Not a new year bird, but too good not to share. I was offshore last week, traveling with Chevron to the deep-water Gulf of Mexico and their Tahiti spar production platform. I kept a keen eye peeled during the trip for any seabirds, but alas nothing noticeable passed the chopper on the way out... or the way back. However, while I was on the platform, I snapped this pic.
Yes. That is the tail of an American Redstart. He must have been taking a bit of break in his Trans-Gulf trip south. I asked the platform manager if they see a lot of migratory birds landing on the platform. He said not really, but occasionally one or two show up. So color me lucky to have been out there when this little guy decided to take a breather!
We're eying a trip to the Valley in the coming weeks and plan on heading somewhere this weekend. If the Ruddy Ground-Dove hangs out north of San Antonio long enough, we'll likely try and get there.
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| Stow away or tool pusher? |
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| Chevron's Tahiti spar |
