4/21/2016
Thursday’s trip to Starr County was,
as per usual, low on quantity but great on quality! We arrived at Salineño to find a couple of
tour groups had beaten us there and were crowded on the only dry spot where you
could look upriver! So we decided to
hunt down the seedeater, which I heard almost immediately upon getting out of
the car! Another couple from Arizona
were also trying to track it down, but it had quit singing by the time Sharon
and I got to the area. So we headed down
to the end of the trail and had a great view of the river; she was thrilled
that she was actually seeing Mexico!
Things were quiet at that end except for a Mexican Duck that flew by and
an “Audubon’s” Warbler, and we actually heard another seedeater singing
upriver, but on the way back, the guy from Arizona came and got us – they had
found the seedeater! So back we went,
and eventually the little guy sat way up high in a spindly tree, just singing
away, his little tail pumping along with each phrase! What a look!
Sharon poses next to the Rio Grande
White-collared Seedeater
We then joined the rest of the crowd
doing river watch, and about the only exciting birds were a Gray Hawk being
chased by a grackle almost as big as he
was, and a Ringed Kingfisher that finally decided to fly by and give everyone
great looks! A big flock of Blue-winged
Teal weren’t “uncommon”, but it was a pretty sight and gave the visiting Brits
some good photo ops!
Happy birders at the boat ramp
After awhile it was time to move on,
so we headed up to the Dump Road. Just
as we made the right turn onto the main road, what should be standing right by
the side but a gorgeous Scaled Quail! He
was in perfect light, and seemed to pose forever while we both got crippling
views and shots! There was actually a
second bird down in the grass, and he eventually hopped off his tire to go join
his mate…
Scaled Quail
Things were rather anticlimactic
after that, but we did manage to spot some more desert birds such as
Black-throated Sparrow, but the Verdin was a little less cooperative. A male Bobwhite stood in the middle of the
road before flying off, and his wife soon followed, giving us a nice look
first. Heading over to Falcon County
Park (most locals call it “Starr County Park” to avoid confusion with Falcon
State Park next door), we made a sudden stop for a Kestrel, which was Sharon’s
first! Just before entering the park, I
was surprised to see a young White-tailed Hawk that subsequently took off right
towards us, as I couldn’t recall ever seeing one in that area before! In the park proper, a Cactus Wren was singing
at the top of a tree right outside the car, and after finding a shady spot to
park we started the walking loop around the center thicket. Almost right away Sharon spotted the
Vermilion Flycatcher (another “most wanted” bird), and both Bullock’s and
Hooded Orioles showed up. A huge
“bird-nado” in the sky turned out to be a mob of White Pelicans that had caught
a thermal and was circling around gracefully, and a House Finch warbled briefly
and then took off before he could be “documented”. A sparrow flock blasted from tree to ground
to tree, most of which were Larks, but we also picked out both Chipping and
Clay-colored. No sign of the Red-billed
Pigeons, alas, but hopping in the car and driving the perimeter we scared up
another Roadrunner, and this one we actually raced to stay abreast of it!
Western Kingbird
Bullock's Oriole
Hiking the loop at Starr Co. Park
From there we went to the state park
where Sharon spotted a Painted Bunting singing in the bushes on the entrance
road along with a Texas Tortoise making headway across the road, but things were warming up by then; we did walk the loop over by the boat
ramp and just got exercise and a few Coots for it, then decided to drive closer
to the lake where we thought we had several egrets that turned out to be
plastic bags stuck in the trees… Just
for kicks and grins I decided to go down to the old Falcon Dam Overlook to see
if security had lightened up since I had last been there about seven years ago,
and when we saw that the gate was open things looked hopeful! However, when we got down to the actual
overlook, a very nice official wheeled over and told us it was still off
limits, due to a bomb threat from a cartel, I think he said… L
Texas Tortoise
Killdeer doing a distraction display
We made one last river watch at
Salineño before the heat inspired us to call it a day,
winding up with 74 species for the day! Bird List:
Mallard (Mexican Duck)
Blue-winged Teal
Plain Chachalaca
Scaled Quail
Northern Bobwhite
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Gray Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Ringed Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Vermilion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Bank Swallow
Cave Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Bewick's Wren
Cactus Wren
Clay-colored Thrush
Curve-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
White-collared Seedeater
Olive Sparrow
Cassin's Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Painted Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Hooded Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
Altamira Oriole
House Finch
House Sparrow
74 SPECIES
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