When I was informed that Roger and
Candice wanted a second day of guiding, I assumed it was because they wanted me
to take them around the La Sal del Rey area (as I had been telling them about that as a good place for Pyrrhuloxia and other "desert" birds), but when we piled in
the car that morning they announced they had already gone out there the day
before, so I had to think fast!
We decided to do Estero Llano Grande to try for the becard and Pauraque
(and whatever else happened to be around), and as we drove and chatted, they
described having a Pyrrhuloxia pop up almost the minute they pulled onto
Brushline, but the more they described their adventure, the more it became
apparent that they had gone south on
Brushline from FM 490, not north (into the good stuff)! So we agreed to
head back up there after finishing up Estero.
The sun hadn’t even risen by the time we
got there (that’s DST for ya), so we made our way back into the Tropical Zone,
keeping our ears and eyes open for the becard, which hadn’t been reported since
the 15th. We enjoyed old
favorites including squabbling Couch’s Kingbirds and Golden-fronted
Woodpeckers, and Doug the Bird Feeder Man pointed out a Clay-colored Thrush
right out in the open! The highlight
back there however was a flock of Cedar Waxwings making the rounds! We sat and watched the chachalacas for a bit
while talking camera technical talk, and on the way out we heard a distant
Beardless Tyrannulet, but he wouldn’t even play the game he played with David
and Chuck – called once and that was it!
Did the requisite padding of the list at
the deck and Ibis Pond, then sat at the hummer feeders for a bit hoping for a
Black-chinned to come in, which he did briefly.
Then it was off to Alligator Lake, but not before getting some Purple
Martin pictures at the “house”, and inadvertently flushing Roger’s life Common
Ground Dove! Upon arrival at Grebe Marsh
Roger and Candace sat for awhile enjoying the Least Grebes while I went to find
a better angle at which to scan the wetland.
Doing so scared a Green Kingfisher their way, which proceeded to zip up
and down the canal, teasing us by landing and then taking off, only to land
again! Took a quick look at the night
herons, then proceeded to the Pauraque Place, where lo and behold, one of the
birds was right back at his favorite spot, sidled up to his square rock with
his tail propped up on a stick! He
nonchalantly kept an eye on us while Candace happily snapped pictures! After finding the requisite Alligator we
headed over to the Camino de las Aves Trail for a chance at a Common Ground Dove
photo; dipped on that, but another handsome Black-chinned Hummingbird appeared
and sat trying to get a spider web off his beak!
Enjoying ducks off the deck at Estero
Sleepy Red-winged Blackbird
Lady Green Kingfisher
The Pauraque is back!
Candace getting her own shot
Puffy Least Grebe
Black-chinned Hummingbird (a little fuzzy below, but a cute pose...)
Since Snowy Plover was another target
bird, we decided to try Hargill Playa first, but dipped on that while picking
up a few other shorebirds (and discovering Texas Fire Ants… L). Heading onward, we caught up with Brushline
Road and headed north this time, and
they both agreed this was not the
road they had taken! The wind had picked
up, so that plus the fact that it was “that time of day” didn’t bode well for
many birds, but we were thrilled when one of Roger’s targets, a brilliant male
Lesser Goldfinch, flitted out to the side of the road to feed on a seeding
plant, followed shortly by his mate!
North of SR 186 we did pick up a plucky Bewick’s Wren singing right
outside the car, along with a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that was close enough
to touch!
Roger scans for a Snowy Plover at Hargill Playa while Candace beats the bushes...
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Bewick's Wren (singing below)
We
reached the parking area for the actual Salt Lake, and Roger was determined to
get that Snowy Plover, so he made a beeline for the overlook while Candace and
I followed at a slower pace, enjoying "girl talk"! J By the time we caught
up with Roger he thought he had found his birds, but he wanted
confirmation! So he got the scope on
‘em, and there were two little Snowy Plovers on the beach, just as cute as
could be! And they were the only things out there (besides a singing
Cactus Wren, but I think he went ignored…)! But it was worth the walk!
Roger hoofs it to the overlook at the actual La Sal del Rey (below)
Snowy Plover pair (the cute look above, the philosophical look below...)
Salt crystals on the stems!
Continuing
on, I was surprised and disappointed that we dipped on White-tailed Hawk of all
things, but we did see a nice pair of Harris’, several Caracaras, a couple of
Roadrunners, a pair of Curve-billed Thrashers by the side of the road, and even
a pair of Greater Rheas behind the fence!
J We checked out the
pond at the end of Brushline and only picked up a few ducks and a White Ibis,
so heading back to Ken Baker Road, I asked if they needed Brewer’s Blackbird,
which they did, so we wheeled into the Rio Beef Feedyard, asked the nice lady
in the office if we could come in to look for said blackbirds, and within the
space of a few minutes had some nice males feeding right outside the car! Some male Bronzed Cowbirds weren’t too
shabby, either… We checked the pond
there in the “barren field” (which was no longer barren) that had several
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, but no Fulvous yet.
Brewer's Blackbird
As
we continued east, I pointed out the “dicey” road that continued to the La Sal
Viejas tracts, so since Roger was driving the Hyundai SUV, he said, “Let’s do
it!” and almost immediately we had a couple of tom Turkeys next to the
road! Continuing to the southbound road,
I warned him that the wetland was dry as a bone the last time I had been out, but there not only was substantial
water in that wetland, but the fields
we drove by had several large “ponds”!
Candace then relayed that someone had mentioned to them that it rained
like crazy over the weekend there in Willacy County, so that made sense; even
the famous CR 20 Wetland that was dry last time I was out there was filled up,
and that’s where we hit the “gold” in the form of eight American Golden
Plovers!
Wild Turkeys
American Golden Plover (above and below)
It
was time to head home after that, with a respectable 83 species for the
day! Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Gadwall
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Ruddy Duck
Plain Chachalaca
Northern Bobwhite
Wild Turkey
Least Grebe
Neotropic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Harris's Hawk
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
American Golden-Plover
Snowy Plover
Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Gull-billed Tern
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren
Cactus Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Clay-colored Thrush
Curve-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow
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