Well,
you can’t have it go your way all the time, and we learned that truth big time
today on my third trip to Laredo to see the Amazon Kingfisher, only this time
she was a no-show. Steve and Marion had
flown in all the way from California and were hoping she’d still be around (and
she was indeed reported two days ago), but she was either hiding up the
tributary or had flown the joint (plus we were the only birders there today, so
it could be that people are just no longer looking for her). We started off the day with the requisite
grackle/cowbird mob in Alamo, then had several handsome Caracaras on the way to
Laredo, in addition to some Harris’ Hawks and one “Fuertes’” Red-tailed Hawk
(which led to a discussion about Hollywood using Redtail calls for Bald Eagles…
J)! Marion spotted a Merlin as we passed Kestrel
after Kestrel, along with shrikes and a Green Jay I never saw as I was focused
on driving!
After
stocking up on snacks and chicken legs at a Stripes just outside Laredo, we
made it to Dos/Tres Laredos Park (this time without getting lost J) and pulled into a shady spot
under the Railroad Bridge. Unlike the
time with Howard and Pat, the Amazon was nowhere to be seen, although we had a
pair of Black Phoebes, Neotropic Cormorants, an Osprey, a Spotted Sandpiper,
and a Black-crowned Night Heron in the vicinity. We decided to walk the edge of the river, and
a “green type” kingfisher did pop up that got us all excited, but alas, she had
white spots in the wings (plus we saw her mate nearby). A Ringed Kingfisher flew overhead calling
that was almost ignored while we were initially trying to get the scope on this
Amazon wannabe! A House Finch flew over
that I heard but Marion saw, and commented on how dark it looked; I confirmed
that the birds we get are probably the redder Mexican birds.
Spotted Sandpiper along a little ditch
We
wandered back to the car, picking up a young Green Heron and Couch’s Kingbird
for the day, then decided to take a short walk down the nice caliche road that
Pat and I had taken in hopes of kicking up some seedeaters. A Verdin actually gave pretty good views, and
the regular winter visitors fed busily in the tamarisks, but there was nothing
unusual amongst them. In the cane, I did
hear the whistle of a seedeater, but it never did want to come out (didn’t even
call again), so that was rather disappointing (the only thing that seemed upset
at our pishing was a male Cardinal).
The "trail" off Eagle Pass Road
Young Green Heron
Waiting forlornly for the Amazon to show up...
We
dragged ourselves back to the car and munched on chicken, and after some
discussion decided to take a look at Zecate Creek, even though the chances of
the bird being there this time of day (based only on previous reports) were
slim, but Griffin’s report of the seedeaters from the trail there moved us
onward. This time we did get turned around trying to find the
place J, and part of the
problem was that some prankster had turned the street signs at the very
intersection we were supposed to turn!
But we eventually got there and first scanned the creek, picking up a
pair of Spotted Sandpipers, but that was about it. We found Griffin’s trail, which was actually
very scenic and pleasant: you were
bordered on the right by picturesque limestone rocks, and bordered on the left
by woodland, with the cane stands closer to the river! Being the time of day it was (and 91 degrees
out L) we really didn’t
get much out of that trail except some good exercise and a kettle of vultures
that included a Cooper’s Hawk making dives at them once in a while, but a
female Filagree Skimmer closer to the water was very exciting!
Zecate Creek
Marion and Steve scan for the Amazon...
We find a cryptic female Filagree Skimmer instead!
Scenic trail along the Rio Grande
We
reluctantly headed home after that, drowning our sorrows (or at least mine,
anyway) with a F’Real! I was surprised
we made it up to 51 species for the day (54 including the three additional ones
Marion and Steve saw)! Bird List:
Gadwall
“Mexican Duck” Pied-billed Grebe
Neotropic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Harris's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Spotted Sandpiper
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Ringed Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Black Phoebe
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Chihuahuan Raven
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cave Swallow
Verdin
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
White-collared Seedeater
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
House Finch
House Sparrow
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