A Dane Makes a Detour - Part 3

6/24/16 

The next day we headed out a little earlier in order to get to Sabal Palm Sanctuary by opening time.  Per reported that his trip to Estero Llano Grande SP and the Weslaco Parrot Roost was a great success, so we headed out with great hopes of yet more life birds!

After a little detour (they’re again working on that stretch of FM 511 between Reuben Torres and Boca Chica) we made it to the turnoff to Sabal Palm, where we stopped along the entrance road in a vain attempt to spot a singing Dickcissel (we concluded that he was on the other side of the border fence).  Lots of Couch’s Kingbirds serenaded us, and after paying our entrance fee, we opted to sit at the feeders for awhile seeing as they had just filled them.  We were surrounded by White-tipped Doves, but it took them awhile to come in, and before long a raggedy-looking Green Jay also dove into the pile of feed on the webcam table!  A Buff-bellied Hummingbird and Black-crested Titmouse made a brief appearance, but that was the extent of the feeder action.  We then took the main loop in hopes of spotting Altamira Oriole (we did come upon a nest) or scaring up a Green Kingfisher, but nothing cooperated; even the reported Yellow-green Vireos had apparently moved to the National Butterfly Center… J  We did manage to kick up a young male Hooded Oriole, but the big disappointment was that there wasn’t a bird to be found in the big resaca, even with plenty of water!  We were hoping to pick up the Least Grebe here, but except for a whistling duck that flew over the treetops, it was quite dead.

Feeding area at Sabal Palm Sanctuary

Per waits for his life Green Jay to come in!

Lots of Giant Swallowtails were on the wing.

The upper trail in the morning light

Broad-striped Forcept-tail (best guess)

From there we headed straight to the car and went the back way to Boca Chica Boulevard, picking up a nice White-tailed Kite and what looked like a Swainson’s Hawk being chased by something.  Once on the main drag we tootled past the checkpoint and stopped at the appointed pulloff, and thankfully the resident Aplomado Falcon was resting on the nesting platform, right where he was supposed to be! J  That made up for the Least Grebe, but amazingly what should Per spot as we rolled past one of the roadside wetlands but said Least Grebe!!  He got a good enough look to positively ID it before he dove (the grebe, not Per), and just down the road was a Pied-billed Grebe for good comparison!

Continuing on, we found a beautiful White-tailed Hawk close to road eating his breakfast of gopher (or whatever it was – it was pretty big), and turning down the good dirt road that goes into the open tract of the NWR, a Bobwhite was standing sentry on the parking area fence and showed no interest in moving!  We both thought maybe he was stuffed until he moved his head a little! J  Down the road we heard more Dickcissels and got a passable view in the sun (he threw his head back and sang, so that was good enough for Per), and a Botteri’s Sparrow also gave a distant, heat-wave saturated view as he sat on a palm spike (thankfully he started singing as well)!  Per got a kick out of the Willet that came over to investigate us and sat on the wire to do so!  Cactus Wrens were singing in the cactus patches, but refused to come out, so that turned out to be Per’s nemesis bird.  A Blue Grosbeak was also singing, but try as I might, I just couldn’t spot him.  In the wooded area Per spotted an ani that I missed, but we were almost back to the paved road when Per spotted his Blue Grosbeak on the wire!  Yippee!

Harris' Hawk

A magnificent White-tailed Hawk and breakfast...

Northern Bobwhite

Continuing down, we stopped at a couple of flats with water, and got distant but passable views of Reddish Egrets and a Snowy Plover.  We turned down the road to the Rio Grande just so Per could say he saw it, and picked up Royal, Sandwich, and Gull-billed Terns for the day.  Another open area had a  bunch of waders that included a spoonbill, which Per was thrilled to see!  At the end of the road the beach was in great shape, so we headed towards the mouth a little, when a cute little Snowy Plover showed up right next to the car!  Both he and a Least Tern played leapfrog with us, but what really surprised me was a flock of Semipalmated Plovers in with some Sanderlings – I didn’t think they were supposed to be here now!  But EBird liked them, so we’re good… J  Also had some Ruddy Turnstones, but because we didn’t know which way the tide was going, we opted to turn around and head back. 

Per at the Rio Grande

Boca Chica Flats

Snowy Plover

Over-summering Semipalmated Plover

With a Sanderling at right

Per checked on his list while we drove back, and he was thrilled to report that he broke the 100-species goal for this trip (and I think he said he had over 40 lifers)!  And we still had the evening shift to go!  Altamira Oriole was high on his list, so after consulting Birds-Eye (an app that ties into EBird data), I saw where one had been recorded in the Santa Ana parking lot, so we headed down there around 6:00.  We had the whole place to ourselves at that point (except for a Border Patrol guy who wandered in to use the facilities), and while I heard no orioles, we had no less than three Clay-colored Thrushes song-battling in the picnic area!  A Chachalaca posed nicely on a dead tree, and a Buff-bellied Hummingbird was glued to one of the feeders in the manner of the Bobwhite we saw earlier J, but since nothing else was coming in, we decided to head on to Hidalgo, as Per had never seen Monk Parakeets, and it would be a good time-killer until the Green Parakeet Show.

Plain Chachalaca at his post

Clay-colored Thrush hiding in the woods

As we rolled down Bridge Street and onto Gardenia, I was pointing out the old pumphouse when suddenly a smallish raptor flew overhead and seemingly into a tree!  Per got a better look at it than I did, but as I turned the corner thankfully the thing called – a Gray Hawk!  We couldn’t refind it, but Per was happy with his look, especially after consulting Sibley!  While we were there we also picked up Tropical Kingbirds for his life list, and a Western Kingbird for his trip list.  Continuing on Gardenia, it didn’t take long to see the ginormous stick nest on the telephone pole and a couple of Monk Parakeets attending it!  The light was perfect, and we both got some nice shots!  We were also treated to long lines of Purple Martins staging!

Monk Parakeet attending its stick nest

By then it was time to head up 10^th, so we made a brief stop at Quinta Mazatlan (at least the parking lot, as they were closed already) and picked up Inca Dove for the day, but nothing else.  The last time we did this exercise with Don, the parakeets were in the Lowes parking lot off Dove, so I decided to roll in there just to check.  We didn’t see anything initially, but as I pulled into the drive to turn around, we heard the characteristic squawk of the parakeets further down the pike, and there was a pair on the wires, again in perfect light!  They flew over to the top of the building where three or four other birds were, so mission accomplished!  Per passed on continuing the cruise in hopes of seeing “The Show” (where hundreds of parakeets stage on the wires), so taking the morning and evening shifts together, we wrapped up with 86 species for the day! 

Bird List: 

  Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

  Plain Chachalaca

  Northern Bobwhite

  Least Grebe

  Pied-billed Grebe                 

  Neotropic Cormorant           

  Brown Pelican                      

  Great Blue Heron                 

  Great Egret                          

  Tricolored Heron                      

  Reddish Egret                        

  Roseate Spoonbill                  

  Turkey Vulture                       

  White-tailed Kite                    

  Harris's Hawk                        

  White-tailed Hawk                

  Gray Hawk                            

  Swainson's Hawk                  

  Common Gallinule                

  American Coot                      

  Black-bellied Plover             

  Snowy Plover                       

  Semipalmated Plover           

  Killdeer                             

  Willet                               

  Long-billed Curlew         

  Ruddy Turnstone             

  Sanderling                        

  Laughing Gull                  

  Least Tern                        

  Gull-billed Tern               

  Royal Tern                       

  Sandwich Tern                 

  Rock Pigeon                     

  Eurasian Collared-Dove   

  White-winged Dove         

  Mourning Dove                

  Inca Dove                         

  Common Ground-Dove    

  White-tipped Dove           

  Yellow-billed Cuckoo      

  Lesser Nighthawk            

  Common Nighthawk        

  Buff-bellied Hummingbird

  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            

  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             

  Crested Caracara                     

  Aplomado Falcon                      

  Monk Parakeet                        

  Green Parakeet                       

  Brown-crested Flycatcher      

  Great Kiskadee                       

  Tropical Kingbird                   

  Couch's Kingbird                    

  Western Kingbird                   

  Scissor-tailed Flycatcher        

  Loggerhead Shrike                  

  White-eyed Vireo                   

  Green Jay                            

  Horned Lark                        

  Purple Martin                      

  Cave Swallow                     

  Black-crested Titmouse      

  Verdin                               

  Carolina Wren                  

  Bewick's Wren                 

  Cactus Wren                     

  Clay-colored Thrush         

  Curve-billed Thrasher       

  Long-billed Thrasher        

  Northern Mockingbird      

  European Starling             

  Olive Sparrow                   

  Botteri's Sparrow               

  Lark Sparrow                     

  Northern Cardinal              

  Blue Grosbeak                   

  Dickcissel                            

  Red-winged Blackbird       

  Eastern Meadowlark          

  Great-tailed Grackle          

  Bronzed Cowbird              

  Brown-headed Cowbird    

  Hooded Oriole                   

  Lesser Goldfinch               

  House Sparrow                  

86 SPECIES

A Dane Makes a Detour - Part 2 (report by Keith Hackland)

6/23/16

Summer birding may be unpredictable, and can be fun, here in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Setting out as a hot day cooled, just after 4 pm on June 23^rd, 2016, we decided to focus on Weslaco, and as we drove there we watched the temperature drop from 98 to 94.


Starting out at Frontera Audubon, we heard them calling, and then made our way through a group of vocalizing Plain Chachalacas in the trees above the water feature behind the visitor center. They are always entertaining and we could not help smiling at their antics. We spent forty minutes at the first feeder station. The most active birds were Clay-colored Thrushes that bounced through the trees and seemed curious about us, moving in for close views.  White-tipped Doves stayed in the background beyond the feeders and their summer call echoed through the woods. Periodically two Plain Chachalacas would chase across the stage, one following the other, first one direction, then back the other way. The feeders attracted a bright red male Northern Cardinal, as others of his species called from above, and a Black-crested Titmouse. Doves came, stayed a while and left again, White-winged and Inca. I glimpsed a Green Jay back in the brush. We had a good view of a Brown-crested Flycatcher.


We left the first feeder and at the second found fat White-tipped Doves pecking up sunflower seeds, while Inca Doves looked on. As we walked two Couch’s Kingbirds called from tree tops, and the Sabal Palms rustled. Walking across the board walk we found Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, two Great Kiskadees, a Great Egret, and swarms of tadpoles in the shallows. Rounding the lake Per spotted a Yellow-crowned Night-heron roosting halfway up a tree that leaned over the neighbor’s lake.


Estero Llano Grande State Park was our next destination. The breezeway deck was shaded and breezy, inviting us to stay a while, but it revealed a largely dry lake bed beneath it. We spotted a patchy white and blue Little Blue Heron, several Killdeer, a flock of European Starlings grazing on weeds in the lake bed, and two Black-necked Stilts. In the background a pond with water surrounded by tall cattails revealed White-faced Ibis, White Ibis, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and more stilts. Talking the path to Alligator Pond we found a Buff-bellied Hummingbird at the feeder, and then more stilts and killdeer, Great-tailed Grackles, and a lone Greater Yellowlegs, which we examined closely. Alligator pond was most disappointing, revealing only grackles and few Chimney Swifts overhead.


We walked back to the car, and drove to Estero Llano Grande Lake, where we found Cave and Barn Swallows at the bridge, Red-winged Blackbirds, four juvenile Black-necked Stilt resting like skimmers on the  ground of a dirt field road. We also watched a White-tailed Kite, and numerous grackles and doves. We hoped for a summer American White Pelican, but did not find one. With time on our hands before dusk we drove a farm back road to a small pond and found two Black-crowned Night-Herons.


At dusk we waited at Fourth Street and Border until the sun set, and then enjoyed the sounds and sights of a flock of some twenty Red-Crowned Parrots. Homeward bound two night herons crossed our path while we spoke of where to eat supper.  

Birds seen:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Plain Chachalaca
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
White-tailed Kite
Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
 Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Lesser Nighthawk
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Red-crowned Parrot
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Cave Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Clay-colored Thrush
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
House Sparrow

A Dane Makes a Detour, Part 1

6/23/16

            He knew it was the hottest time of the year when he made his reservation, but with a business trip scheduled in the eastern US, Per from Denmark didn’t have much of a choice! J  But the good news was that it was his first time to the Valley, and there are always good birds to see any time of year!

            The normal guiding routine is to leave the Inn at 7:00 am and return at 5:00 pm, but this time of year is too blasted hot for that schedule, so my modus operandi is to basically do what I would do if it were just me:  plan on being at the target area by sunrise and quit by noon.  Then, since the client is entitled to ten hours of birding, we work backwards from sunset and use the remaining hours that way.  Today’s target area for the morning was the La Sal del Rey driving route, as some of his “most wanted” birds included Roadrunner, Bobwhite, and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (along with raptors), and all of those are reasonable along this route.

            We headed up around 6:00 and actually got to the starting point before dawn, and quickly added the common “wire birds” such as Couch’s Kingbird and Brown-crested Flycatcher.  Bronzed Cowbirds made an early appearance and soon became junk birds, and a little down the road we were actually able to coax an Olive Sparrow and Yellow-billed Cuckoo out in the open, both very tough birds to actually see sometimes!  We didn’t have to wait long for our first Roadrunners (always a delight), and his first Painted Bunting in horrid light soon gave way to lots more in perfect light, a knock down gorgeous sight!  But what knocked me over was a Verdin that came right out in the open of its own volition; I can’t tell you the number of times I tried to pish one out, but to no avail!  A real treat were all the Groove-billed Anis we saw along the course of the route; they almost became ho-hum! J

Per along Brushline Road at first light

 Verdin

 

Painted Bunting

            Arriving at the trailhead to the salt lake, it was obvious that I hadn’t been there in awhile as the place was really grown up from what I remember!  We finally got great looks at a Bewick’s Wren, but unfortunately Per missed the Summer Tanager that flew right over the trail! L  There was nothing at the lake but a pair of Killdeer, but there was lots of water and it was a pretty sight.

Trail to the lake

            Heading on down the road we got great looks at Caracaras on the posts, and eventually his Scissor-tailed Flycatchers starting showing up and showing off!  We had been hearing Bobwhite all morning, and finally a pair here and there would appear by the side of the road and run on ahead of us, their little heads wobbling back and forth!  More Roadrunners showed up (including one that jumped up when I “messed” with it as I can’t help doing J), and we had great views of both White-tailed and Swainson’s Hawks soaring overhead (unfortunately the only Harris’ we saw was making a beeline over the brush).  The Cactus Wrens were uncooperative, but what was even better was a singing Black-throated Sparrow on north Brushline that came right in and sat on the wire fence next to us!  I didn’t hear any Botteri’s Sparrows (this is the only spot in Hidalgo County you can get them), but at one spot along this road we got out to try and spot one of the Green Jays that was making a racket when we suddenly saw why they were making a racket – they had a Great Horned Owl!  He gave us great looks before he decided he had had enough and took off…

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 

Curve-billed Thrasher

            The pond at the north end of Brushline was absolutely dead (except, again, for a couple of Killdeer) but as we poked ahead to the turnaround point, I heard a Bullock’s Oriole!  So we piled out to try and pish it out, and instead in roared this gorgeous Hooded Oriole!  The Bullock’s never came in, but thankfully we would see another one on the way out.  We had both Black and Turkey Vultures as well, and plenty of Common Ground Doves along the road.  But what really surprised me (and unfortunately took off before I could get a shot) was a Pheucticus-type grosbeak that landed on the wire fence (in awful light of course) that had a darkish head and rusty-ish breast with fine streaks, but that’s all I could make out before it fled.  My gut reaction was Black-headed, but neither are supposed to be here this time of year; it appeared hooded, and the rusty coloration would better fit Black-headed, but it was so backlit that I couldn’t rule out a first-year male Rose-breasted, either, so that was the one that got away…

 Hooded Oriole

            The most exciting thing along Ken Baker Road was a male Ladder-backed Woodpecker that came right in to a dead tree and gave Per some great photo ops!  We also picked up some Lark Sparrows and had a nice Pyrrhuloxia on the way out.  Since it was getting close to noon, I suggested we take a peek at the ponds at CR20, which had been hosting some oversummering ducks that might be good for his list, so over we went.  We enjoyed tons of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (and a few Fulvous) and Black-necked Stilts (and a single Avocet), along with some Ruddy and Mottled Ducks and a White-faced Ibis, plus a couple of Gull-billed Terns and some Laughing Gulls.  And we managed to pick up the delinquent Gadwall, Shoveler, and Redhead pair while we were at it, along with a Long-billed Curlew and an unseen chirping Horned Lark.

Pyrrhuloxia 

            We were “all done in” by then, but Per was very happy with his list, and including the Lesser Nighthawk that was whinnying at the apartments before we left (and the Lesser Goldfinch I heard before entering my apartment at the end), the species total was 71 species for the morning!  Bird List:

  Black-bellied Whistling-Duck         

  Fulvous Whistling-Duck               

  Gadwall                              

  Mottled Duck                         

  Northern Shoveler                    

  Redhead                               

  Ruddy Duck                           

  Plain Chachalaca                     

  Northern Bobwhite                    

  Neotropic Cormorant                  

  Snowy Egret                          

  White-faced Ibis                     

  Black Vulture                        

  Turkey Vulture                       

  Harris's Hawk                        

  White-tailed Hawk                    

  Swainson's Hawk                      

  American Coot                        

  Black-necked Stilt                    

  American Avocet                      

  Killdeer                             

  Long-billed Curlew                   

  Laughing Gull                         

  Gull-billed Tern                     

  Eurasian Collared-Dove               

  White-winged Dove                    

  Mourning Dove                        

  Common Ground-Dove                   

  White-tipped Dove                    

  Yellow-billed Cuckoo                 

  Greater Roadrunner                   

  Groove-billed Ani                    

  Great Horned Owl                     

  Lesser Nighthawk                     

  Common Nighthawk                     

  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            

  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             

  Crested Caracara                     

  Brown-crested Flycatcher             

  Great Kiskadee                        

  Couch's Kingbird                     

  Scissor-tailed Flycatcher            

  White-eyed Vireo                     

  Green Jay                             

  Horned Lark                          

  Black-crested Titmouse               

  Verdin                               

  Bewick's Wren                        

  Cactus Wren                          

  Curve-billed Thrasher                

  Long-billed Thrasher                 

  Northern Mockingbird                 

  European Starling                    

  Common Yellowthroat                  

  Olive Sparrow                        

  Lark Sparrow                         

  Black-throated Sparrow               

  Summer Tanager                       

  Northern Cardinal                    

  Pyrrhuloxia                          

  Blue Grosbeak                        

  Painted Bunting                      

  Red-winged Blackbird                 

  Eastern Meadowlark                   

  Great-tailed Grackle                  

  Bronzed Cowbird                      

  Brown-headed Cowbird                 

  Hooded Oriole                        

  Bullock's Oriole                     

  Lesser Goldfinch                     

  House Sparrow                        

71 SPECIES