They
said it hadn’t been this cold in the Valley since 2003 (or thereabouts), so my
“guidees” from Missouri were shocked when they thought they were gonna escape
the cold weather and enjoy birding in a milder climate! But they were troopers: Fran and Jim, along with their daughter
Kathie and her husband Dale, braved the 30+ degree weather all day (the
granddaughter, Elena, opted to stay at the Inn J) as we made the
trek up to Salineño (with the requisite stop at Stripes for a Pumpkin Spice
Cappuccino J)!
Despite
the bitter cold, they were eager to try the Seedeater Trail first, and since
the wind wasn’t blowing it really wasn’t too bad to start. Everyone had bundled up well, and the first
thing to greet us when we parked at the boat ramp was a big ol’ Osprey enjoying
his breakfast on a pole! There were also
several Double-crested Cormorants in the river, along with a pillow-like White
Pelican, while a Spotted Sandpiper delighted the folks as he bobbed along! The trail itself was pretty quiet except for
flyover Red-winged Blackbirds, and at the cul-de-sac I heard a Ringed
Kingfisher way in the distance, but
he never came close. We ran into a
couple of “unknown birders” at the little overlook trail (where we also had an
Eastern Phoebe) and again at the cul-de-sac, where we enjoyed a female Vermilion
Flycatcher sallying out from the cane and a Yellowthroat skulking around. We scoped a couple of Ospreys that were
sitting up, as well as a distant Altamira Oriole as a taste of what was to
come! We were on our way back when the
kingfisher sounded like he was closer, so we all barreled back where the two
guys were on a Green Kingfisher that
was giving his typewriter-like rattle!
Kathie and I got a glimpse of him as he shot across the river, but we
never could refind him (and the Ringed stayed frustratingly upriver…).
Osprey with breakfast
The gang scours the Rio Grande for goodies
Jim and Fran with the two "unknown birders"
Another Osprey with another fish
Giving
up on the seedeaters, we decided to hit the feeders, where the visit to the
porta-potty was interrupted by several Chachalacas running across the
road! Settling down, it didn’t take long
for the regulars to come in (including the Audubon’s Oriole), but the gang was
especially blown away by the Altamira Orioles!
The Kiskadees definitely provided comedy relief as they fought with each
other and gave the alarm to send everyone scrambling, but they never stayed away
long: pretty soon the Ladder-backed Woodpeckers would come in, look around, and
then hitch backwards to make their way to the peanut butter smear, the
White-crowned Sparrow was back doing the “towhee shuffle”, and even the
Long-billed Thrasher made an appearance!
Green Jay chowing down
Great Kiskadees
Alatmira Orioles pondering the PB mixture...
...and then indulging!
Audubon's Oriole
Chachalacas go for the seed tray in the back...
...while Cardinals (male above, female below) come closer!
Lady Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Lady Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Long-billed Thrasher
White-crowned Sparrow
Falcon
State Park was slow at first, but braving the overflow lot bagged us Great and
Snowy Egrets, Coots, and a couple of gulls (the roads down to the shore were
under water…). The primitive camping
area was surprisingly birdy, with a male Vermilion Flycatcher and a snappy
Black-throated Sparrow being the highlights.
The picnic area was not very
birdy, however, except for a couple of Harris’ Hawks on a pole. The most action was on the way to and in the
hookup campground, where a Javelina crossed
the road, and a Pyrrhuloxia showed off right next to the road! More Pyrrs were in the campground, and comedy
relief was provided by a male Cardinal who came barreling at Heppy (my car),
made a brief attempt at attacking the mirror, then landed on the hood! Dale and Jim spotted a Lark Sparrow on the
ground behind us before we wrapped up and headed back to Salineño, but I
couldn’t believe we dipped on Roadrunner!!
Thankfully they didn’t need that one…
Immature Harris' Hawk
Yet another Osprey with yet another fish...
Eastern Phoebe
Black-throated Sparrow
Sour-looking Pyrrhuloxia
By the time we returned to Salineño it had begun to mist (plus the wind had picked up), but we decided to brave it anyway; no seedeater (and not much of anything, really), so we retreated to the feeders until it was time to go, but not before Fran finally saw her White-tipped Dove!
Mr. Audubon is back at it...
Bird List:
Gadwall
Plain Chachalaca Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
White-faced Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Harris's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Ringed Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
House Wren
Bewick's Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Altamira Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
House Sparrow
59 SPECIES
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