The
rain threat went away, so we decided to head up to Starr County so we wouldn’t
be taking back-to-back trips out to South Padre! It started off foggy and misty, but cleared
up nicely, and it turned out to be a gorgeous day! We had multiple Red-tailed Hawks on the way
up, along with a couple of Harris’.
Learning
from my mistake last time, we decided to take the Seedeater Trail first in
hopes of bagging the Red-billed Pigeon.
Another couple arrived just as we did, so we gave them time to get ahead
of us by doing a 15-minutes river watch, during which time we had oodles of
ducks: mostly Blue-winged Teal and
Mottled Ducks (that immediately took off), but also a few Ring-necked Ducks and
Lesser Scaups. An adult and immature
Double-crested Cormorant gave good scope views (with a Gadwall between them),
and a Spotted Sandpiper wheeled in at the same place! Upriver we didn’t see any pigeons on the
island, but the Osprey was still around!
The best bird was the Audubon’s Oriole that sat up pretty on a dead tree
across the river and sang for us (which was good, as he never came in to the
feeders while we were there… L)
Catherine at the Rio Grande
Ring-necked Ducks (male left, female right)
We
headed down the trail after that, listening for seedeaters, and some of those
silly Redwings had me fooled a couple of times as they would utter some very
high-pitched “sweety” sort of vocalizations!
A Verdin actually popped out on its own, and the Cassin’s Sparrows were
song-battling, so we got to see one of them skylark! At the first “seedeater overlook”, an Olive
Sparrow was pretty cooperative for views, and a Ringed Kingfisher cracked as he flew overhead. We finally caught up with the couple who
hadn’t seen any seedeaters, but they reported that the pigeon just left (and had been sitting there
the whole time – a Caracara chased it off)! L We tried to turn some Chachalacas sitting up
in the trees into pigeons, but that didn’t work… Before they left they did mention that they
had the Swamp Sparrow, and Catherine found him, hopping around at the bottom of
the ravine! That was great, as I kept
missing him every time! While we waited
another 15 minutes, the kingfisher returned, followed by a pair who were
obviously not happy with the intruder, chased him downriver, and then did a
victory lap right over our heads! The
whistling Gray Hawk was almost anticlimactic!
Various shots of the wintering Swamp Sparrow (with only one tail feather left)
No
seedeaters, so we headed back to the car and up to the feeders (after enjoying
Mr. Osprey eating his fish on that same pole he’s always on J), where things
were slow to start, but eventually most of the regulars showed up, including
the Clay-colored Thrush (I think the only regulars that didn’t show up were the Olive Sparrow, Audubon’s and Hooded
Orioles, and Long-billed Thrasher; even some of the regular doves were missing,
but thankfully not the White-tipped).
The porta-potty maintenance truck came in after about 45 minutes, so we
decided to head on to Falcon by way of the Dump Road.
Mr. Osprey is back on his post with his breakfast!
Meanwhile, Mr. Kiskadee ponders the peanut butter mixture before diving in!
The Chachalaca kept flipping his tail as he fed!
White-tipped Dove
Clay-colored Thrush
Immature Altamira Oriole
Note the green back compared to the adult (below)
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Spring
is definitely in the air, as bushes were blooming profusely (Huisache and what
I think was either Honey Mesquite or Texas Ebony was especially prevalent) and even at midday the
birds were singing! The best birds along
this stretch were a group of Black-throated Sparrows that unfortunately didn’t
stay put for pictures! L We
had good comparative looks at Black and Turkey Vultures as well, and got to
hear Bewick’s Wrens singing.
Catherine shoots a yucca (also below) along the Dump Road
Falcon
State Park was next (and they were handing out Sherry’s new bird checklist),
and since butterflies were batting about, we visited the butterfly garden
first, which was very productive (although frustrating for photography –
especially if you were just learning your camera as Catherine was – as most of
them wouldn’t stay put)! The most common
showoffs were Red Admirals, Elada Checkerspots, Texan Crescents, and Queens,
but we also had a Funereal Duskywing, White-patched Skipper, and a couple of
Gray Hairstreaks. The Pipevine and Black
Swallowtails went batting by but never landed…
I think Catherine’s favorite moment there wasn’t a butter but the Inca
Dove that sat on the trail and started “Bob Hope”ing to his mate! While there a pair of Chihuahuan Ravens ronked and flew overhead, which was
fun; hadn’t seen them there in a long time!
Catherine in the butterfly garden at Falcon SP
Red Admiral
Funereal Duskywing
Queen
Elada Checkerspot
Texan Crescent
Gray Hairstreak
Corn Earworm Moth
Inca Dove
From
there we crawled along the road, and again, compared to about a month ago, the
place was alive with birdsong even in the heat of the day! Most of it belonged to Mockingbirds of
course, but we had more Black-throated Sparrows, White-eyed Vireos, and Verdins
filling the air. At the primitive
camping area some Lark Sparrows were hiding yet singing lustily, while a shrike
sat out in the open. A lady came over to
ask what we were seeing about the time a Pyrrhuloxia popped up, so we chatted a
bit – they were visiting all the Texas State Parks! What fun!
Loggerhead Shrike
Pyrrhuloxia
Continuing
on we found the young male Vermilion Flycatcher, and just before getting to the
boat ramp I heard a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher singing, but also the “pish”-like
call and song of a Black-tailed Gnatcatcher!
He came right out, showing off his nice black cap, but he was moving so
fast that we both were just “shooting blind”, hoping we caught something! (We didn't, or at least I didn't...) We then off-roaded in the overflow area
(Catherine went through a muddy patch I would have been afraid to take Heppy
through J)
and only picked up a Great Egret for our troubles. The picnic area was full of Weekend Warriors,
but we walked down the little fenceline path picking up some Coots, but I kept
hearing this buzzing that sounded like angry bees, which seemed to be coming
from the Huisache trees and was more intense when the wind blew through
them! I was all set to report that the
Huisaches make this incredible noise when blown by the wind when Catherine
said, “I think that’s a toy!!” Sure
enough, we went to investigate and noticed a toy drone being buzzed over our
heads; mystery solved…
We
really had to start back after that, so we headed out, but got waylaid in Roma
when I spotted a group of Green Parakeets on the wires in the historic
district! We wheeled around the block
and then got right under them (ended up parking at the police station)! That was a special gift and
nice end to the day!
We spot a group of Green Parakeets in Roma!
Checking us out...
Sometimes they'll show a few flecks of orange or red around the head.
Bird List:
Gadwall
Mottled Duck Blue-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Plain Chachalaca
Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Harris's Hawk
Gray Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Spotted Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Ringed Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
Green Parakeet
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Green Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Barn Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Bewick's Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Clay-colored Thrush
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Olive Sparrow
Cassin's Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Altamira Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
House Sparrow
67 SPECIES
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