The first Cattle Tyrant ever found in the U.S.
Day Trip to Corpus Christi for Lifers
One of the great early birding trips I ever took was a three-day adventure with my Dad back in April 2015. It was my first real experience with migration. We hit the big birding spots near Corpus Christi and Port Aransas, places like Leonabelle Turning, Holt Paradise Pond, Charlie’s Pasture, Oak Motte Sanctuary, Blucher Park. Despite many trips to Texas since then, we hadn’t made it back down to Corpus Christi. So when I decided I’d spend my early March spring break visiting my parents in San Antonio, I told my Dad we needed to make a day trip to Corpus Christi to try and pick up some lifers.
I had 4 target birds for the trip. The first was a Cattle Tyrant that had showed up in downtown Corpus Christi back in late 2023. It was the first Cattle Tyrant ever seen in the United States. This South American bird had never before seen north of Costa Rica. Appearing in a port city far from home, it was thought by many to be a “ship-assisted” bird. However it got there, it still remained in 2026, quite faithful to a blue dumpster behind a restaurant. True to its form, that’s where we found it. Indeed, it showed up just 30 seconds after we found the blue dumpster.
The second target was an American Flamingo. This is another out-of-place bird that showed up at Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center (also in late 2023) and hasn’t left. They’re primarily found in the Caribbean, the Yucatan Peninsula, and northern South America. Florida gets steady sightings, Texas much less often. When we pulled up and made it to the boardwalk, the flamingo was conveniently feeding just 50 yards away. it was impossibly pink, even under overcast light. There was an interesting collection of birds at this freshwater marshland. A White Ibis walked the path alongside us, feeding in the grass. A Stilt Sandpiper was amidst a bunch of dowitchers. Out in the flats, a Loggerhead Shrike and Northern Harrier were hunting.
White Ibis
American Flamingo
Great Blue Heron
Stilt Sandpiper
After picking up the American Flamingo, we hit the nearby Port Aransas jetty and beach. There weren’t any likely lifers for me, but my Dad has some targets. We found a Piping Plover that had bands on its legs. I submitted details online, and learned that the bird was banded as an adult in summer 2025 on the Missouri River near Niobara, Nebraska. We had 4 kinds of terns on the beach, but no target Gull-billed Terns.
Sandwich Tern
Piping Plover
The third target for the day was Aplomado Falcon. These peregrine-like birds had stopped breeding in the U.S. southwest in the 1950s. But they’ve made a comeback in thanks to reintroduction efforts. While over 1000 birds have been released in South Texas, hurricanes and habitat loss have frustrated recovery efforts. Today, there are approximately 25 established breeding pairs between the border and Matagorda Bay. A reliable spot to find them is Mustang Island near Corpus Christi.
Aplomado Falcon strafing the grasslands of Mustang Island
Our first check of Mustang Island (in between the Cattle Tyrant and the flamingo) was a miss. We drove up and down Highway 361 north of the JFK Memorial Causeway. We checked the nesting structures multiple times. We scanned the dunes. But we didn’t see a big falcon. On our return trip after seeing the flamingo, we had better luck. Perched on one of the nesting structures built for them was a lifer Aplomado Falcon. It eventually flew around a bit, giving us a good show.
The fourth target of the day, and our only miss, was Audubon’s Oriole. This is a Mexican resident bird whose range extends into southern Texas. We tried first thing in the morning at a place called Pollywog Pond northwest of Corpus Christi. On our way back north, we stopped at Lake Corpus Christi for a second try at Audubon’s Oriole. But the wind was blowing pretty good, and nothing was moving around. Just before sunset, hundreds of Great-tailed Grackles and a few other blackbirds flew in and noisily perched in some trees. Always a treat to see a big flock of birds.
All in all, a successful day. The best part was sharing it with my Dad.
