We
headed west into Starr County today, and it started off much the way it had yesterday: cold and misty! But the further we went, the mist let up as
promised by the weatherman, and when we arrived at Falcon State Park it was
still cold and overcast, but dry and calm, so it was very tolerable! And for whatever reason, this day was much more birdy than on previous days at the
park: Pyrrhuloxias were everywhere, it
seemed, and Roadrunners were only too happy to come out and play (although they
didn’t fall for my cooing this time L)!
Pyrrhuloxias
Western Meadowlark digging in the dirt...
Very cold and wet Roadrunner!
Since
the overflow lot was way too muddy to drive on (a jeep of birders who had
passed us in the primitive camping area had apparently gone down there, and we
saw where they decided to turn back…) we took a little hike down the incline,
enjoying some Savannah Sparrows jumping in and out of the ditch along the boat
ramp, and a flock of warblers that included an “Audubon’s”! Surprisingly we saw no water birds out on the
lake, but my guidees were impressed with Falcon Dam and the size of the lake!
Why I chose NOT to drive into the overflow lot!
Tom and Nancy enjoying themselves despite the cold!
Driving
out of the parking area and turning the corner, we almost ran over three
Black-throated Sparrows enjoying a puddle by the road! In the picnic area we spotted a feeding
frenzy on the lake that was made up of mostly Laughing Gulls but also included
a few Ringbills and some cormorants (down at the end of the road we spotted a
White Pelican making his way over to the party)! A Pied-billed Grebe morphed into a Coot once
we looked at it through the scope J, and in the cabin
area a handsome Caracara posed on a pole! At
the corner where the butterfly garden is, a nice Curve-billed Thrasher sat on
top of a bush, giving a barely audible whisper song! I was bemoaning the fact that Bobwhite was
another bird I hadn’t seen much of in the park lately, when Nancy suddenly
spotted some by the side of the road! A
swing through the hookup campground added a Javelina rooting around in
someone’s campsite… While stopped at the
entrance station for a potty break, we descended on a feeding flock that I
thought had another Audubon’s Warbler, but pished up a curious Verdin instead,
and a sprightly Black-crested Titmouse teed up and sang his little song for all
to see!
Crested Caracara
Curve-billed Thrasher
From
there we decided to visit Merle and Lois’ feeding stations, so we swung over to
Salineño and pulled in their little lot; it was hard to get Tom to stay with us
as he was seeing birds every five feet on the way in, even though I was
assuring him that “you’ll see loads!” J And today’s show didn’t disappoint: the hour
flew by (Tom couldn’t believe we had sat there that long), and all the expected
moochers came in and gave great looks, including “Baldy,” the Audubon’s Oriole
and “Patch”, the leucistic Red-winged Blackbird! Several immature Altamira Orioles came in
along with the adults, and finally a Hooded Oriole showed up, albeit an
immature male (which led to a discussion of the true definition of “hooded” J)! The Bobwhites provided comedy relief as
they’d sneak into the feeding area a foot or so, only to go scrambling back
when the Green Jays called the alarm!
This happened several times until the whole covey finally made its way
out into the open. The Long-billed
Thrasher finally peeked out, and even the Olive Sparrow made a brief
appearance!
Birds that make the Salineno Feeders a "Must See" event...
Northern Cardinals
Altamira Orioles
"This is MY feeder!"
Immature bird
Pondering my discarded apple...
Northern Bobwhites finally get up the nerve to sneak out...
...and enjoy feeder frenzy along with everyone else!
Males
Pair, with female behind
Orange-crowned Warblers
White-winged Doves
Brown-headed Cowbird
Plain Chachalaca
Female Ladder-backed Woodpecker
This leucistic Red-winged Blackbird was dubbed "Patch" by Merle and Lois!
Green Jays
And the star of the show, "Baldy" the Audubon's Oriole!
(so-called because of the nick on the top of his head that he's had for several years, better seen in the photo below...)
With his girlfriend at left...
After
the hour was up we went down to the river to hike the Seedeater Trail, where
the same Osprey was on the same pole eating dinner! No seedeaters, but Tom did spot a beautiful Gray Hawk across the way (twice in fact, as
the bird flew the first time before Nancy could see it through the scope)! A partially hidden cow across the river had
an attendant Cattle Egret, which was quite a sight in what looked like thick
thornbrush! A pair of Olive Sparrows
gave great close looks (until I got the camera out), and at the end of the
trail we had a couple of Yellowthroats and a Lincoln’s Sparrow, but not much
else.
Tom studies Mr. Osprey (on the pole) eating lunch!
Trying to gag down the rest of his meal...
At the end of the Seedeater Trail
We
thought about trying to visit Quinta Mazatlan on the way back (seeing as they
were staying right next door practically), but by the time we got there we
realized we wouldn’t have been able to spend much time there, so we just called
it a day. But the best bird (for Nancy
anyway J)
was on the golf course on the way to the hotel:
several Long-billed Curlews grazing close to the road! Once we parked and settled down in the
breakfast room and went through the checklist, we shooed her off to walk back
to get more looks, while I gave Tom a quick eBird tutorial (he had just
downloaded the mobile app and was anxious to start using it)! We wound up with 56 species for the day. Bird list:
Plain Chachalaca
Northern Bobwhite Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Cattle Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Harris's Hawk
Gray Hawk
American Coot
Spotted Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
Least Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
White-tipped Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Great Kiskadee
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
“Myrtle” Warbler
“Audubon’s” Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Hooded Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
House Sparrow
56 SPECIES
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