And
what a glorious day it was! Still was
bitterly cold first thing (freeze warning was still in effect), but the sun
came out and energized the birds! We
decided to start along the Old Military Highway levee, first checking the wires
along Business 83 in hopes of Green Parakeets, but they had found another
resting place. So starting at the east
end of the accessible levee, we headed west with the sun to our backs, and
after logging the requisite columbids
around the residential areas, we came upon a very birdy spot that had both
Couch’s and Tropical Kingbirds vocalizing, Lincoln’s Sparrows popping, and a
cooperative Olive Sparrow that sat right up and sang for us! A little further down the road we had
knockout looks at a young White-tailed Hawk, along with a juvie Redtail! The gang dutifully oohed and ahhed at the Rio
Grande right there next to us! As we passed the Butterfly Center a gorgeous
Peregrine Falcon posed on a power pole!
Couch's Kingbird
The identical (except for voice) Tropical Kingbird
Olive Sparrow
Subadult White-tailed Hawk
Showing off the white tail and the still-immature underparts
The gang enjoying the hawk
The
restrooms at Bentsen State Park beckoned us, so since we were there we decided
to check the Gatehouse Feeders, picking up a cooperative Buff-bellied Hummer at
the feeder by the tram stop. We checked
the canal, and I had just finished telling the gang how once a Ringed
Kingfisher had barreled right down the canal at us, when guess what! I caught sight of one in the distance that
banked, and here he came, right down
the middle of the canal and over our heads!
What a show! The feeder birds
were almost anticlimactic after that, but we enjoyed Chachalacas fighting over
the peanut butter, knockout Altamira Orioles doing the same (Kathie and Dale
said they couldn’t not look at
them!), Green Jays galore, and the best bird, a Long-billed Thrasher that gave
extended views for Fran, as she had missed the one at Salineño! A pair of Coyotes were the mammalian
highlight, and White-tipped and Mourning Doves gave good comparative views. A Verdin chirped on the way out but wouldn’t
show, but back at the canal the Black Phoebe showed nicely. Kathie was very excited about the Cattle
Egret on the bank until she realized she had already seen one… J
White-tipped Dove
Coyote
Yes, it was cold!
Altamira Oriole
Green Jay with an attitude...
Gang of Greens...
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers looking for gnats...
From
there we headed to Anzalduas, and again I guess we lingered a little too long
along the spillway, even though I made sure no one got out (their life Least
Grebes and Mottled Ducks were there, along with a pair of White-fronted Geese),
as the Constable once against chastised us!
After the Pipit Poke I went over and again apologized to him, and we
actually had a great chat – he clarified that a quick look is okay, but don’t linger, because if a BP agent comes through in pursuit, you could get hurt! He
also enlightened me as to why the park is sometimes closed on “non-holidays” as
it was last week: if there’s criminal
activity going on across the river, they’ll close the park for
public safety reasons – makes perfect sense!
Anyway,
we parked, and although the wind was nippy, Dale, Kathie, and I opted to take
the Pipit Poke across the field, which was thankfully dry! On the way out there a nice Red-shouldered
Hawk powered by, followed by a Red-tailed Hawk that started soaring
overhead! We didn’t have to go far
before we flushed a Sprague’s, but as per usual, it wouldn’t land where you
could get a scope view (as Dale quipped, “He knows what he’s doing!” J)! We wandered over to the edge of the river to
check out the scaup mass and flushed a snipe in the process! I was surprised that there were no Western
Meadowlarks out there!
Kathie wills a Sprague's Pipit to show itself...
After
we got back to the cars we continued on, and didn’t have to go far before the other pipit, the American, was bathing
right in front of us; in fact, a whole flock of about 20 birds took off,
wheeled around several times, and then settled down for scope views! I heard a “chink” warbler, so we wandered
over into the grove, and while we couldn’t find what I suspected was a
Black-throated Green, we had several Orange-crowned and Butterbutts, along with
a group of Eastern Bluebirds! Swallows
were swooping all around us at eye level, almost running into us at times, so
we eventually all got great looks at both Cave and Rough-winged! Continuing on we saw a pair of Caracaras, and
pulling onto another road Fran was able to get some pictures, while I heard a
Pine Siskin shoot overhead (but never found)!
After enjoying them we made the rounds and picked up a couple of
Vermilion Flycatchers and the House Finches on that “central” road. On the way out the caracaras were fighting
over a fish, so the gang enjoyed watching that!
American Pipit
From
there we really had to scoot to Estero, so after a requisite stop at Starbucks
(nearly had a coup on my hands when I suggested Stripes instead J), we wheeled in
and headed straight to the deck, but not before I heard a Clay-colored Thrush
“ringing” that of course didn’t want to come out (a White-eyed Vireo was more
cooperative)! Ibis Pond had a few of the
regulars, including an incredible White Pelican Ballet in the distance, but no
Least Grebe or Mottled Duck, which Fran never saw at Anzalduas because we had
to scoot… So we headed toward Alligator
Lake, making a stop at Dowitcher Pond, where finally a Least Grebe materialized
within a group of Gadwall! He was so cute!
Some Pintail were in with the other ducks as well, but Grebe Marsh was
the real jackpot, with the sun beautifully highlighting Green-winged Teal,
American Wigeon, Shoveler, and Gadwall, but a nice Spotted Sandpiper as well
(Fran missed the one at Salineño, so this was a major celebration)! At the turnoff to Alligator Lake another
couple with a gorgeous English Setter had spotted the coveted Anhinga (along
with a clueless Yellow-crowned Night Heron in plain sight), and then they pointed
out the Pauraque, which dutifully blew away the crew with its cryptic
plumage! I then heard the Green
Kingfisher, so going back to the heron spot I found her in front of the
Anhinga, so everyone got great looks (and also at a Black-crowned Night Heron
across the way)!
The Starbucks Crew (L-R: Jim, Fran, Kathie, and Dale)
Puffy little Least Grebe
American Wigeon
Gadwall
Green-winged Teal
Front and back views of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Hiding Pauraque
Lady Green Kingfisher through the foliage
Trudging back to the deck
It
was time to head home after that, but we took another quick look at Ibis Pond,
spotting another Snipe across the way! I
pointed them towards the Tropical Zone when we got there so they could explore
on their own, while I headed back to Alamo.
We had managed 84 species for the day!
Bird List:
Greater White-fronted Goose
Gadwall American Wigeon
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American White Pelican
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Common Pauraque
Archilochus Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Ringed Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Black Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cave Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Clay-colored Thrush
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Sprague's Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Altamira Oriole
House Finch
Pine Siskin
House Sparrow
84 SPECIES
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