Keith
had asked me if I would take his cousins Paul and Chris from England out on
Friday, which I was thrilled to do! I
was even more thrilled that the rain threat went away, but it was windy as all
getout! L We started on Old Port Isabel Road and had two nice White-tailed
Hawks (including one I would call a “subadult”), but no falcons… The wind was so bad that we just stayed in
the car until I heard seeps or chirps, and at one such place I strongly
suspected we had a Cassin’s Sparrow, so we did
get out for that one! A little coaxing
finally brought him out only feet away from us, and I was kicking myself for
leaving the camera in the car!! L A couple of Sandhill Cranes flew across the
road high up, and further on a lovely singing Eastern Meadowlark posed. We had great looks at roadside Long-billed
Curlews, and a Sedge Wren called at the regular “dicey” spot. At the canal we had a spoonbill that eventually flew right over our heads, plus
a few ducks and herons. There had been
reports that the road was closed at the construction site, but not only was it
open, but there were no trucks in sight!
We watched a couple of birders in a low slung white car pass us, then
come back – that north end of the road is no friend to the faint of heart! J
White-tailed Hawk
Not quite adult bird
Eastern Meadowlark
Roseate Spoonbill
We
dipped on the falcons at the regular spot along SR 100 as well, but the big
shock was the Kite Fest on the Island! (It
was a perfect day, actually, with that wind…)
They were even directing traffic going in, but thankfully the revelers
had the north side of the Flats, and the best birding area was wide open; after
explaining to the parking attendant what we were doing she insisted on seeing
pictures! J
Making the rounds there we logged Piping, Semipalmated, and
Black-bellied Plovers (I admitted that “Grey Plover” is actually a better name
for the latter), a nice comparison of a Gull-billed Tern next to a Forster’s, White
Pelicans holding their wings open, and Laughing Gulls hanging next to the open
window and eating out of my hand! J We dutifully showed the gal the pictures and
gawked at some of the bizarre and fascinating kites they were flying!
Piping Plover that escaped the banders...
White Pelicans holding their wings out against the wind; this bird is starting to grow his breeding-season bill horn!
Laughing Gulls waiting for a handout...
Herring Gull claiming his dead fish prize
Two similar birds in non-breeding plumage: Gull-billed Tern (above) and Forster's Tern (below)
Many creative kites on display during the Kite Fest!
Songbird
action at the Convention Centre was understandably slow, but we did have an
Eastern Phoebe and lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers (aka Butterbutts). The boardwalk had a nice Green Heron and the usual
ducks along with a heard-only Sora (all this with Vaughn-Williams’ Variation on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
emanating from the Kite Fest; sounded like they had a contest going on…). The Birding Center had tons of Butterbutts
catching insects, a Northern Waterthrush pinking
close, and a Great Blue bullying a Great Egret!
The Reddish Egrets put on a wonderful show with their necks in a frizz
(we think one may have been an interloper), and Chris actually spotted the
Clapper Rail! We added a snoozing spoonbill and close looks at Blue-winged Teal, including one that had a white
design on the head! The whining
gallinule was just clucking today… On the way out we almost literally ran into a fearless Mockingbird that stayed put even as Chris and Paul posed with him!
Green Heron
Common Gallinules that had just finished a territorial spat with some neighbors (note the flared tail covert feathers)
Great Egret that inched too close to a Great Blue's fishing hole...
Great Blue Heron that bullied out the egret
Close-up of another Great Blue
Tricolored Heron
Annoyed Reddish Egret
Chris and Paul on the boardwalk
Snoozing Roseate Spoonbill
Black-crowned Night Heron
Chris, Paul, and friend (in upper left corner)
The fearless Mockingbird
Stopped
at the SR 48 boat ramp for the skimmers, and also added Ruddy Turnstone and the
oystercatchers to the day list. We
actually had time to stop at Tiocano Lake (along with a group from Colorado J) and heard plenty
of King Rails; the big surprise was a flock of White-fronted Geese across the
way! (A local pulled up and said, “You
shoulda been here yesterday!”)
Skimmers at the SR48 boat ramp
Checking out both sides of Tiocano Lake
We
decided to head on in after that with 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
Redhead
Northern Bobwhite
Pied-billed Grebe
Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Clapper Rail
King Rail
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Black-necked Stilt
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Curlew
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Great Kiskadee
Loggerhead Shrike
Tree Swallow
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Cassin's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
84 SPECIES
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