Had
the honor of guiding two Indian couples (now residing in Austin) around south
Hidalgo County this day: Sukumar had a
passion for photographing new birds, and his wife Veena was a more laid-back
birder, while their friends and neighbors Harsh and Rekha were along for the
ride! J Harsh actually did all the driving (even from
Austin), and was used to Chicago and Atlanta traffic as well as Austin, so he
was well equipped to be the driver in the crazy Valley traffic!
Since
photo ops were the priority (and it was still a dismal, overcast day), we
headed to Bentsen first. On the way I
advised them to watch the power lines, as one time we had Green Parakeets at
the light before the Bentsen turnoff, and the words were no sooner out of my
mouth when a huge flock flew right over the car! We found a parking lot and piled out, and
everyone got great looks at these noisy critters!
Sukumar shoots the parakeet mob while Veena and Rekha (below) enjoy the show!
Heading
on in to Bentsen, we made a quick stop at the canal to look for kingfishers
(got the Black Phoebe instead) before heading to the Nature Center feeders. The guy had just put out the food, so the
place was inundated with Chachalacas, Green Jays, and Kiskadees – Suku was like
a kid in a candy shop! J An
immature Altamira Oriole came in, an Orange-crowned Warbler made a brief visit,
and a couple of Cardinals made an appearance, but I think the Chachas stole the
show!
Enjoying point blank views of the Chachalacas!
(There's plenty of food for everyone, but they still get a little testy with each other!)
Green Jay
Great Kiskadee
Northern Cardinal
They
were game to visit the National Butterfly Center next door after mention of the
Painted Bunting and more feeder bird ops (although I warned them that the
weather was not conducive to butters L). The girls spotted the bluebirds right in the
parking lot, so that was exciting!
Inside, Luciano gave us the rundown (and then ran down to put the food
out after his assistant showed up J); the bunting had
just been seen by the old visitor center, so we went down there first, although
we came up empty. After being led around
by various little things in the trees we finally made it over to the feeders,
where we enjoyed more Green Jays, Chachalacas, Kiskadees, White-tipped Doves
galore, and of course the blackbirds and grackles, but a cute little Lincoln’s
Sparrow also made an appearance. Luciano
called the gang over to view some adult Altamira Orioles and pointed out a
Clay-colored Thrush on the back side of the bubble fountain while an
unchaseable Ringed Kingfisher made a racket up and down the canal. Suku was anxious to try for the
bunting, so we made the rounds around the trails; the bunting was a no show, so
we ended up watching Spike the Tortoise eat his breakfast… J
The gang near the canal
Bird feeding area
Luciano sets up his IPhone to record slo-mo videos of incoming birds!
Female Great-tailed Grackle, Green Jay, and male Red-winged Blackbird
Northern Mockingbird
Green Jay
Lineup of White-tipped Doves
These normally-skulky birds are easy to see when free food is offered!
Note the lovely lavender wash on the neck!
Plain Chachalaca
Lincoln's Sparrow
Luciano points out some Altamira Orioles to the group
L-R: Rekha, Harsh, Veena, and Suku
Spike eats a healthier lunch than most of us!
It
started spitting on us, so we made a run for the car and decided to do Old
Military Highway/Levee to Anzalduas Park; had a couple of nice Harris’ Hawks
and a young Cooper’s, and the gang dutifully gawked at the Rio Grande from
Chimney Park! Suku picked up some
Savannah Sparrows that the rest of us missed…
They were also impressed with the view into Mexico as we entered
Anzalduas, and picked up the American Wigeon in the spillway by taking a quick
peek. They agreed to take the Pipit Poke
across the field (even though I warned Suku that getting a photo would be
problematic), but we managed to flush one Sprague’s, and I tried to herd it
over to Suku after it landed, but about the same time it popped up again, so
did 20 Western Meadowlarks and a couple of swallows that passed between us, so
he never got on the right bird! L But we had nice views of the Scaup and the
Osprey.
Harris' Hawks
Young Cooper's Hawk
We
went “backwards” as we needed to use the facilities, spotting a Sharp-shinned
Hawk darting overhead. Over by the dam we
spotted the young male Vermilion Flycatcher and the American Pipit flock, and when
we got back by the river I heard both the House Finches and the Pine Siskins
calling from one of the open areas! On
the way out one of the gals spotted another
Vermilion Flycatcher while we were stopped so I could enter the eBird report,
and this was a full male!
It
was starting to rain in earnest by then, so we all agreed to look for a
sit-down place to eat lunch to wait it out.
The gang decided that they wanted Mexican since they were here, so Suku did a search on his phone and found a place near Quinta Mazatlan called Pancho’s Mexico Nuevo Restaurant
along the eastbound frontage road, and it was great: the atmosphere was wonderful, and the food
was mouth-watering! I had a seafood
combo, and being vegetarians, the rest of the crew asked our waiter about
options, and he went the second mile and had a whole platter of roasted veggies
prepared for them! Talk about special
service! J Definitely would recommend this place!
Rekha and Harsh get ready to dive in!
By
the time we were done the rain had abated, so we headed over to Quinta Mazatlan
in hopes of bagging the Blue Bunting. We
ran into John Brush who was on his way to put more seed out, but we didn’t get
far as it was: a nice feeding flock was
right there, that included the over-wintering Summer Tanager, an in-your-face
Blue-headed Vireo, a Black-throated Green Warbler, and the female
Black-throated Gray! (Was hoping the
reported Townsend’s would show, but it wasn’t to be… L) After checking in, the girls were enamored of
the mansion, and after waiting at the feeders for awhile they (and Harsh)
decided to walk the trails and then tour the house while Suku and I put in a
full hour waiting for the bunting. Inca
Doves were plentiful to begin with, but after they wheeled out the place was
empty except for blackbirds, the occasional Kiskadee, and a couple of Fox
Squirrels. A little guy came in with the
titmice that turned out to be a Nashville Warbler, and a nice Buff-bellied Hummingbird
came in to the feeder, but we finally gave up and walked the trails ourselves,
picking up some lovely male Lesser Goldfinches, a thrashing Long-billed
Thrasher along the Ebony Trail, and the mob of Clay-colored Thrushes near the
buildings (I told John that eBird wouldn’t let me put in more than 15, and he
said they’ve had as many as 18 captured at once for banding)! About that time Suku’s battery died, so he went
running back to the car for a fresh one while the rest of the gang eventually
trickled in, and when Suku returned we enjoyed multiple Tropical Kingbirds (and
probably one Couch’s, as one was calling somewhere…), plus yet another male
House Finch!
Harsh, Rekha, and Veena pose for the obligatory group shot...
Peek-a-boo Blue-headed Vireo
Non-breeding Summer Tanager against the sky
Shy Inca Dove
Tropical Kingbird
Yet another House Finch!
This Clay-colored Thrush is in anacua heaven!
American Wigeon
Lesser Scaup Plain Chachalaca
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Harris's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Killdeer
Caspian Tern
Rock Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Ringed Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Green Parakeet
Black Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Green Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cave Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
House Wren
Carolina 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
Nashville Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Altamira Oriole
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow
69 SPECIES
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