Melanie and Jim, two birders from my home
state of Michigan, just wanted a half day of guiding, which was actually nice
as it had been unseasonably hot this week!
They were easy-going birders who just wanted to see the local stuff, so
rather than spend all morning hiking around one park, I opted to make short
stops at a line of hotspots and wind up with a stroll around the Chachalaca
Trail at Santa Ana, close to home.
We started at Bentsen right around dawn,
but because it was gloriously overcast (my car’s thermometer was already at 78)
you really couldn’t tell! A Kiskadee was
the Official Greeter in the parking lot, and as we made our way to the
restrooms, a nice Clay-colored Thrush sat out in the open in the butterfly
garden area. On the main road, lots of
Couch’s Kingbirds serenaded us, and a Golden-fronted Woodpecker sat up
pretty. As we crossed the canal a harsh crack alerted us to a Ringed Kingfisher
flying by, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow in a brush pile was very cooperative, along
with a little Orange-crowned Warbler! We
ran into Hawk Watch John who showed us where the Elf Owl had made a home in
past years in the telephone pole (looked like a pair of Goldenfronts had taken
over). Up at the Nature Center, the
Chachalacas were already at the feeders, and the Green Jays came in to give
great looks; even a Ruby-throated Hummer showed off in the Mexican Olive! On the way back the Cave Swallows were
swarming (they even flew under the
bridge to give great looks), and both an Altamira and Hooded Oriole called from
the tram area; the Altamira was a challenge to see well, but the Hooded came
right out for a great comparison view!
From there we crawled down Old Military
Highway (including the levee), where a Long-billed Thrasher sat up on the top
of a tree, singing away! A lovely White-tailed
Kite sat in a field along the entrance road to Anzalduas, then flew overhead,
and coming up to the levee, a Black Phoebe sang from the fence line! Both species of grebe showed in the little
wetland along the entrance road, along with a flock of Black-bellied Whistling
Ducks that showed off their white wing patches very nicely. After parking past the entrance shack a Gray
Hawk flew right in front of us, giving great views, and once out of the car, I
heard a hoarse Chop-chop-chop and
sighted a Red-crowned Parrot coming in!
He posed briefly on top of a distant tree, but not long enough for me to
get the scope on him before he took off for the “back part”… Jim and I made a fruitless hike across the
field for Sprague’s Pipit, although we did have both species of meadowlark;
with everything seemingly migrating early, I couldn’t help wonder if the pipits
were gone already. L
The river was much more productive, with
lots of Coots, a couple of Gadwall, some Mottled Ducks, and good comparative
view of both flavors of cormorant (the Double-crested even had his double
crests)! Forster’s Terns called in the
background, and a Tropical Kingbird tittered on a light post, while a singing
Loggerhead Shrike perched on top of a tree.
We stopped at the dam to look at the Cliff Swallow nests and enjoy a
Spotted Sandpiper up on the concrete pillar, plus more cormorants behind the
dam, along with an Osprey with a big fish!
Crawling down the center road, I thought I
heard a buzzy trill, and turning off the car, sure enough – a parula was
singing! Trouble is, around here at this
time of year, it could be either species, so we tracked it down, and it finally
came out and gave us enough of a view to see the dark breast band of a Northern
Parula, ruling out Tropical! (Melanie
and Jim were ready to give up, saying, “Oh, we’ll see them soon back home!) A lady Ladder-backed Woodpecker gave us a
great view at this stop as well. We made
a quick stop at Granjeño to see if we could find any Burrowing Owls; now that
you’re not allowed to drive into the floodway, spotting them in the rocks is a
lot more difficult, and we certainly didn’t see any this time, so we headed to
the Stripes for some refreshment and then headed on to Santa Ana.
Melanie and Jim check out a kingbird at Anzalduas County Park
It was warming up by then, but things were
still singing, even though they weren’t visible: their Beardless Tyrannulet
called in the distance, and titmice were all over, but nothing wanted to come
in and investigate the pishing. Padded the list with ducks at Willow Lake, along with some Black-necked
Stilts and a Greater Yellowlegs that a lady pointed out to us. A little guy skulking along the ground that
Melanie and Jim saw but that I missed sounded like an Olive Sparrow from their
description, and sure enough, one tsipped
from the stuff! Coming back around, the
Carolina Wren actually showed himself while he sang, and at the feeder area a
White-winged Dove flipped his wings while he sang – that was quite the show! Melanie admitted she was interested in
butterflies, so while they weren’t as active as they were in Starr County two
days ago, I was able to point out a few things such as White Peacock, Phaon
Crescent, and Laviana White Skipper. The
lizards were active as well, with Rose-bellied and Texan Spotted Whiptails
being the main showoffs.
Great Kiskadee
Gang of ducks includes (L-R) Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, and Gadwall
We were done for the morning, but for a
half day managed to rack up an impressive 75 species! Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Gadwall
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Cooper's Hawk
Gray Hawk
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Ringed Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Red-crowned Parrot
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Black Phoebe
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Horned Lark
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Clay-colored Thrush
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Olive Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow
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