The second day, Sunday, April 13, started at Anahuac with colorful David Sarkozi and his Yellow Rail walk.  We flushed and had a brief look at one Yellow Rail.  The unexpected highlight was a flushed Black Rail, twice flying right in front of Donelda Warhurst.  Other memorable sightings from this marshland were Glossy and White Ibis, three Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, Roseate Spoonbill, Fulvous Whistling Duck, our first Palm Warblers and huge alligators.

In the afternoon we visited the Boy Scout Woods and Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuaries of High Island.  Despite being a bit slow, we did get good looks at Kentucky Warbler and American Redstart.  The highlight was the heron rookery at Smith Oaks, with its hundreds each of brightly plumaged, busily nesting Roseate Spoonbills, Tricolored Herons, and Great, Snowy and Cattle Egrets.  Anhingas perched and flying were an additional treat to see.

Our third day, Monday, April 14, took us to the Pineywoods with Dr. William Graber, a long time prominent member of the East Texas birding community.  We had a good introduction to the inland woods breeding grounds and had great views of singing Pine Warblers and of Eastern Bluebirds.  We all heard and some saw Prairie Warbler and Brown-headed Nuthatch.  But Swainson's Warbler and Bachman's Sparrow eluded us.  After a memorable lunch at the Catfish Kitchen in Silsbee, we birded Cattail Marsh, in Tyrrell Park, Beaumont.  We got our first views (and hearings) of Fish Crow and of Little Blue Heron.  We finished the afternoon at Sabine Woods and Sea Rim, adding a few new warblers (Cerulean) to our list and again seeing most of those we had already seen.

On the fourth day, Tuesday, April 15, we tried again at Boy Scout Woods and Smith Oaks, which were still not where the migrants were stopping. The Smith Oaks rookery was visited by and wowed those in our group who were not with us when we first saw it.  After an enjoyable picnic lunch under Smith Oaks' huge and graceful oaks, we spent the afternoon on Bolivar Peninsula.  Besides stops at Yacht Basin Road (Clapper Rails) and Fort Travis (Solitary and Baird's Sandpipers) , most of our time was spent at Bolivar Flats.  Here we studied six plovers, including Wilson's and Piping, and Gull-billed, Royal and Sandwich Terns among the seven terns seen.  We ended the day on Bolivar Peninsula with good looks at Upland Sandpipers.  About half the group went owling that evening; we were able to call in a vocalizing Eastern Screech-Owl, but not get a light onto it for viewing.

For our last day, Wednesday, April 16, we returned to where we had had our best birding, Sabine Woods and Sea Rim.  Besides more time with the warblers we had been seeing regularly, we had our first looks at Blackpoll Warbler and of a couple of gorgeous Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  The trip officially ended in the afternoon in the Municipal Park in Liberty, on the western edge of the Pineywoods towards Houston.  There we got great views of American Swallow-tailed Kite and of a brightly crested Pileated Woodpecker.  Those who were staying on for a bit more time then returned to Sabine Woods.

We ended this Texas Trip I with enjoying 25 warblers and 181 birds overall.  Six of these warblers were experienced on their breeding grounds.