer got "chased off" from the convention center for essentially mangling one of the precious few planted trees in order to get an unobstructed photo of some bird (maybe this one). I then saw someone at Sheepshead fitting the same description get kicked out of someone's front yard while trying to follow another bird. It's like magic...put a camera in someone's hand, and just watch 2/3 of their brain shut off.