Vireo

When I attend ABA events, I get to bird with people who far surpass my birding skills. These are opportunities for me to learn even more about one of my favorite hobbies, and I happily take advantage of them. I make plenty of mistakes with bird identification, so hearing others explain identifications is a great way to reduce the number of times where I jump to the wrong conclusion, or am just not sure.

One thing, however, that I learned early on was that I was absolutely not going to be able to identify every bird I saw or heard. In fact, resisting the urge to identify and move on, keeps me learning and keeps me out of "trouble". Picking up a camera and learning how to use it while birding reinforces that discipline. Now, when I am not sure about a bird, I try to take photographs of it so that I can attempt to identify it from the comfort of my home (where I have access to so many more resources than my little brain could ever hold). Even then, I may not be entirely sure.

Such was the case today. I was birding alone at Corpus Christi Wildlife Sanctuary (which, oddly, is not in Corpus Christi), when I encountered this vireo. I have a couple of ideas for which vireo it might be, but one of those two would be a life bird for me. I am not quite confident enough to just claim it is a species that I have never seen before (but I am really close to being that confident). Since I had my camera, here are a couple of pictures. Neither show the complete bird, but I think they show enough for an identification (says me...as I sit on the fence avoiding a decision). If you have an opinion, share it. Maybe I will get a life bird out of this.

Update: It is a Philadelphia Vireo - a life bird for me.