End-of-the-Year Chase Day

12/29/18 

Ever since Barbara had cottoned me onto the fact that you could use eBird to figure out what you still needed for the year, the thought of doing a “clean up chase day” on my last birding day of the year sounded like fun!  It also sounded fun to Sue and Billy, so between Christmas and Saturday Sue and I came up with a target list and I plotted a course that hopefully would bag us most of our birds!

We knew another cold front was coming through, but we didn’t count on it being quite so cold and windy! L  We made a quick stop at Bentsen (it wasn’t even sunrise yet) and picked up the Black Phoebe pair for the day along with a rattling Buff-bellied Hummingbird, then headed over to the famous levee near the Butterfly Center where the Hook-billed Kites were being fairly regular!  Several others were there, including a FWS guy from Maine and a young visiting teen whose non-birder mom was acting as chauffeur to help him get his Valley specialties!  We all shot the breeze for the longest time, adding a handful of vocalizing birds (including our only Long-billed Thrashers of the day), when the “birding mom”, who was several yards to our east, said, “What’s that dark bird down there?  Is that it?”  Everyone scrambled to her position, and sure enough, the dark morph Hook-billed Kite was out in the open but down in a tree (and totally blocked from where the rest of us were)!  Cameras went bonkers, and before long he flew up into the “traditional” tree along with another bird, giving everyone wonderful looks!  Unfortunately it was still rather gloomy, so the pictures left a lot to be desired…

Waiting for the show...

The Hook-billed Kite shows up down in the brush!  (Video grab)

Another bird up in the "regular" tree

  

Since we were close we made a quick stop at the pond on Inspiration Drive, which was quite productive:  we added the only Ring-necked Ducks and Common Gallinules of the day, along with Pied-billed Grebes, Great Blue Herons, and several other ducks.  From there we headed to Anzalduas, where the day before a young Ferruginous Hawk was reported (by the same visiting kid) in the field north of the park!  So we rolled over and found tons of Red-tailed and White-tailed Hawks, along with Caracaras, but sure enough, one very pale bird turned out to be the Ferrugie!  One Caracara got a little too close and the Ferrugie lunged at him, showing off the diagnostic pale pitagials!  

Caracara checking out this strange visitor...

These video grabs show the plain patagials (area on the leading edge of the wing), which separate the juvenile Ferruginous Hawk from the pale "Krider's" Hawk

And if you use your imagination, you can see the feathered tarsus on this bird, which also separates it Krider's (also a video grab)

  

We headed up onto the levee to go into the park, only to discover it was closed (and it wasn’t even New Year’s yet)!! L  So since that shot our best chance at Sprague’s Pipit (Pine Siskin was a longshot, as it hadn’t been reported in almost a month), we continued to Granjeño, where Billy and Sue took me up the back road where they and Bill Clark had caught and banded a Harlan’s Hawk!  (Bill, who literally wrote the book on North American raptors, had been studying them for over 20 years and was making a strong case for them to be split off again from Red-tailed…)  But first we were distracted by an adult Swainson’s Hawk in the field along with several more Whitetails and Caracaras, plus a distant Peregrine perched near the Anzalduas Bridge!  Shortly we noticed an all-dark raptor on a pole, and while we didn’t notice it at the time, the pictures revealed that he was indeed banded – we had our bird!

Fuzzy Swainson's Hawk (a few usually spend the winter)

Juvenile Harlan's Hawk (look carefully for the band on his right leg!)

From there we drove up onto the levee for another longshot (the reported Short-eared Owl), but we at least got a pair of distant White-tailed Kites, plus the wintering Burrowing Owl thanks to Billy’s sharp eyes!  On the way to Santa Ana we added a few White Pelicans circling over Military Highway, and then made a quick run through Hidalgo to pick up the Monk Parakeets, also picking up the day’s only Caspian Tern overhead (and I think this is also where they got their Curve-billed Thrasher that I missed).  Once at the refuge we took the Chachalaca Trail to Willow Lakes, where we ran into another couple who pointed out a feeding flock that included American Goldfinches and a Verdin, but also the coveted Golden-crowned Kinglet (a lifer for Billy and a year bird for Sue), so that was very exciting!  The lakes themselves had a good collection of ducks, including three Cinnamon Teal, but alas, not the Wood Duck.  Billy thought he had a Say’s Phoebe that morphed into a female Vermilion Flycatcher (that happens a lot J), and a little pod of Least Grebes poured on the cuteness!  Sue and I kept track of the Soras and Yellowthroats while Billy chewed the fat with the gentleman (also named Bill)!  After parting company we enjoyed a pair of Solitary Sandpipers at the last deck, and several Greater Yellowlegs and a Spotted Sandpiper further along the Tower Trail.

Sue checking the spillway

Meanwhile Billy spots the Burrowing Owl!

Monk Parakeets

Least Grebe

Solitary Sandpiper

We finally headed out to Pintail Lakes, enjoying a friendly pair of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers on the cutover trail, but the wind was fierce; we braved the trail out to the closest lake, hoping against hope to flush a Sprague’s Pipit or Vesper Sparrow (we did get several American Pipits to pop up), but it wasn’t to be; even the lake was rather uninspiring.  So rather than hike all the way out to the last lake we headed back along the tour road, adding a White-tipped Dove beating feet, a calling Carolina Wren, and a family group of Chachalacas making like Roadrunners as they dashed across the road!  

Billy and Sue checking out Pintail Lake

We were getting hungry so we decided to go to Nana’s in Weslaco for lunch (which was wonderful – real Mexican according to Billy J), picking up our only Inca Doves of the day.  Several targets had been reported at Estero, but it was just too cold and blustery to do any more hiking, so we opted to head up to Sugarhouse Pond for a hopeful Eared Grebe.

Well.  The water was high and there was not one bird in the pond (except a distant Great Egret)!  So we opted to check out the “1015 Pond” behind Delta Lake, only a huge flock of Long-billed Curlews made us grind to a halt at the “Tri-County Pond” (an intersection literally at the corners of Cameron, Willacy, and Hidalgo Counties)!  There were also several more White-tailed Hawks in the fields (I think today definitely broke a personal record)!

Trio of White-tailed Hawks

Crested Caracara

Somehow I got turned around, but we eventually made it to FM 1015 and up to the pond, only we couldn’t believe it:  the pond was being “used” by a huge group of ATVers who were actually getting themselves stuck in the water (whether on purpose or not we had no idea) and being watched by an even bigger crowd of spectactors!  This was all on the opposite side of where we were (thankfully), but I didn’t even think that back area was accessible – obviously it is!  But so much for logging any special birds…

ATVs playing in the water (with a slew of onlookers)

So from there we headed to Rio Beef Road in hopes of at least a Ross’ Goose for Sue (and I think she said Brewer’s Blackbird was a year bird, too) where we picked up a scolding Bewick’s Wren and Couch’s Kingbird, then checked out the “barren field pond” on Ken Baker Road, which only had Pintail and a couple of Mottled Ducks.  We couldn’t find any Brewer’s outside the Rio Beef gate, but heading back onto the main road we had several females on the wires!  We had heard Snow Geese while at the gate, and once on the main road someone spotted a distant flock, which miraculously came at us and circled around!  Even better was the fact that there were two obviously smaller geese in with them – the Ross’!  That happened to be a lifer for Billy as well!  The little wet spot there held Black-necked Stilts and a few Avocets; Billy caught sight of some distant cranes, but I missed those…

Female Brewer's Blackbirds

  

We had to scoot after that, but not before picking up several Harris’ Hawks on the way down Brushline!  Between the three of us we logged 91 species for the day!!  Bird list:

Snow Goose 

Ross's Goose 
Blue-winged Teal 
Cinnamon Teal 
Northern Shoveler 
Gadwall 
Mottled Duck 
Northern Pintail 
Ring-necked Duck 
Plain Chachalaca 
Least Grebe 
Pied-billed Grebe 
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove 
Inca Dove 
White-tipped Dove 
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove 
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 
Sandhill Crane
Sora 
Common Gallinule 
American Coot 
Black-necked Stilt 
American Avocet 
Killdeer 
Long-billed Curlew 
Least Sandpiper 
Long-billed Dowitcher 
Spotted Sandpiper 
Solitary Sandpiper 
Greater Yellowlegs 
Lesser Yellowlegs 
Caspian Tern 
Neotropic Cormorant 
American White Pelican 
Great Blue Heron 
Great Egret 
Black Vulture 
Turkey Vulture 
White-tailed Kite 
Hook-billed Kite
Northern Harrier 
Harris's Hawk 
White-tailed Hawk 
Swainson's Hawk 
Red-tailed Hawk 
“Harlan’s” Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk 
Burrowing Owl 
Belted Kingfisher 
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 
Crested Caracara 
American Kestrel 
Peregrine Falcon 
Monk Parakeet
Green Parakeet
Black Phoebe 
Eastern Phoebe 
Vermilion Flycatcher 
Great Kiskadee 
Couch's Kingbird 
Loggerhead Shrike 
White-eyed Vireo 
Green Jay 
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 
Black-crested Titmouse 
Verdin 
House Wren 
Marsh Wren 
Carolina Wren 
Bewick's Wren 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher 
Northern Mockingbird 
European Starling 
American Pipit 
American Goldfinch 
Olive Sparrow 
Lincoln's Sparrow 
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird 
Brewer's Blackbird 
Great-tailed Grackle 
Orange-crowned Warbler 
Common Yellowthroat 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 
Northern Cardinal 
House Sparrow

Christmas on the Island

12/25/18 

My friend Sue invited me to join her and her husband Billy (plus a few other folks) for Christmas dinner at Schlitterbahn’s on South Padre Island (I didn’t even know they had a restaurant…), with some birding on the side, so I eagerly accepted!  We met at Hugh Ramsey Park (where I picked up Green Jay and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks for the day while waiting), picked up our other friend Linda, and headed over, birding along the way!  We started off with a bang when we stopped to check out a resaca that had at least six Hooded Mergansers in it, which is a rare for for the Valley!  We passed a cane field that had just been burned which was just full of fighting Black and Turkey Vultures, plus several Caracaras!  Billy explained to Linda what the big attraction was (“crispy critters” that got caught in the burn) but also the actual burning process:  they burn off the leafy material while the cane itself remains unscathed because if its natural moisture, so that leaves the cane to be harvested and chopped.

A couple of the Hooded Mergansers, showing the classic hammerhead shape

  

Since Billy was driving I really wasn’t paying attention to the route, but we did take the back roads towards Port Isabel, making a brief stop at Port Isabel Reservoir.  It wasn’t as birdy as some of the times we’ve been there, but we did pick up several ducks and stilts, plus a Gull-billed Tern, a crying Sora, and a singing Marsh Wren. 

Sue checks for shorebirds at the reservoir

One of Bill Clark's banded Harris' Hawks on the way out

From there we went over to the Island, where we were gonna meet Jolaine at Pier 19.  My Christmas wish was granted when they announced that the first stop was gonna be Isla Blanca Park to try for the Black Scoter, not only a year bird for me but a state bird as well (and a lifer for some)!  The other blessing was getting in for half price since I was a veteran (thank you, Norma, for cottoning me onto that J)!  We kind of made a circular route around the edge of the park, where the bay was pretty empty, and surprisingly so was the parking lot to the jetty!  The bird was last see right about where the restrooms are (across the way, of course), and while I finally did scope a black blob, it was almost right in the sun, so we hiked down to the base of the jetty where hopefully we could get a better angle.  That hit pay dirt, as between dives you could clearly see his orange bill knob!  You had to be patient and wait for him to come up at the right time, but eventually everyone got great looks!  The most amusing incident was after I posted the report on the LRGV Rare Bird Whats App group, I immediately got a phone call from Juan Sebastian who happened to be on the jetty fishing, and asking me exactly where the bird was! J  Our other friend Madeleine also called wanting to know the same thing, and long after we left she hightailed it over and got the bird (and so did Juan)!  Ain’t technology great…

Great Blue Heron at Pier 19

Looking for the scoter (L-R:  Billy, Jolaine, Sue, and Linda)

"Proof shot" of the Black Scoter, very rare for the Valley!

From there we headed to the Convention Centre, where we had a nice view of a female Wilson’s Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Orange-crowned Warbler, and glimpses of Catbirds.  Bill Clark joined us there, and we headed out onto the boardwalk, where we not only ran into several Indian families enjoying the day but my friend Jane from our old church care group and her hubby Manny and sons!  Billy was in his element, as he loves to play the tour guide and share birds and history with whoever will listen (especially when folks call the spoonbills “flamingos” J)!

Billy entertains my friends Jane and Manny and their sons!

In between visits we were stumped by a duck-like bird that turned out to be a snoozing snipe, and out on the “bay pier” were hundreds of larids, pelicans, ducks, and shorebirds (in fact, eBird flagged Sue’s count of over 300 skimmers, but Bill vouched for her J)!  We had a first-year “white-headed gull” that looked awfully pale, but since we couldn’t turn it into one of the “black-backed” gulls with a clear conscience, Bill and I finally settled upon a pale Herring Gull until further notice…  A nice Gull-billed Tern sailed by and landed, and comedy relief was provided when Bill and I started arguing over the identification of a tern until I realized we were looking at two different birds! J  

Snoozing Wilson's Snipe

Tricolored Heron

Mottled Ducks (female left, male right)

Two views of part of the skimmer mob

American Wigeon

Red-breasted Merganser

Pale 1st-year Herring Gull

From there we tried going onto The Flats but the substrate was a little dicey, so we headed straight towards Schlitterbahn, making a quick stop at the famous Pearl South Pond.  We found a pair of scaup there, the female of which was clearly a Lesser, but we were having some discussion about the male, as his head looked more rounded, but his bill nail looked small to me, so we entered it as Lesser in eBird but the jury is still out… (and what feedback I've gotten suggests Lesser)

Roundish-headed Lesser Scaup that had us going...

The "nail" (the black spot on the end of the bill) is smaller on Lesser Scaup

Norma and Dave opted out of the birding (they had family over all week, I think), so they joined us at Schlitterbahn, along with Sue’s daughter Dona and her husband Pat, but the place was closed up tight!  Thanks to another confused gentleman who showed up with the newspaper ad in hand, Sue called the number and discovered we were at the wrong entrance, so we raced over (the guy with the ad beat us there J) and were seated at our reserved table and enjoyed a nice buffet meal (the spicy mashed potatoes were actually my favorite)!  

"Sandman" at Schlitterbahn

After rolling out of there we dropped Jolaine off then headed back to Harlingen via Buena Vista and General Brant Roads, where after all the rains we found several nice wetlands.  We made the requisite stop at the bridge over the resaca with the nice fresh-water marsh where we were hoping a King Rail might sound off, but a Wood Stork flushed from the reeds which was even better!  Long-billed Curlews sailed across the road at one point, and further west another distant pond had a male Northern Mallard in it (which is rare in the Valley, believe it or not)!  We found a pair of White-tailed Hawks that Bill had banded; Sue and Billy had accompanied him on several hawk-banding missions, so they knew where all the White-tailed and Harris’ Hawk pairs were hanging out!  Another little “secret wetland” had a pair of Pied-billed Grebes, and Billy finally found the Green Kingfisher that was always there!

Mallard, somewhat rare for the Valley

White-tailed Hawk pair that Bill Clark banded

Headed on to Hugh Ramsey to drop me off after that, with 84 species for the day!  Bird list:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 

Blue-winged Teal 
Northern Shoveler 
American Wigeon 
Mallard 
Mottled Duck 
Northern Pintail 
Green-winged Teal 
Redhead 
Lesser Scaup 
Black Scoter 
Hooded Merganser 
Red-breasted Merganser 
Pied-billed Grebe 
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 
Eurasian Collared-Dove 
Mourning Dove 
Sora 
Common Gallinule 
American Coot 
Sandhill Crane 
Black-necked Stilt 
Black-bellied Plover 
Killdeer 
Long-billed Curlew 
Ruddy Turnstone 
Sanderling 
Dunlin 
Long-billed Dowitcher 
Wilson's Snipe 
Spotted Sandpiper 
Greater Yellowlegs 
Willet 
Lesser Yellowlegs 
Laughing Gull 
Ring-billed Gull 
Herring Gull 
Gull-billed Tern 
Caspian Tern 
Forster's Tern 
Royal Tern 
Black Skimmer 
Anhinga 
Neotropic Cormorant 
Double-crested Cormorant 
American White Pelican 
Brown Pelican 
Great Blue Heron 
Great Egret 
Snowy Egret 
Tricolored Heron 
Reddish Egret 
Cattle Egret 
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 
White Ibis 
White-faced Ibis 
Roseate Spoonbill 
Black Vulture 
Turkey Vulture 
Osprey 
Northern Harrier 
Harris's Hawk 
White-tailed Hawk 
Red-tailed Hawk 
Belted Kingfisher 
Green Kingfisher 
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 
Crested Caracara 
American Kestrel 
Eastern Phoebe 
Tropical Kingbird 
Loggerhead Shrike 
Green Jay 
Marsh Wren 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
Gray Catbird 
Northern Mockingbird 
European Starling 
Savannah Sparrow 
Red-winged Blackbird 
Great-tailed Grackle 
Orange-crowned Warbler 
Common Yellowthroat 
Wilson's Warbler

Santa Monica Wetlands

12/22/18 

Finally was able to get out to Willacy County and road-bird this interesting but underbirded route!  It begins at the intersection of FM 490 and FM 1420 in Willamar, heads south to Flores Road (CR 2100 on Google Maps), and from there you follow a series of dirt roads that eventually wind up on the levee (and you’re actually allowed to drive on this one J).  My first stop is actually a half mile south of the starting point, and I wound up getting there about a half hour before sunrise, so I was able to add a distant Great Horned Owl to the list!  The only Olive Sparrows of the day lisped from the scrub, and several House Wrens scolded while a Bobwhite called in the distance.

The next stop (the bridge over the canal) is one of the most productive ones on the route, and today was no exception!  A handful of White Pelicans drifted over the road before I got there, and after I got there several Double-crested Cormorants flew back and forth.  A couple of Great Blue Herons stood sentry, a single Greater Yellowlegs was nice, and the day’s only Yellowthroat called from the reeds, but even better was a barking Song Sparrow, a widespread bird that rarely shows up in the Valley!  Unfortunately it wouldn’t bark for the tape, nor did it come out to pishing (and I’m so conditioned not to use playback in the parks that I totally forgot that I could have tried it there), so the “eBird Bird Records Committee” will have to take my word for it! J

At the next stop picked up a singing Cactus Wren, and at the turnoff to Flores/Citation a couple of Red-shouldered Hawks were yelling.  I could have sworn I heard a Beardless Tyrannulet, but it was only one distant “wheek”, so I wasn’t sure…  Once on Flores there were lots of Lincoln’s Sparrows smacking, a few Orange-crowned Warblers, a whitting Least Flycatcher, and a gorgeous Altamira Oriole!  In the more open area what looked like a “western” type Red-tailed Hawk sat on a post, and both Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese were feeding in the fields!  Other raptors looking for breakfast included White-tailed Kite, Harrier, and several Kestrels.  A side trip down Wildlife Road added my first Wilson’s Warbler of the area and a Harris’ Hawk on a pole.

Flores/Citation Road

Red-tailed Hawk

Grassland

Wildlife Road

Contorting Altamira Oriole

Continuing on Citation I checked the old barn for owls (nada) but picked up Loggerhead Shrike instead.  Citation eventually turns into Old Alice Road and passes Grace Heritage Ranch.  Unfortunately the nature trail that Mike and I had discovered last time was roped off, so I didn’t get any exercise (and it was a great little trail besides, so I was a little disappointed L).  A little wetland near a house had a female Vermilion Flycatcher, and their field had about 50 cranes in it!

Barn that often houses an owl

Savannah along Old Alice Road

Shy Orange-crowned Warbler

Sandhill Cranes (in someone's field below)

Headed up on the levee where the wind really kicked in, so I had to stay in the car for the most part; did pick up another kite, several Turkey Vultures, and some Mottled Ducks in a little wetland.  Turning around at the gate, on the way back kicked up a Sprague’s Pipit doing its “stair-stepping” routine in front of the car!  Past Old Alice you come to the actual Santa Monica Wetlands, which is usually dry, but this time it did have some water in it, along with two groups of Snow Geese of both flavors!  Couldn’t pick out any Ross’, so I was happy to get that close one on the whirlwind day with Barbara!  Further on a covey of Bobwhite exploded from the side of the levee.

Turkey Vulture

Two views of the actual Santa Monica Wetlands with geese

Snow Geese (two immatures on right)

A (probably) pure dark morph ("Blue Goose") is on the right

Many "Blue Geese" have a lot of "white morph" blood in them, however...

  

Once back at FM 1420, that officially ended that route, but I always have time to quickly check out “Primrose Path”, a short county road (375 according to Google Maps, also called Jansen Road but the street sign calls it Primrose Court) that historically has had a wintering Prairie Falcon and Mountain Plovers.  None of either had shown up for the last several years, but I always feel it’s worth checking, and there are also a couple of ponds that can be productive, along with some grasslands in addition to the barren fields (which always have Horned Larks at least).  The ponds (which were dry last time) had some water in them, but no birds as the owner was in there clearing some brush.  At the intersection with Mesquite, a floppy bird swooped by which turned out to be a Say’s Phoebe!  I took a bunch of pictures figuring it would get flagged by eBird, but it didn’t, so I guess they’re fair game in Willacy County!  Continuing on a stop at the canal bridge added a lovely White-tailed Hawk flying overhead along with the ubiquitous Turkey Vultures.

Say's Phoebe, a somewhat rare but expected winter visitor to the Valley

Yet another Turkey Vulture

The road ends at FM 498, but I jogged over to CR 370 (the street sign calls it Petunia, but Google Maps calls it Humphries) and took that north, weaving through the patches of thornscrub and wind farms amongst the barren fields, checking for possible Mountain Plovers, but nada.  That roads dumps back off on FM 490, so it was an easy trip home from there.  Ended up with a modest 60 species for the morning.  Bird list:

Snow Goose 

Mottled Duck 
Northern Bobwhite 
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 
Eurasian Collared-Dove 
Common Ground-Dove 
Mourning Dove 
Sandhill Crane 
Killdeer 
Greater Yellowlegs 
Double-crested Cormorant 
American White Pelican 
Great Blue Heron 
Great Egret 
Turkey Vulture 
White-tailed Kite 
Northern Harrier 
Harris's Hawk 
White-tailed Hawk 
Red-shouldered Hawk 
Red-tailed Hawk 
Great Horned Owl 
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 
Crested Caracara  
American Kestrel 
Least Flycatcher 
Eastern Phoebe 
Say's Phoebe 
Vermilion Flycatcher 
Great Kiskadee 
Couch's Kingbird 
Loggerhead Shrike 
Green Jay 
Horned Lark 
Black-crested Titmouse 
House Wren 
Bewick's Wren 
Cactus Wren 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
Northern Mockingbird 
European Starling 
American Pipit 
Sprague's Pipit 
Olive Sparrow 
Savannah Sparrow 
Song Sparrow 
Lincoln's Sparrow 
Western Meadowlark 
Eastern Meadowlark 
Altamira Oriole 
Red-winged Blackbird 
Great-tailed Grackle 
Orange-crowned Warbler 
Common Yellowthroat 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 
Wilson’s Warbler
Northern Cardinal 
House Sparrow