arbler
I have traveled thousands of miles in my quest to see two special birds — the Andean cock-of-the-rock and resplendent quetzal. I finally tracked down the cock in Costa Rica and the quetzal in Panama.
Both well worth the effort.
But a bird much closer to home was for years a nemesis that I could never locate — the golden- cheeked warbler. My one and only sighting finally came on a trip to Fort Hood, and it was the highlight of that trip.
Perhaps the stellar ornithological attraction of our area, this bird can often be found at Pedernales Falls State Park, a 4,851acre park located along the Pedernales River. Other summer residents of that area include blackchinned hummingbirds, ash-throated flycatchers, Bell’s vireos, and summer tanagers.
Every golden-cheeked warbler is a true Texan. It is the only bird that breeds entirely within the boundaries of our great state. Every golden- cheeked warbler in the world fledged from a nest in central Texas.
It is a most handsome little bird, about four and a half inches long and weighing less than an ounce.
The male has a bright golden face framed by a black crown, bib and back. A distinctive black line extends through the eye. Females and immature males are duller and olive green above, with dark streaking on their backs.
Golden-cheeks over-winter in Mexico and Central America. Loss of habitat and parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds have resulted in declining populations of this little bird. It has been classified as endangered since 1990.
Let’s salute this warbler, sometimes called “the goldfinch of Texas,” and wish it well as it strives to survive in a sometimes hostile world.
