“Joe and Mary” (names changed to
protect identity) from Birmingham, UK, were waiting for me right outside the
“Red Door” on this first day of their Valley Birding Blitz! Most everything was new, but while visiting
their son in Houston they had spent some considerable time birding that area before coming here (and then
spent another four hours scouring Santa Ana after arriving here), so a good
chunk of what was on their “need list” was already taken care of, and them
some! So since the Crimson-collared
Grosbeak (and some other rarities at other Hidalgo County locales) was still
being seen, I figured we could hit those hotspots and bag some common Valley
specialties along the way.
After cruising the Weslaco
neighborhoods pre-dawn in hopes of finding some parrots, we headed over to
Frontera Audubon Thicket, where the gates were open early, and almost
immediately after we pulled in, Chris Benesh from Field Guides wheeled in with
a van full of folks! Our two groups
circled the orchard (as that’s where the bird had been hanging of late), and in
the meantime Joe was able to photograph their first Clay-colored Thrush that
miraculously perched out in the open!
Red-crowned Parrots were
flying over, but just not in an open patch; Mary got to see one, but Joe dipped. Chris and I exchanged phone numbers and my
group went into the thicket to seek additional birds; we carefully checked the
resaca for Green Kingfisher while a Green Heron called unseen from the big
lake. Sneaking around the loop I was
pleasantly shocked to hear a flock of Wood Ducks (rare in the Valley) take off unseen
from a hidden bog, but as we approached the boardwalk, a whole lineup of
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks decorated the railing! As we were enjoying them, a Green Kingfisher
flew by and landed on the very end of the boardwalk, but Joe’s camera was able
to pick it up nicely! A Long-billed
Thrasher showed close by while one of Joe’s nemesis birds, a White-eyed Vireo,
sang across the lake but refused to come out…
It was about that time that Chris texted me and said the bird was seen
by another couple and heard by him, so we raced back, only the bird was gone. L
Chris had gotten a fabulous recording of the thing, but alas, she didn’t
vocalize for us, so we decided to head on to the next spot.
Checking the Resaca for Green Kingfisher
Lineup of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
And the next spot was Estero Llano
Grande, which is a photographer’s paradise!
On the way in a flock of Greater White-fronted Geese flew over with
three smaller white geese that I felt comfortable calling Ross’, as Snows are
virtually the same size as the Whitefronts.
Right away we got their life Buff-bellied Hummingbird, and while we
watched a couple of different Archilochus
hummers came in that I felt comfortable IDing as Ruby-throated and Black-chinned, based on bill length
and the shape of the outer primary (there was
a young male Blackchin hanging around starting to show the purple, but we
didn’t see him). Park Host Huck was
manning his post and pointed out a Bronzed Cowbird in a flock of Redwings to
us, and we enjoyed the normal contingent of ducks and grebes (a nice Least was
very cooperative) before moving on. None
of the three Virginia Rails showed themselves, but a Sora showed off, and when
something with a long bill shot behind a clump of reeds, a scope look revealed
to just be a Snipe (which is really nothing to sniff at, either).
Waterfowl crowd - can you spot the Cinnamon Teal?
Northern Shoveler
Sora
Dabbling Green-winged Teal
Least Grebe
Sparrows were scarce, as were shorebirds,
but at least a Tropical Kingbird vocalized and showed well at Grebe Marsh. On the way to Alligator Lake both night
herons were showing, and one of the resident Pauraques came through famously;
Mary was convinced he wasn’t a cardboard cutout only because he moved! J
The Screech Owl was also at his post (a potential split according to
some folks), and Joe was very pleased
with the photo! A Cardinal was giving
the owl fits, however… At the overlook
at Alligator Lake, Joe found a comrade with a “Big Gun”, so they talked cameras
awhile as a pair of Anhingas posed, and a big Alligator lay serenely on the
other side. Another Green Kingfisher
came racing in but didn’t stay long enough for a picture. A short loop around Camino de Aves didn’t
produce the hoped for Ground Doves, but a hovering White-tailed Kite was a nice
consolation prize! A parting rest at the
VC feeders added the wintering Bullock’s Oriole and some feisty Chachalacas,
and a visit to the Tropical Zone yielded great looks at White-tipped Doves,
Orange-crowned Warblers, and a nice male Nashville Warbler that came in for a
bath and showed off his rusty cap! Joe
was able to photograph the Ruby-crowned Kinglet as he revealed his crown as
well! The weather was lousy for butterflies, but we tried anyway, and managed to find a Sickle-winged Skipper and a very worn Silver-banded Hairstreak!
Tropical Kingbird
"McCall's" Screech Owl
Pauraque face
Anhinga pair
"Joe" talks cameras with a fellow photographer
Bathing Nashville Warbler shows his rusty cap!
Sickle-winged Skipper
Worn Silver-banded Hairstreak
On the way to Anzalduas we stopped
at the famous rock pile (after stopping at a Stripes and
introducing my guests to Barbacoa Tacos J),
and I was starting to sweat as we couldn’t spot any Burrowing Owls at
first! Finally I spotted one, and Joe
announced that he saw it, only he had spotted a different owl! Before long it became apparent that Mary as
well had her own owl, so that was three
that were hanging out there (and Mary’s had a rather rusty tone)!
Three different Burrowing Owls near Anzalduas
Having gotten our exercise for the
day hiking all over Estero, I promised them that Anzalduas would be a driving
route. Well. After pulling in and parking at the Big
Field, I talked Joe at least into taking a hike to try and flush a Sprague’s
Pipit (Americans were all over, as were Western Meadowlarks)! He was dubious at first as he had visions of
past “Pipit Death Marches”, but as we started out with the sun to our backs, it
didn’t take long for a couple to pop up, giving their characteristic pike! calls, and we eventually got smashing
looks and (more importantly for Joe) a smashing photograph! High fives all around!
From there we continued the promised
“driving route,” but as a Black Phoebe posed in horrible light, we decided to
pull into the crossover and park, then walk behind the maintenance area to get
a better view while a single House Finch flew over. The phoebe never showed again, but a Northern
Beardless Tyrannulet called, so that took us clear to the other end of the
section, where the Greater Pewee made an appearance! The tyrannulet called again, which took us
back to the road, where a flock of Eastern Bluebirds were showing off, and a
couple of Lark Sparrows gave Joe fits by refusing to move so he could see where
they were! J Huck pulled up about then, bagged the pewee
for the year, then came over to see what we were looking at; by that time Joe
had found the unmoving sparrow, but then we went through the same exercise with
Huck! I guess by that time none of us
had the wherewithal to think about going back to the car for the scope… J
We let the tyrannulet lead us by the nose over the whole southeast
quarter of the park (where a Pine Warbler made a nice appearance) before
finally giving up, making one last loop around, and calling it a day! I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had
logged over 100 species for the day!
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Greater White-fronted Goose Ross's Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Ruddy Duck
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Neotropic Cormorant
Anhinga
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Burrowing Owl
Common Pauraque
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Red-crowned Parrot
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Greater Pewee
Black Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Clay-colored Thrush
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
American Pipit
Sprague's Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Lark Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
Altamira Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
102 SPECIES
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