For folks who would just like some general
birding and only have a day to do it, I usually give them two options: local birding around Hidalgo County or
coastal birding in Cameron County. Roger
had a combined target list of life birds and “nice to see” birds (they had
visited the Valley once 15 years ago, so they already had most of our
specialties), so they opted for Cameron County, and since Candace was a photographer,
South Padre was the logical first stop (especially during Spring Break – wanna
get there before they wake up J)!
Roger opted to drive since they had rented
a nice Hyundai SUV, so we headed out, making a brief stop along SR 100 to scan
for falcons. No luck there, but we added
singing Eastern Meadowlarks and a distant Bobwhite to the list, plus a flyby
Chihuahuan Raven. Once on the Island, we
hit the flats first thing, and I couldn’t believe the wonderful shape they were
in: not a puddle to be seen, with lots
of larid flocks! Unfortunately it was
too early for the coveted Franklin’s Gull, and his target Snowy Plover was a
no-show, but the larids were outstanding, especially when the skimmer flock
came sailing in right next to us! Both
Royal and Sandwich Terns were in breeding dress (along with some that weren’t),
and we had a nice selection of shorebirds, including Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone,
Marbled Godwit, and one of Roger’s targets:
Short-billed Dowitcher! A fluffy
white morph Reddish Egret was a big hit (surprisingly didn’t see any dark
morphs), and had multiple Red-breasted Mergansers out in the surf along with a
Mottled Duck, also a life bird. A
pleasant surprise was a flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks going overhead!
White morph Reddish Egret in various stages of "fluff"
Royal Terns in breeding plumage
Sandwich Tern (left) with a Royal with an unusually red bill!
A non-breeding Royal Tern (right) joins a flock of Black Skimmers
Note the Royal Tern on the left going into display mode!
Skimmer with a particularly dull-billed Royal on the left
Short-billed Dowitcher showing off his tail
Heading over to the Convention Centre,
things seemed quiet at first in the songbird department, but after making a
fruitless search out back for Sedge Wrens (but enjoying a Brown Pelican fishing
in shallow water), we returned to discover that another couple had just seen a
Yellow-throated Vireo! Said bird
suddenly appeared, but unfortunately disappeared
before Roger could get a look… L However, a Northern Parula put on a show,
which was also a life bird, so that made up for it! A “Myrtle” Warbler was starting to acquire his
breeding colors, and a nice male Hooded Oriole showed up as the dessert!
Fuzzy Northern Parula that Candace tries to get on "film" (below)
Searching vainly for that Yellow-throated Vireo...
We headed out onto the boardwalk after
that, getting in-the-sun views of spoonbills and a few Redheads, but the Common
Gallinules were really being showoffs this day!
The wintering Belted Kingfisher hovered here and there, and heading
towards the “marsh” blind, another wish came true: a Least Bittern flew across the pond and into
the reeds on the opposite side! We
almost missed the male that was on our
side, practically within touching distance, and slowly creeping through the
reeds! He eventually made his way down
about four yards where he started up his clucking song (his mate had given us
the loud cack-cack-cack call
earlier)! Even seeing a Green Heron and one
of the resident Alligators didn’t top that!
On the way back the other couple pointed out a pair of Soras right out
in the open, and the Marsh Wren they had seen earlier but weren’t sure about
started singing, so that clinched it for them!
We checked out the other boardwalk through the mangroves, but for the
second time in my recollection we didn’t even hear a Clapper Rail! There was some kind of waterthrush in there,
though, and at the end was a pod of Pied-billed Grebes and a Great Blue Heron
eyeballing the big fish in the shallows.
Sora
Wrapping that up we decided to skip the
Birding Center and head up to Laguna Atascosa, as my friend Joyce had reported
seeing Aplomado Falcon along Buena Vista Road (I had yet to see one there,
although I know they do occur). On the way we were entertained by a big
Osprey on a wire eyeing a flock of White Ibis below him in a residential
neighborhood, then stopped at Port Isabel Reservoir and hit the shorebird
jackpot: there was a huge flock of Long-billed Dowitchers and
Stilt Sandpipers (both lifers for Roger), along with a handful of Wilson’s
Phalaropes, including a gorgeous female!
Around the corner we encountered a mass of Avocets all huddled in the
middle, along with various ducks and a distant pair of Gull-billed Terns, also
a life bird!
Stilt Sandpipers (the smaller, grayer birds) often like to hang with Long-billed Dowitchers!
Mass of Avocets
Stilt Sandpipers
Port Isabel Reservoir
Michael Marsden had mentioned that he
often goes down Holly Beach Road (the road the reservoir is on), so we decided
to explore and head down, and it really was a very good dirt road through nice
thornscrub habitat! We picked up a Black
Vulture on a pole, and at the end of the road we scared up an Oystercatcher and
a Curve-billed Thrasher that posed on a yucca spike. The Bewick’s Wren was most uncooperative…
Headed up Buena Vista Road as planned, and
I wasn’t too surprised not to get the falcon, but we did have what I thought was a White-tailed Hawk at first, which
morphed into an Osprey with a very pale tail indeed! While that was going on Candace was trying
to get my attention regarding what she thought was a Kiskadee at first right
next to the road, but turned out to be their life Couch’s Kingbird! Unfortunately it flew before she could get
(what would have been) the perfect shot, and landed up on the wire in the sun
(naturally).
At the Visitor’s Center we enjoyed the
Green Jays and Chachalacas coming in to the blind when the docent walked in and
told us that the Altamira Oriole often came in to the feeding area in the
garden across the parking lot, especially when the volunteers put out the food
for the 2:00 bird walk! J We
headed over and waited, and although the volunteers hadn’t shown up yet, that
oriole came in right on time for close-enough-to-touch views! We made a loop around Kiskadee Trail after
that, the most interesting thing being the algae-covered Alligator in that
little concrete pool (complete with a stick across his head J) with a couple of
Leopard Frogs as company! On the way out
we scared up a nice Long-billed Curlew, and while inspecting a
raptor-turned-transformer a Ladder-backed Woodpecker bounced towards us and
landed in the tree right next to the car!
Green Jay
Altamira Oriole
Alligator trying to be invisible...
Leopard Frogs oblivious to the Alligator...
With what little time we had left I
suggested making a run for Hugh Ramsey Park in Harlingen, where we had a chance
at some additional things they were looking for. We spent a few minutes at the first blind
which was hosting mostly House Sparrows and Mourning Doves, then hiked around,
getting a good but brief look at an Olive Sparrow that actually responded to
pishing! The Lesser Goldfinch was
stubborn, however, and things were really quieting down. I sent them to the next trail over from the
parking lot while I hit the restroom, then found them at another feeder area! They were happy campers as they had bagged
Golden-fronted Woodpecker (we had seen them on Holly Beach Road but none
allowed photographs), Long-billed Thrasher, and as we were leaving, a very
cooperative Buff-bellied Hummingbird!
Definitely the cherry on top of the “sundae” of great birding, with 100
species on the nose!
Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Redhead
Red-breasted Merganser
Plain Chachalaca
Northern Bobwhite
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Brown Pelican
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Green Heron
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Harris's Hawk
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Curlew
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Stilt Sandpiper
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Green Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren
Cactus Wren
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow
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