Fork-tailed determination
The last shot I got of the Fork-Tailed Flycatcher on Nueces County Road 43 before it flew off.
County Road 43 | Nueces County, Texas – November 11, 2025
On Sunday afternoon, local birder Emma Mathis spotted a Fork-tailed Flycatcher (FTFL) along County Road 43 in Nueces County. The sighting lit up the local birding chats almost immediately. It’s one of those birds that makes everyone stop what they’re doing. The Fork-tailed Flycatcher is a rare visitor to Texas, more often seen in Central or South America, but every now and then one shows up along the Gulf Coast just long enough to make a few birders lose their minds. This would make sighting three or four for Nueces County if I’m not mistaken.
Emma found it late in the day, and a few other birders made it out in time to see it. They were able to watch where it roosted for the night alongside a few Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (STFL) – the familiar fence-line icons of any Texas backroad. By that evening, it sounded like many were already planning to be there first thing in the morning.
I made the twenty-minute drive what I considered early, arriving right around 7:30 a.m. The cold front that had pushed through overnight was still hanging around, and the temperature hovered in the low 50s with a steady north wind cutting across the open fields. The sky was that pale post-front blue that only happens when the air is scrubbed clean, and every power line hummed with the wind. I knew this bird would be an easy find so my jacket was optional; I stepped out into the chill, and scanned the horizon. It felt like the kind of morning when anything could show up – except the Fork-tailed Flycatcher. The remaining group that had been there since sunrise said it had already flown off just minutes before I pulled up. They lost sight of it beyond a line of mesquite and power poles. I stayed for the next two and a half hours, scanning, waiting, hoping. At one point another birder thought he saw it briefly – a dark bird with a long tail flicking up over the brush before dropping back down – but that was all.
Eventually, I admitted defeat. I had a listing appointment across town and figured it was time to move on.
Afterward, I swung by our family’s bbq place to see if they needed any help with the lunch rush. They had it under control, so I decided to use the extra time to look for the Ferruginous Hawk that had been hanging out at Dick Kleberg Park down in Kleberg County. I had just hit the road when my phone buzzed. The Coastal Bend RBA chat was lighting up again – the Fork-tailed Flycatcher was back, perched along the fence line and putting on a show for everyone who had stuck it out. It was on the way to Kleberg, so I made a quick detour and headed that way, but by the time I got there it had disappeared once more.
So I waited. And waited.
The afternoon turned warm and bright, a steady breeze blowing across the pasture. A few dozen of us stood or sat along the roadside, scopes and cameras ready. It became a kind of impromptu social hour. I met a couple from the Valley who had driven up just for the chase, and a birder from San Antonio who had taken a vacation day hoping to add the species to his Texas list. I also met 3 eager young birders from Bexar County whose dad brought them down for the chase. By four o’clock, there was still no sign of the bird. I packed up and drove home, dusty and windburned, but still hopeful.
Tuesday morning I decided to give it one last shot. My first appointment wasn’t until nine-thirty, so I figured I’d get there around eight and spend an hour looking before heading into town. The air was calm and quiet. I could hear Mourning Doves, a couple of Vermilion Flycatchers, one Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, several Eastern Meadowlarks, and a handful of Loggerhead Shrikes – which, from a distance, have an uncanny way of tricking you into thinking you’re about to get lucky.
Around 8:45, my appointment called to reschedule. The sellers weren’t ready, which gave me permission to linger a bit longer. I decided to slowly cruise south along the county road to check another stretch of habitat where it might have moved.
The road was quiet except for the sound of gravel under the tires. I drove with the windows down, scanning the fence lines and brush tops. Then I heard birdsong. I pulled over, opened Merlin, and it confirmed my suspicion - a White-eyed Vireo (WEVI). I smiled, thinking, well at least someone’s happy to see me. The vireo flitted in the mesquite brush while I sat there listening, just me and the bird in the morning sun.
A few minutes later, I saw other birders heading down the road behind me, and I decided to move forward to a wider spot so they could pass. As I pulled ahead, something caught my eye – a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher perched high on a power line, backlit by the rising sun. It looked a little darker than usual, but it was hard to tell with the glare. Out of habit, I raised my binoculars to double-check.
And then everything froze.
Holy crap!.
It wasn’t a Scissor-tail. It was the Fork-tailed Flycatcher – that long, streamer-like tail unmistakable even in silhouette.
I jumped out of the car, waving to the birders coming up behind me to look up. They stopped, doors opened, binoculars came up, and suddenly there was this collective gasp followed by laughter and excitement. I fired off a few quick shots for documentation while Jeff and Jason – two birders from the Pacific Northwest who were on their way back from the Rio Grande Valley Bird Festival – scrambled to set up their scopes. I motioned toward a group of cars about a quarter mile back, pointing to the wire above us, hoping they’d catch on. Within minutes, a small convoy of dusty vehicles rolled up, everyone piling out, grinning ear to ear.
For the next half hour, we had the perfect view. The FTFL perched calmly, then made short flights, then perched again. At one point, it landed on the barbed wire just eight feet from someone’s car. Cameras clicked, scopes focused, and word spread fast. Dania shared the update on the RBA channel, and another wave of excited birders soon appeared on the horizon, raising their binoculars before their car doors even closed.
I took a deep breath, stepped back from my camera, and just watched. After six and a half hours of chasing across two days, the bird that had managed to elude me three times was finally sitting in front of us, tail streaming in the wind.
This was the first bird I’ve truly chased. Every other rarity I’ve gone after has been waiting right where it was supposed to be. This one made me work for it. It tested my patience, made me question my timing, and nearly sent me home empty-handed more than once.
And yet, in the end, it came down to the quiet song of a White-eyed Vireo and a moment’s pause. Long enough to look up, long enough to catch the flash of a tail, and long enough to remember why we do this – for the chase, for the community, and for that perfect, fleeting moment when everything finally comes together.
The Nueces County Fork-Tailed Flycatcher snacking on a juicy bug while sitting on overhead power lines.
About the Fork-tailed Flycatcher
The Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) is a long-distance traveler native to Central and South America. Each fall, a handful wander north into the United States, often appearing along the Gulf Coast after strong weather systems or cold fronts. Most sightings in Texas occur between October and December, and nearly always create a stir among birders.
It’s a striking bird — sleek gray and white body, black cap, and that incredible tail that can stretch more than twice the length of its body. The tail streamers twist and flutter in the wind as it hunts insects in open pastures and fields, often alongside its close cousin, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.
Though they may linger for a few days or even weeks, Fork-tailed Flycatchers rarely stay long. Most are likely migrants blown off course, briefly turning a quiet Texas fence line into the state’s hottest birding stop of the week.
Species List
| Mourning Dove | 29 |
| Turkey Vulture | 2 |
| White-tailed Kite | 1 |
| Northern Harrier | 3 |
| White-tailed Hawk | 2 |
| American Kestrel | 2 |
| Eastern Phoebe | 1 |
| Vermilion Flycatcher | 3 |
| Fork-tailed Flycatcher | 1 |
| White-eyed Vireo | 1 |
| Loggerhead Shrike | 3 |
| Northern House Wren | 2 |
| Northern Mockingbird | 3 |
| Savannah Sparrow | 2 |
| Lincoln's Sparrow | 6 |
| new world sparrow sp. | 13 |
| Eastern Meadowlark | 3 |
| Bronzed Cowbird | 2 |
| Great-tailed Grackle | 5 |
| Common Yellowthroat | 2 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 3 |
