Last chance saloon. On December 19th 2024 two birders doing the Christmas Count on Anahuac NWR (now Jocelyn Nungaray NWR) found a bird they couldn’t identify. After much investigation they concluded it was a stonechat. A Swedish expert finally nailing it as Amur. The first record in the lower 48 States. It took weeks for the Friends of Anahuac to negotiate access to this section of the reserve, mostly used for hunting. Jake spotted the news a few weeks ago and we began planning our itinerary around it. Trips to see the bird, running three times a week, were announced a few days before and were taken up quicker than a Taylor Swift concert. Just before we departed from Cromer I managed to get us booked on the last trip ever – but would the bird hang around? We arrived at the meeting point for a 10.00 start to be told that the 8.00 o’clock group had seen the bird but distantly. After an over-zealous safety briefing we walked the 1000 yds to the spot. The three volunteer observers on site said they’d last seen the bird fly off over the trees 15 minutes previous. We stood around enthusiastically scanning the fields for awhile. No sign. Energy levels began to dwindle and, as at all twitches, people began to chat. In the end far more chat that looking. We were due to leave the site, to be clear of the property, by 12.00 when ‘she’ obligingly flew in, and did what any self-respecting stonechat should do – sat atop the vegetation spotting prey. What a relief. An incredible bird and the first new addition to our USA list!

The rest of our day was spent doing the Shoveler Loop including the hot-spots of the Willows and Wood Lot trails. We amassed a good list of waders and wildfowl and a good variety of warblers – better than at High Island.