ML617458416

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - 1

Behaviors

Flying

Observation details

Continuing 1st TX record and 4th US record (see notes below) found by Gary Jensen on April 13th. Unmistakable lapwing - a large, colorful shorebird with thin black plumes off crown, red eyes and orbital skin, large black breastband, stark white belly, and bold black-and-white wings. The gold, rufous, purple, and green iridescence on its upperwing coverts combined with the stout, red spurs protruding from its wrists further contribute this bird's unique appearance. It would walk a few steps then stop in typical plover fashion. Casually flew short distances to immediately begin foraging again - unconcerned with surrounding birders and golfers, as is typical of this species. Sat completely flat on the ground one time, briefly. Never heard vocalizing. I entered from the west side of the golf course off Mile 2 W, driving into the course and parking at the club house. I rented a cart for $5 then drove nearby to where the lapwing was feeding on the greens with a Killdeer (26.1359403, -97.9326060), which it was much larger than. When it moved over to (26.1346710, -97.9330616), I left to cruise a loop around the rest of the course checking the other ponds, etc. The lapwing was still feeding at the second location when I left at 12:30pm and remained in that area throughout the day per others reports. There are 3 subspecies groups in South America, and this bird's appearance is typical of the more northerly cayennensis based on its brownish head and neck (versus gray), the minimal amount of black on the front of its face which doesn't connect to the black breastband, and its moderate plume length. This subspecies has been undergoing a steady northward range expansion out of northern South America into Central America since the mid 1990’s, and sightings have surged in Honduras and Guatemala over the last 5 years. Cozumel, northern Belize, and Jamaica all had sightings in 2022 and 2023, and I'm sure this won't be the last US record.... but here's a rundown of the ABA sightings so far: May 6, 2006 to June 11, 2006 Wakulla County, FL *a cayennensis type but it was not accepted due to unknown provenance as FL had a history of known escapees (of the more southern subspecies groups, however). Rare Birds of North America (Steve Howell) mentions, “5 records from FL in 1959-1962 predate the recent range expansion and have been treated as escapes, and 2 individuals in FL (2002-2003) included an escaped non-cayennensis individual with a color band (Pranty 2004).” June 17, 2006 Worcester County, MD *could possibly have been the FL bird moving further north? Jun 29, 2022 to Dec 22, 2022 Iosco County, MI *a long staying bird found at an airport April 13, 2023 to ? Hidalgo County, TX

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS R5

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

640

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/3200 sec

Dimensions

2618 pixels x 1745 pixels

Original file size

375.14 KB