West Texas Avian Research, Inc.: About Us

WEST TEXAS AVIAN RESEARCH, INC.

WTAR, Inc. is a 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation that was founded for the sole purpose of supporting bird banding research and bird conservation in the greater west Texas region. West Texas Avian Research, Inc. is currently comprised of two major efforts. One is led by Master Bander Kelly Bryan of Fort Davis and the other by Master Bander Charles Floyd previously of San Angelo who now resides in the Davis Mountains. Currently, active projects include studies on the status and distribution of hummingbirds in the Concho Valley and Trans-Pecos Regions of Texas, and the status of migrant and summer-resident songbirds of the Concho Valley Region. The latter project includes a MAPS station (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) which provides vital data used to monitor the reproductive success of birds along the South Concho River at Hummer House near Christoval. For more information on the above projects please go to the following websites:

http://westtexashummingbirds.com/

All support and donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. Please be advised that these projects are strictly volunteer efforts and do not include any salaries. Monetary support that is received will be used for supplies, materials, and travel expenses. If you have any questions please direct them to the following:

West Texas Avian Research, Inc.

P.O. Box 375

Christoval, Texas 76935

                                                          westtexasavianresearch@gmail.com

                          Charles Floyd                                                                 Kelly Bryan
              charleso.floyd@gmail.com                                          kelly.b.bryan@gmail.com

Presumed Colima X Virginia’s Warbler Hybrids in the Davis Mountains of Texas

A small population of breeding Virginia's Warblers were first discovered in the Davis Mountains of west Texas in 1990. Then, acquisition by the Nature Conservancy of portions of the higher elevations of the range in the mid-1990s allowed for additional detailed ornithological surveys and the discovery of the first Colima Warbler there in 1999. Since that time numerous field crews have observed birds that appeared to be intermediate between the two sibling species. For many years Mark Lockwood and Kelly Bryan have gathered and analyzed material supporting the theory that most of the birds in the Davis Mountains were hybrids. Their evidence is finally published in the journal North American Birds. We chose NAB because they typically do not limit the number of illustrations needed to support the text of an article. We hope you will agree that this problem required every single item we included the article, one that will challenge the ornithological world to possibly rethink the structure of the genus Oreothlypis. We look forward to the day that an aspiring Phd student will confirm our argument with DNA analysis.

This article may be read in Volume 70 (2018) North American Birds

Amethyst-Throated Hummingbird

On October 14, 2016 a once in a lifetime event occurred high up in the Davis Mountains of west Texas.

A juvenile male Amethyst-throated Hummingbird was spotted coming in to a feeder. It is believed to be the

first confirmed record for the United States and Texas. It was observed by Kelly Bryan, Charles Floyd and Carolyn Ohl and documented with photographs as well as being captured on video from a live hummingbird cam that was installed and operated by Cornell University Bird Cams Lab and sponsored by Perky Pet (http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/50/West_Texas_Hummingbirds/).

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