Bill and Sue were wrapping up a month-long
trip exploring areas in the American West, and decided to top off their visit
in the LRGV! One of the surprises, they
admitted, was that the area was so lush – they expected it to be a desert! Well, true – you don’t have to go too far
west before you are in the desert,
and maybe even Tamaulipan thornscrub is
considered a “desert” habitat (we certainly get “desert” associated birds such
as Verdin and Pyrrhuloxia), but we also have that Rio Grande riparian woodland
habitat, to say nothing of “old growth” neighborhoods!
Our first stop was Estero Llano Grande SP,
and the “Tropical Zone” certainly qualifies as a “woodland”, even if many of
the trees are non-native! It was rather
quiet when we arrived, but strolling the loop we managed to spot the
pheasant-like Chachalacas, the noisy Kiskadees, and even the Beardless
Tyrannulet allowed a fleeting glimpse as it shot overhead! At the water feature a Wilson’s Warbler came
in to investigate, and while an Olive Sparrow sang, it never showed. Swinging around the back we got great looks
at a Black-crested Titmouse family, the grown youngsters still fluttering their
wings at Mummy and Daddy, and a bird we’re currently calling just a very
strongly-marked Curve-billed Thrasher – I’ve seen individuals with prominent
spotting before, but this guy almost looked like he might have had Long-billed
Thrasher blood in him, his spots (some which appeared almost streak-like) were
so dark! A more normal-looking bird sat
and called overhead.
Great Kiskadee
Curve-billed Thrasher with unusually heavy spots - probably a freshly molted adult according to my ornithologist friends
What they normally look like...
Arriving at the deck we were met by Ranger
John who had just put out the hummingbird feeders, announcing that an Altamira
Oriole almost sat on him! Well, we
waited around for about 15 minutes, and no oriole L, but the
hummingbirds were really putting on a show:
the resident Buff-bellies made regular appearances, while the (presumed)
Rubythroats chased each other and guarded the feeders aggressively. Bill found his life Least Grebe in Ibis Pond,
but alas, no White-faced Ibis that would have been a life bird! There were plenty of Blue-winged Teal and
Black-necked Stilts about, however.
Probable female or juvie Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Black-chinned is virtually identical, but Ruby-throated is more likely this time of year)
Notice the kiss of buff on the flanks that many young/female Archilochus hummers show
Buff-bellied Hummingbird, our resident specialty
Heading straight to Alligator Lake, we
made a brief stop at Dowitcher Pond where a whole pod of Least Grebes was
hanging out. After crossing the little
footbridge I had just warned Bill that the Green Kingfisher sometimes likes to
hang in the canal, when he suddenly spotted one that had just come up from a
dive! At Grebe Marsh a couple of Belted
Kingfishers rattled while a Lesser Yellowlegs fed across the way, and a
White-tipped Dove posed for scope views.
Alligator Lake had a couple of Yellow-crowned Night Herons, but I was
sweating a little when the Pauraque wasn’t in his usual spot by the
barrier! I wanted to quickly check out the
other spot at the foot of the overlook, but we all ended up going and
thankfully, there was the “backup” Pauraque almost right next to the
trail! What a great look! After picking up an Anhinga at the overlook,
we walked back by way of the Screech Owl hole, and there he was, glaring at us
and looking cute at the same time! Sue
also spotted a hiding Long-billed Thrasher, so that was nice to compare him to
that spotty Curve-billed!
Bill enters his latest sighting on his app!
Bill's life Green Kingfisher!
Sue and Bill admiring Grebe Marsh
Pauraque
"McCall's" Screech Owl
From there we headed straight back,
chilling on the Spoonbill Trail boardwalk for a bit when a Wood Stork sailed
high overhead! After enjoying some friendly
Least Sandpipers, we then sat at the feeders again for a little bit, but the
best bird soared overhead: Bill’s life
Swainson’s Hawk! With the time we had
left I had initially thought of going to Frontera, but with the heat, we’d only
be there about 15 minutes before we’d have to head back, so since Sue had
wondered aloud if there was a way to see into Mexico without having to hike to
the river, I mentioned Anzalduas Park, so we headed over there to check it
out! I showed them the famous “Sprague’s
Pipit Field” (an incentive to come back in the winter J), then we checked
out the river, which was pretty empty (although they were impressed with the pretty park across the way in Mexico). I heard a Black Phoebe (which they didn’t
need, so we didn’t track it down), but at a potty spot we were able to bag
another life bird for Bill (albeit a female):
a perky Vermilion Flycatcher!
Chilling out on the Spoonbill Trail
Friendly Least Sandpiper and his three buddies below
It was time to head back for siesta after
that, and for the afternoon shift (and after pondering those target birds Bill
mentioned) I decided to take them up to Edinburg Scenic Wetlands first, as a
Ringed Kingfisher had recently been reported there. We headed in and were immediately greeted by
Marisa Oliva (the director) and a couple of her helpers who were working on
their new water feature! They chatted
while Monica took our money J, then we headed
to the North Pond. By that time I had
realized I had forgotten my scope, so I left them at the overlook enjoying
Neotropic Cormorants and egrets while I headed back to the car. When I got back they both greeted me with big
grins and said, “That’s what happens when you turn your back!” A big ol’ Ringed Kingfisher had popped up on
the opposite side, showed off, then took off!
Thankfully the thing called a little later so I could log it myself, but
we also had a pair of Belted Kingfishers making a racket. I had heard a “ringing” Clay-colored Thrush
on my way back from the car, so we took the Jungle Trail in hopes of finding
it, and I did indeed get a glimpse, but what did pop up for a few minutes shortly thereafter was a female Summer
Tanager!
Entrance kiosk to Edinburg Scenic Wetlands
Director Marisa Oliva chats with Sue and Bill
Female Summer Tanager
From there we headed up and over to Wallace
Road. That proved to be a good choice
(always preferable to road-bird in the heat of the day anyway), as we had a
great raptor show in the form of a flyover White-tailed Kite, several Swainson’s
Hawks, and a young White-tailed thrown in for comparison! Several Lark Sparrows posed on wires, and
down at the wetlands Bill spotted a gorgeous Harris’ Hawk! Most of the wetland area was dry, but there
was enough water to have a few shorebirds – just not the White-faced Ibis or
Fulvous Whistling Ducks we were hoping for! L
Swainson's Hawk (ready to book below)
State of one of the west side wetlands (note the storm in the distance)
He was also interested in bagging a
Roadrunner, so I gave them the choice of continuing road-birding in good
Roadrunner habitat until sunset, for make a run for the parrots in
McAllen. They chose the parrots, but
unfortunately we dipped on them. L Another reason to
come back! All told, we didn’t do bad,
logging 90 species for the day!
Selfie back at the Inn...
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Wood Stork
Neotropic Cormorant
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Cooper's Hawk
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Common Pauraque
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Ringed Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Black Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Clay-colored Thrush
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Dickcissel
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow
90 SPECIES
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