Wednesday, November 30, 2016

A Thanksgiving Holiday, Part 4

11/24/16

My last day with Gary and Sons was spent trying to clean up on some missing targets, so we started at Estero Llano Grande hoping to catch one of the Screech Owls peeking out of their box.  It was a foggy morning, and the dew on all the spider webs looked like little pearls covering everything!  The Bufflehead showed well on Dowitcher Pond on the way to the Alligator Lake area, but the owls were not there (we DID manage to spot a White-tipped Dove for the boys, and Gary found one of the Pauraques right next to the trail!).  We figured the reported Sage Thrasher was a long shot, but we hiked up to the levee and then took the Camino de Aves Trail back, and back at the headquarters ran into Park Hosts Doug and Huck, who offered to take us back to the Tropical Zone to try for THAT owl (after enjoying a point-blank Green Kingfisher from the deck)!  He wasn't there, either, but we at least got a glimpse of the Beardless Tyrannulet and a cracking view of the Altamira Oriole for Gary!

Dew-covered spider webs

Bufflehead

Jesse tries shooting the nearly invisible Pauraque (below) with his IPhone!


Foggy view from the levee

Habitat along the Camino de Aves Trail

A visiting birder shows off his photos of the Laredo Amazon Kingfisher!

Cooperative Green Kingfisher




We run into Benton Basham back in the Tropical Zone!

 
Altamira Oriole

Giant Swallowtail
  
On the way to Santa Ana we checked out Border Road and miraculously picked up the Burrowing Owl AND a visual on the Sprague's Pipit, then headed over to Santa Ana for a try at the Olive Sparrow, Cave Swallow, and a long shot at Fulvous Whistling Duck.  Dipped on two of the targets (although we heard the sparrow lisping), but another birder reported Cave Swallows down the tour road, so the guys ended up climbing the Tree Tower and getting a flyover Cave while I checked the butter action (which was nuts - best one was a Glazed Pellicia). 

Burrowing Owl near Santa Ana

Texas Spiny Lizard

 Female Common Green Darner

Zebra Heliconian

Glazed Pellicia (below also)



Mob of ducks on Willow Lake guarded by a Kiskadee...

We then headed to Bentsen for a last ditch effort at the Olive Sparrow; Ranger Roy suggested staking out the drip at the Gatehouse Feeders, as they would occasionally come in, but the only takers were Green Jays and the occasional Red-winged Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackles making chests at each other!  The Chachalacas were as entertaining as ever, and just before we finally called it quits a nice Clay-colored Thrush gave a great (but brief) look!

Chachalacas

Fluffy Green Jays at the drip at Bentsen



Great-tailed Grackles making chests at each other


Bird List:

  Black-bellied Whistling-Duck         
  Greater White-fronted Goose          
  Gadwall                              
  Mottled Duck                         
  Blue-winged Teal                     
  Northern Shoveler                     
  Northern Pintail                     
  Green-winged Teal                    
  Bufflehead                           
  Ruddy Duck                           
  Plain Chachalaca                      
  Pied-billed Grebe                    
  Great Blue Heron                     
  Great Egret                          
  Snowy Egret                          
  Yellow-crowned Night-Heron           
  White-faced Ibis                     
  Turkey Vulture                       
  White-tailed Kite                    
  Sharp-shinned Hawk                    
  Harris's Hawk                        
  White-tailed Hawk                    
  Red-shouldered Hawk                  
  Red-tailed Hawk                      
  American Coot                        
  Black-necked Stilt                   
  American Avocet                      
  Spotted Sandpiper                    
  Greater Yellowlegs                   
  Lesser Yellowlegs                    
  Least Sandpiper                      
  Long-billed Dowitcher                
  Rock Pigeon                           
  Mourning Dove                        
  Inca Dove                            
  Common Ground-Dove                   
  White-tipped Dove                    
  Burrowing Owl                        
  Common Pauraque                      
  Buff-bellied Hummingbird             
  Ringed Kingfisher                    
  Belted Kingfisher                    
  Green Kingfisher                     
  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            
  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             
  Crested Caracara                     
  American Kestrel                     
  Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet        
  Black Phoebe                         
  Eastern Phoebe                        
  Vermilion Flycatcher                 
  Great Kiskadee                       
  Couch's Kingbird                     
  Loggerhead Shrike                    
  White-eyed Vireo                     
  Green Jay                            
  Horned Lark                          
  Tree Swallow                         
  Cave Swallow                         
  Black-crested Titmouse               
  Verdin                               
  House Wren                           
  Carolina Wren                         
  Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                
  Ruby-crowned Kinglet                 
  Clay-colored Thrush                  
  Curve-billed Thrasher                 
  Long-billed Thrasher                 
  Northern Mockingbird                 
  European Starling                    
  American Pipit                       
  Sprague's Pipit                      
  Orange-crowned Warbler               
  Common Yellowthroat                  
  Yellow-rumped Warbler                
  Olive Sparrow                         
  Northern Cardinal                    
  Red-winged Blackbird                 
  Great-tailed Grackle                 
  Altamira Oriole                       
  Lesser Goldfinch                     
  House Sparrow                        
 
82 SPECIES


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