Although
overcast, it turned out to be a very pleasant day as we focused on finding
local rarities, but the minute I saw Glenn’s camera I knew he’d be interested
in photo ops as well! His wife Diane was
still suffering from a cold, so we picked up their buddy Bob, who had driven
down from Houston just for the day and was staying in the Historic Building, before
heading to Estero Llano Grande!
The
light wasn’t the greatest for photography to start, but we did see several
Clay-colored Thrushes upon entering the Tropical Zone! We would run into another flock closer to the
eastern fenceline (the anacua berries were ripe there, too), and while visible
for viewing, they were either behind branches of right against the light, so
they weren’t being very cooperative for the camera! We sat at the drip for awhile and enjoyed
White-tipped Doves, Chachalacas, and the occasional Orange-crowned Warbler, but
no Tropical Parula came in. L We did hear distant Red-crowned Parrots, and a
Wilson’s Warbler “chepped”, but he wasn’t very cooperative, either… At least a big flock of Black-bellied
Whistling Ducks flew overhead! Making
the rounds we had a kingbird that thankfully talked and proved himself a
Couch’s, and heard a Buff-bellied Hummingbird at the end of the Kingbird Trail,
but no Hammond’s Flycatcher showed itself… L So we decided to get checked in and see if
the Pauraque and Screech Owl were showing themselves…
Glenn shoots a Couch's Kingbird while Bob enjoys it at a distance...
Chachalacas at the feeders
Friendly Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ibis Pond had a few nice ducks, the Least Sandpiper mob, and the icterid group (minus the Common Grackle), and as we walked out on the boardwalk to get better lighting (the sun did come out at that point), we enjoyed brilliant Green-winged Teal, snappy Shovelers, and the Cinnamon Teal! As we stood there a shorebird came blasting in and plopped himself on the shore – a Snipe! He allowed great looks (and photos) before slinking into the reeds!
Green-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Great-tailed Grackle
Wilson's Snipe
Least Sandpipers
From
there we headed out to Alligator Lake, pausing to check out some sparrows
another gentleman was looking at; they were a little far to see well, but while
two looked clearly like Savannahs, one had a clear breast, so we tried Todd’s
trick of shooting the thing and then blowing up the picture, which revealed our
mystery bird to be a Grasshopper Sparrow!
He later came a little closer and gave Glenn some great photo ops!
Grasshopper Sparrow
We
gave Dowitcher Pond a cursory look (a Spotted Sandpiper came sailing in and then
promptly disappeared) before heading across the bridge. I had no sooner told the guys about the Green
Kingfisher and “his” canal when I heard him ticking! And he was pretty hidden, too; we felt like
we were right on top of him, when suddenly the guys saw him! He put on quite the show! A Beardless Tyrannulet was calling in the distance
all the while, and the teal in Grebe Marsh were virtually ignored!
At
the turnoff we enjoyed the requisite night herons of both flavors, plus the
Neotropic Cormorant (the Anhinga had left) and both kinds of grebes, but
suddenly there was the kingfisher again!
He seemed insistent that we pay attention to him and take more pictures!
J I noticed the tram tour ahead of us past the
Pauraque place, so I left the guys with the kingfisher and snuck down the
trail, taking quick looks at the normal spots and not seeing a Pauraque before
approaching the group. I asked the gal
if they had seen the Pauraque, and she led me right to him (he was in a normal spot; I just wasn’t
looking carefully L), but also mentioned that they might be
different birds as they seemed really skittish.
So after promising not to spook him I retrieved the guys, and they
enjoyed great looks (and he did indeed look different than the other Pauraques
I had seen there)! The owl wasn’t home,
but we heard another Wilson’s Warbler (and at least Bob and I got definitive
looks), but the thing took off before Glenn could get a shot… On the way back we had what we thought was
the same kingfisher making noise along the canal, but it turned out to be a female! Back at the deck I heard some tittering, and
we finally found the Tropical Kingbird sitting across the way!
The attention-demanding Green Kingfisher poses behind a Yellow-crowned NIght Heron
The male Green Kingfisher has a rusty breast.
Snowy Egret
Least Grebe
Black-crowned Night Heron
Pauraque - that "false eye" behind the REAL eye was something I hadn't noticed on other birds.
Female Green Kingfisher
Glenn
contacted Diane about that time (she wanted to join us later), as mention of a
Painted Bunting at the National Butterfly Center got Glenn’s juices going, so
we made plans to pick up Diane (and a Whataburger J) and head first
to Quinta Mazatlan for the Blue Bunting.
A pair of Curve-billed Thrashers greeted us right in the parking lot,
and sure enough, that troupe of Clay-colored Thrushes was still along the
entrance road, but they weren’t being as cooperative for photos this time
around…poor Glenn! He really wanted that
“robin”!
Clay-colored Thrush
We
went straight to the mansion to check in, and the gal told us that the bunting
was actually coming in to the feeders at the amphitheater area!! So we hightailed it over there, found our
seats, and sorted through all the House Sparrows in hopes of seeing something
blue! After awhile Bob announced he had
it, and before long the Blue Bunting did indeed hop on one of the log feeders
and lingered there for the longest time!
What a great look!
Young male Blue Bunting, a rare visitor from Mexico!
Another
couple behind us told us about a Western Tanager that was hanging around near
the other feeders in Ebony Grove, so we headed out there next, enjoying a
female Lesser Goldfinch at the bridge.
But after waiting a good long time only Curve-billed Thrashers came in
(along with the ubiquitous Green Jays) so we took a swing around the grove and
then continued on the Wildcat Trail.
When we were almost to the end Bob spotted a Cooper’s Hawk sitting in
the water feature – with all the statuary along the trails he thought it was
fake at first! J But as we were leaving I heard a weak eeek, which I suspected was the Blue
Bunting again, and sure enough, Diane spotted it and confirmed that’s what it
was! That little guy was making the
rounds (and if you look at Quinta’s map showing where he has been found, the sightings are basically all over the park)!
Curve-billed Thrasher
Glenn hoping for one more shot at the thrush...
From
there it was time to head to the Butterfly Center, and after checking in
Luciano showed us exactly where the Painted Bunting and the Audubon’s Oriole
had been hanging out. So we drove down
to the old gardens and paused at the feeders for a minute, where a nonbreeding
male Indigo Bunting showed up! After
enjoying the jays and titmice we continued on, where a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
foraged inches from us, and a Carolina Wren zipped across the trail and gave us
fleeting looks in the undergrowth! Another
gentleman asked us if we were looking for the Painted Bunting – well, he had
just seen it! It was in an area north of
the bathrooms, so I circled the bush he apparently had flown into to no avail,
but then suddenly there he was, feeding on the ground! He then retreated to another bush and gave
fleeting looks where another Winter Texan volunteer couple, Tom and Connie,
helped us get on him! Glenn got eyeball
shots, and even Diane mentioned that she had never noticed the “red circle
around the eye” before!
Green Jays
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Overwintering Painted Bunting
Glenn taking his shot at the bird...
Onward,
and as we circled around and Diane and I got separated from the guys, we
suddenly noticed them and another couple on another trail feverishly shooting
something; I assumed it was the two Long-billed Thrashers fighting and rolling
in the dirt, but it was actually the Audubon’s Oriole that had come in to a
bait log! Glenn got cracking photos
(which he kindly shared with me J), but alas, Diane
and I would never see it, although I heard it a couple of times (and on one
occasion a “distant” calling Audubon’s turned out to be a “close” scolding
White-eyed Vireo…).
Glenn's shot of the Audubon's Oriole (© 2018 Glenn Chambliss)
More
Clay-colored Thrushes played hide-and-seek before we finally decided to spend
some time at the feeders, and it was there that Glenn finally got his “robin”
shot as a very bold bird challenged the grackles and jays for a spot on the
water feature! J We
noticed, however, that he had an injured eye, and when we ran into him again
down the trail, we nearly stepped on him, so we didn’t think he was doing too
good… (That prompted a story from Bob
about how he witnessed a Boat-tailed Grackle chase down a House Sparrow into
the corner of a building and basically “stab” the thing, then fly off – didn’t
even eat it! He then said the other
sparrows gathered around the deceased sparrow before flying off themselves…) Anyway, the feeders were a great place to end
the day: lots of Green Jays, of course,
along with a titmouse that gave us fits by zooming in to get a seed then
zooming out again before we could fire off any shots! J A Lincoln’s Sparrow showed nicely, and even a
Hispid Cotton Rat came in to tear apart a dropped orange!
Black-crested Titmouse
Green Jay
Friendly Clay-colored Thrush that came in for a bath (below)...
...and then got attacked by a very UNfriendly female Great-tailed Grackle!
Not sure if this is the same bird, but we noticed his eye appeared to be injured...
...so we couldn't help but wonder if that grackle was the culprit!
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-eyed Vireo
We run into what we assume is the same thrush with the injured eye!
It finally warmed up enough for at least one Red Admiral!
Called
it a day after that, taking them home the “back way” and showing them how to
access Anzalduas and Hidalgo that way (we also picked up a White-tailed Kite
and a Harris’ Hawk using a For Sale Sign as a perch)! Upon dropping them off at the Inn added Green
Parakeets screaming overhead unseen as a final bird of the day! Bird List:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Gadwall
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Neotropic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Cooper's Hawk
Harris's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Common Pauraque
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Green Parakeet
Red-crowned Parrot
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Eastern Phoebe
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Clay-colored Thrush
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Blue Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Altamira Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow
79 SPECIES
