I
was a little apprehensive heading out today under a wind advisory (never good
for birding L), but Chris and Sandra were seasoned
adventurers from Britain (who had traveled all over the world in their quest
for birds and photos), so they knew the ups and downs of birding and that you
just had to do the best you could. We
actually ended up with a decent list, despite the gale!
We
started at Estero Llano Grande and had a Tropical Kingbird right there in the
parking lot (along with a Mockingbird, which Sandra was happy to see as it was
our state bird J)! We
found an Inca Dove singing “Bob Hope”, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher came down to
say hello at the culvert, and as we sat for five near the hummer feeder along
the Tyrannulet Trail, a the female Rufous Hummer (that I erroneously thought was a Rubythroat at first as I didn't see the kiss of rufous) came in (but the Buffbelly
only called, sadly, and as it turned out would never come in to the feeders L). Several Golden-fronted Woodpeckers showed
off, and down by the new blind we had a pair of Couch’s Kingbirds having a
spat, and the Red-winged Blackbirds filled the trees (although never came in to
the feeder area)! The “old” feeder area
was rather quiet except for several Orange-crowned Warblers that came in, and
another five-minute vigil at Rick and May’s trailer just produced a couple more
Archilochus hummers (probably
Rubythroats, according to Rick as he examined my pics).
Young Rufous Hummingbird
Tropical Kingbird
An Orange-crowned Warbler ponders the orange...
Yet another Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the Sniders' feeder
After
checking in we spent another several minutes at the feeders near the restrooms,
and only logged Redwings (but they were in great light for photography J), so we headed
onto the boardwalk to look at the waterfowl in better light: both White and White-faced Ibis were on
display today, along with several Snowy Egrets.
The regular ducks were there (except for the Cinnamon Teal), and we
couldn’t pick out the “Mexican Duck” that was hanging around with the
Mottleds. But we got a great look at the
Least Grebe that was also hanging with them!
Red-winged Blackbird
White-faced Ibis
Gadwall
Nothing
of note was as Dowitcher Pond (even the ever-present Spotted Sandpiper had
abandoned his log), so we headed straight to Alligator Lake. Sandra was anxious to see night herons, and
saw them we did, in spades! There were
even a couple of immatures of both species to compare! The Anhinga was back, next to the Tricolored
Heron, but the Neotrop had gone AWOL.
Thankfully the Pauraque was really
out in the open this time, and even in the sun!
(He was rocking a little bit so he may have been getting ready to move
to a shadier spot…) The owl was a
no-show, but we did get good looks at a cooperative White-eyed Vireo. Nothing was at the overlook, so we headed
straight back to the parking lot and the next destination (but not before
kicking up a Dusky-blue Groundstreak before the feeders).
Sandra and Chris checking out the night herons...
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
The park's famous Pauraque
My
charges had never seen Yellow-headed Blackbird or either cowbird, so we swung by
the Progresso Silos, only between the truck traffic and the horrific wind, we
weren’t able to pick out any Yellowheads except for one female in a big mob of
black on the ground, and unfortunately the whole bunch flew before Chris and
Sandra could spot it. But miracle of
miracles, I was able to get them on
one lone Bronzed Cowbird in the mob that was puffing up his ruff and sticking
up his tail enough to look different!
There were plenty of Brown-headed Cowbirds around, so that was an easy
lifer… On the way out a nice Cooper’s
Hawk flew by at ground level and landed, but took off again before we could get
even with him.
We
headed to Santa Ana after that and sat at the feeders for awhile, hoping the
Buffbelly would come in, but a very cooperative Altamira Oriole came down
instead! The bird walk was just
finishing up, so we chatted with Lorna (a Winter Texan also staying at the Inn)
and Laura and Steve Paulson who led the group.
They reported a Harris’ Hawk at Willow Lake as being the highlight of
the walk, so we headed out, getting a couple more gnatcatchers, but it was
quieting down by then. The lake had a
few coots (and the promised Harris’ across the way), but at the big blind a
little pod of Least Grebes showed well!
At the next deck we found a big group of Black-necked Stilts way in the
back, which led to a discussion as to whether they’re a separate species from
Europe’s Black-winged Stilts or not (depends on your taxonomy). We kicked up a Red Admiral and a White
Peacock in the butterfly department, as well as many Red Saddlebags. Another couple were shooting a very strongly
marked lizard on a rock that I guessed was a Rosebelly Lizard coming into breeding condition, and thankfully my herp friends concurred! We were almost back to the roundabout when I heard a
distant Beardless Tyrannulet; I really didn’t expect the thing to come in, but
I tried some pishing, and lo and behold he did
come in close! Thankfully Chris and
Sandra did get on the bird before it
shot away, so I was happy with that!
Altamira Oriole
Sandra on the Chachalaca Trail
Several Least Grebe shots
Various views of the Rosebelly Lizard, a South Texas specialty!
They
were interested in Burrowing Owls, so we headed north on Tower Road in order to
cut across to Border so the owls would be on their side of the car. But the drive turned out to be a dud (except
for some American Pipits that went bouncing away and never settled down). Well, we did
have a couple of young Caracaras in with a mob of Turkey Vultures in a field,
so it wasn’t a total waste…
Trying
for Monk Parakeets in Hidalgo was next, and for the first time ever, we
couldn’t find any! I guess it was just
too darn windy to be hanging around on the wires or near the nests, but Sandra
did spot a flock of Cedar Waxwings in someone’s yard! I was incredulous when she mentioned that
they got them in their own yard in Britain, before we both realized she was
referring to the Bohemian Waxwing!
I
was hoping Anzalduas wouldn’t be closed due to the President’s Day holiday, and
thankfully they weren’t! On the way in
three White-tailed Hawks were hanging in the wind (one adult and two
youngsters), and when the adult landed in the field, a Caracara approached him
and almost had a confrontation! The
wigeon pair was in the little floodway wetland, as was a heard-only Pied-billed
Grebe, but the guys were willing to hike out in the field for the Sprague’s
Pipit, despite the wind! We enjoyed a
flock of Western Meadowlarks in front of where we parked before heading
out.
I
figured if the thing did pop up it
would immediately hunker down in the grass, so I didn’t bother taking the
scope. Well. The little guy must have known because he
popped up, dutifully piked, then
landed flat out in the open just several yards away! Both Chris and Sandra were able to get
pictures, so I was very happy about that!
An Osprey showed well while we were out there, which led to a discussion
of their plight in Britain.
Sandra assesses Chris' shot of the Sprague's Pipit (below)!
©2018 Chris Briggs
Continuing
the crawl, we added the Lesser Scaups to the list, and Sandra spotted a Loggerhead
Shrike sitting on a post in that “government” area! Swinging around from the dam area I heard
peeping, and sure enough, a Black Phoebe was sitting on the wire “rope”! He was almost upstaged by the young Vermilion
Flycatcher that landed next to him (and later a Yellow-rumped Warbler joined
the group)! Killdeer had been calling
and flying overhead at Santa Ana, but I could never get my charges on them, so
I was thrilled when a group of four materialized right outside the car! House Finches were actually singing, and
later we saw a more “fully male” Vermilion Flycatcher just before we had to
leave to go home. A guy wandering
amongst the trees looked familiar and turned out to be my friend Pullen from
Mississippi, who was spending a week here and had already reported some good
stuff from the Brownsville Dump (including the Tamaulipas Crow)! On the way out a flock of Savannah Sparrows
flew over the levee, and we had a pair of nice Red-tailed Hawks. A Cattle Egret was in with some cattle going
up Shary Road, but only Chris and I saw that one.
Loggerhead Shrike
Killdeer (that always seem to look worried...)
Black Phoebe
Red-tailed Hawk
Ended up with 76 species for the day, which
ain’t bad on a horribly windy day! Bird
list:
Muscovy Duck (feral)
Gadwall American Wigeon
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Pauraque
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Black Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Sprague's Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Savannah Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Altamira Oriole
House Finch
House Sparrow
76 SPECIES
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