September’s survey of Laguna Seca Road was
lovely, although there were some dicey spots on the dirt portions of the road
after Friday’s rains! The usual suspects
were about (Pyrrhuloxias, Bobwhite, and rattling Roadrunners), but alas, the
streak was broken when no Fuertes’ Red-tailed Hawk showed up! L (I did
spot a big buteo on one of the giant power towers along the right-of-way, but
he was too far away with his back to me to allow positive ID…) Early on a nice male Bullock’s Oriole shot
into a bush beside the road, but the big show consisted of several migrating
Baltimore Orioles – September is their big fall migration month here, and they
can show up most anywhere! Regular
raptors like Caracaras and White-tailed Hawks showed up on the poles, and
flyover Upland Sandpipers and Long-billed Curlews were closer to the ag
fields. On paved Laguna Seca, a group of
five Turkeys showed up (this is a good area to look for them), and there were
so many Loggerhead Shrikes along the route that eBird actually flagged
them! As with most open areas,
Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were in good numbers, and at one stop one was
keeping company with a noisy Kiskadee!
Swallows were out the yin yang – mostly Barns, but also a few Caves,
Cliffs, and Banks thrown in, along with a couple of Purple Martins that shared
their power lines with a bunch of Barnies!
A couple of stops yielded a good number of Cattle Egrets with their
attendant cows, J and
during a discreet stop a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher decided to show, along with an
unidentifiable empid!
Savannah scene along the road
Crested Caracara
Take-off!
Immature bird
Scenes along paved and unpaved portions of zig-zaggy Laguna Seca Road
Odd cloud formation
Fleeing and non-fleeing Scissor-tailed Flycatchers
A couple of female Barn Swallows take a breather (the one on the right is probably blinking)
This could be a young Barn, as the tail is rather short (both males and youngsters have orange breasts)
Mouthing off at a bird landing off-camera...
Females have whitish underparts (giving me the evil eye below...)
One of the two Purple Martins sharing the wire
Loggerhead Shrike
Beat-up Great Kiskadee
Lazy Palm Ranch Road
I had told my friend Joyce that, after the
survey, I’d probably go look for the vagrant Red-necked Phalarope that Dan
Jones found at Sugarhouse Pond, so I headed over there, picking up a Swainson’s
Hawk on the way. She met me there and we
scanned through hundreds of shorebirds trying to find that one little
Redneck! The light was perfect, and
several other birds came quite close to the shoreline where we were standing,
so we got good comparative looks at all three small peeps, lots of Stilt
Sandpipers, and snappy-looking Avocets a little further out. A single Roseate Spoonbill added some color
while a long line of brown ducks (probably Blue-winged Teal) were further out. Picked out a bug-eyed Least Grebe while
scanning, and way out there were lots
and lots of Wilson’s Phalaropes; normally, when they’re a little closer, a
Red-necked is pretty easy to pick out, as they’re noticeably smaller and more
distinctly marked than the paler Wilson’s, but at that distance (especially
with the heat waves starting to kick in), it was practically a lost cause. Thankfully the reported Ruddy Turnstones,
which are rare in Hidalgo County, came wheeling in and gave us decent looks!
Joyce scours the shorebirds for the lost Red-necked Phalarope
One of many Stilt Sandpipers feeding close by
The unusually long bill of this Western Sandpiper indicates that it's probably a female
I initially ID'd this bird as a Semipalmated, but structurally it looks a little lanky; feedback welcome!
I felt comfortable calling this one a juvenile Semipalmated based on the scaly back and the little quivering call notes it was making, which I've only heard in recordings of Semipals.
View of Sugarhouse Pond and mass of birds
Two of the six reported juvenile Ruddy Turnstones
American Avocets
With Stilt Sandpipers behind
After awhile the heat started getting to
us, so we called it quits and headed back home.
Bird List:
Blue-winged Teal
Wild Turkey Northern Bobwhite
Least Grebe
Cattle Egret
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Killdeer
Upland Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
Ruddy Turnstone
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Black Tern
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Bewick's Wren
Cactus Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Curve-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Dickcissel
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bullock's Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow
65 SPECIES
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