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Photos of East Texas Birds
We love bird watching, and East Texas is a great place for that interest! Birds appeal to our appreciation of diversity and beauty, and birdwatching provides a great opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors.
Plus, you don't have to be rich to be a birder, as you only need a pair of binoculars, and possibly an identification guide and checklist.
Although the Texas Gulf Coast remains a prime bird watching territory, the mild winters in Tyler and East Texas provide great opportunities to watch winter migrants.
And year-round the diversity of the East Texas forests, lakes and wetlands provides a valuable habitat for permanent bird residents.
East Texas Birding Venues
Popular East Texas birding sites include Lake Fork, the Mineola Nature Preserve, Old Sabine Bottoms WMA, Lake Bob Sandlin, along Toledo Bend Reservoir, Richland Creek WMA, and Caddo Lake.
In the Tyler area birders are often found at Tyler State Park, Lake Tyler and Camp Tyler, Bellwood Lake and Lake Palestine.
Other birdwatching venues include:
- Sam Houston National Forest
- High Island, Bolivar Flats and Cattail Marsh
- Daingerfield State Park
- Eastman Facility in Longview
- Gus Engeling WMA near Palestine
- Kurth Lake
- Lake Murvaul
- Lake Wright Patman dam area
- Sea Rim State Park
- Morris County Bottomland and Lake O' the Pines
- Texas Freshwater Fisheries in Athens
- Big Thicket National Preserve
Common East Texas Bird Species
We see, and hear, a variety of species in our backyard gardens and when visiting various birding sites in East Texas:
Cardinal |
Kestrel |
Eastern Phoebe |
Blue Jay |
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak |
Mockingbird |
Carolina Wren |
Brown Headed Cowbird |
Cedar Waxwing |
Black-capped Chickadee |
Robin |
Indigo Bunting |
Brown Thrasher |
Roadrunner |
Painted Bunting |
House Sparrow |
Summer Tanager |
Blackbird |
White Throated Sparrow |
Yellow-Breasted Chat |
Mourning Dove |
Tufted Titmouse |
Yellow Rumped Warbler |
Red Tailed Hawk |
Red-Bellied Woodpecker |
Red-Headed Woodpecker |
Pileated Woodpecker |
Downy Woodpecker |
Pine Siskin |
Nuthatch |
Flicker |
Pine Warbler |
Crow |
American Goldfinch |
Chuck Wills Widow |
Eastern Bluebird |
Dark-Eyed Junco |
Baltimore Oriole |
Great Blue Heron |
Ruby Crowned Kinglet |
House Finch |
Ruby Throated Hummingbird |
| Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker |
Bird Guides and Resources
 Part of our nature reference library |
Some of our favorite birding guides and bird reference books include the following:
- Field Guide to the Birds of North America, by National Geographic
- All the Birds of North America, by the American Bird Conservancy
- North American Birdfeeder Handbook
- Peterson Field Guide of Eastern Birds
- Golden Field Identification of the Birds of North America
There are hundreds of excellent websites devoted to birding, but some of our favorites, and highly recommended, include the Tyler Audubon Society, the Texas Ornithological Society, and the American Birding Association.
East Texas Birds
Included below are photographs of common birds sighted in East Texas. The gallery is built from photos taken by the staff of this website, and from public domain photos courtesy of our birding friends at Flickr. And be sure to view our sections on East Texas Hummingbirds and East Texas Butterflies.
| Male Cardinal, head on view ... Tyler, Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Male Cardinal, up close and personal ... Tyler, Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Female Cardinal, feeding in winter ... Tyler, Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Summer Tanager |
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Source: Alan Schmierer |
| Male House Finch |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Pine Warbler |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| American Goldfinch in the feeder ... Tyler Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| American Goldfinch in the feeder, with a warbler watching nearby ... East Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Yellow Rumped Warbler |
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Source: Andre' Chivinski |
| Eastern Phoebe ... an excellent fly catcher, and fun to watch! |
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Source: Alan Schmierer |
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet ... a tiny winter migrant, not much larger than a hummingbird! |
| The classic view of the Tufted Titmouse ... Tyler Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Black Capped Chickadee |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| White Breasted Nuthatch ... likes to wander up and down tree trunks upside down! |
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Source: Alan Schmierer |
| Dark-Eyed Junco in East Texas ... always glad to see this winter migrant |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Junco showing its pinkish beak |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Dark-Eyed Junco ... head view ... in East Texas in winter |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| White Throated Sparrow with its yellow-streaked head ... a familiar winter migrant to East Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
Cedar Waxwing ... oflten seen in flocks dining on berries on holly bushes and cedar trees |
| Fluffed-up Mourning Dove trying to stay warm on an East Texas snow day |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Mourning Dove, up close, always alert, in East Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Pileated Woodpecker ... a beautiful, large bird, up to 16 inches in length |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Downy Woodpecker (L) with Red-Bellied Woodpecker (R) |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker ... working the holes in the tree trunk |
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Source: Rita Wiskowski |
| Red-Headed Woodpecker ... a classic woodpecker |
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Source: Susan Young |
| Northern Flicker ... showing its exquisite markings and colors |
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Source: Susan Young |
| Texas Roadrunner ... a large bird with its unmistakable shape and running ability! |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Texas Roadrunner: Camo at its best! |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Texas Bluejay |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Male Eastern Bluebird scouting out a new box |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Four perfect Bluebird eggs in a nest in East Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Bluebirds on the birdbath on a hot summer day in East Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird ... a commonly sighted bird from March through October |
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Source: Hummingbird Central Staff Photo |
| Male Painted Bunting with its magnificent coloration! |
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Source: Susan Young |
| Female Painted Bunting ... totally different colors than the male, but incredibly beautiful! |
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Source: Susan Young |
| Indigo Bunting ... its irridescent blue is very unique! |
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Source: Colleen |
| Belted Kingfisher ... often seen perched on branches or utility lines over water waiting for a fish to dine on! |
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Source: Susan Young |
| Carolina Wren ... a small bird with a loud voice, and an inquisitive nature! |
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Source: Alan Schmierer |
| Loggerhead Shrike ... likes to perch on fences awaiting its next prey, which it pulls apart with its hooked beak |
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Source: Alan Schmierer |
| Northern Mockingbird, the officlal State of Texas bird ... master singer and bug catcher |
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Source: Alan Schmierer |
| Brown Thrasher ... in the same Mimidae family as the Mockingbird ... loves to sing, but somewhat a loner! |
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Source: Alan Schmierer |
| Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher ... beautiful, large bird often seen perched on power lines or fence posts waiting to swoop down on an insect |
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Source: Alan Schmierer |
| American Robin |
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Source: Wagon |
| A questioning sparrow in East Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Fluffed-up sparrow on a cold winter day in East Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Hawk patiently waiting prey, south of Tyler Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Baltimore Oriole on hummingbird feeder in Tyler Texas |
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Source: Staff Photo |
| Brown-Headed Cowbird ... lays its eggs in the nests of other birds ... follows herds of cattle seeking insects |
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Source: KSBlack |
Tyler and East Texas Photo Galleries |
Downtown Tyler |