On 10 August, Rafa Flores, birding alone, discovered an immature Jabiru, Jabiru mycteria, near Raymondville on the Lower Texas Coast. Ten days passed before the bird was re-found, again by Rafa and friend, Ruth Hoyt, who captured some fantastic images of the bird, www.ruthhoyt.com/Jabiru%20Thursday.
The bird has been seen feeding on frogs in a flooded sorghum field. All Texas records, save one, are from the Texas coastal plain, and represent post-breeding dispersal. The closest Jabiru breeding to the ABA Area is from the Mexican state of Tabasco and from the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula. The first Texas record was from Escondido Lake, Klegberg County, 11 August to 8 September 1971.
Updated information and warnings about road traffic and parking difficulties if you plan to attempt to see this bird can be found at www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/TEXS.html.
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