Taylor's Bayou
Since it was just the two of us doing this area we were not restricted to the itinerary of others so we headed from High Island back up to Winnie and along route 73 towards Port Arthur, turning up route 124 towards a town called Hamshire. East of Hamshire is Taylor's Bayou, a riverine system with two major forks, north and south. We stopped on Jap Road where it crosses North Fork (see the ABA Guide A Birders Guide to the Texas Coast). Here we found a Cypress swamp bordering one side of the road (immediately south of North Fork on Jap Road) and a small river and wooded area the other.
Cypress Swamp
As we got out of the car we heard singing male Prothonotary Warbler and after a short wait the bird came towards us and flew across the road. Next, an unfamiliar call led us to a small bird in a tree which turned out to be a fine male Yellow-throated Warbler. A male Northern Cardinal flew across the road and then our target bird appeared: a Fish Crow mobbing a Red-shouldered Hawk. This was the only individual we saw here although they could be heard calling in the area.
Also here we had Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron, Great Egret and three Anhingas fly over plus two Yellow-billed Cuckoos in the trees. As w eheaded back to the car the male Prothonotary Warbler started singing again and showed well a few metres into the swamp.