Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Hanging Around for More!

3/31/18 

Richard and Barbara came to the Valley with a group from Massachusetts Audubon, but with only three days to cover the area (and that was smashing a lot of stuff in per day, from what I heard), they wanted to stay on longer, so we set it up and got a target list from him; most were possible up at Salineño, but one, the Beardless Tyrannulet, was reasonably gettable right here at Santa Ana.  We initially chose Salineño, but after mulling it over the next morning at the cars, they decided to try Salineño on their own, and we’d make a half day of it here looking for the tyrannulet. 

We headed down into the fog, the air thick with the smell of the onions that were being picked!  In the parking lot I heard a Clay-colored Thrush, so we went over to try and find that, and he finally showed himself over in the picnic area!  One of the hawk watch guys was actually photographing moths when we got there, and he showed us some great pictures, including a Five-spotted Hawkmoth that had shown earlier!  After crossing the levee we took the Pintail Lake Trail from the roundabout, as that’s where I had heard the birds last, and by the time we reached the paved road, we did manage to hear him, but he was deep in the woods. L  We had multiple Couch’s Kingbirds to look at, however, and a Hooded Oriole wheeped but wouldn’t show.  After getting on the Tower Trail, we had a nice Long-billed Thrasher sing for us (although he was in terrible light).  A Common Ground Dove was singing in the distance, and I heard the distinctive whup of a Brown-crested Flycatcher; afraid that he might get flagged on Ebird (at least they were getting flagged last week), I got a recording of his varied vocalizations.  Turns out he’s on the “expected” list now, so we obviously turned a corner!  We did hear the tyrannulet again, but he was still deep in the stuff…

Pintail Lakes Trail

Eastern Cottontail

Richard and Barbara shooting a Long-billed Thrasher

So we backtracked to the Tower Trail again, and then on to the Chachalaca Trail where much more was happening:  Richard found a Kiskadee building a nest, and then we spotted a pair of Altamira Orioles, the male singing his happy song and his wife chewing the fat with a young male Red-winged Blackbird! J  The normal ducks and shorebirds were at the blind, including a Pectoral Sandpiper and a Snipe that moved into the reeds before Richard could get on him…  The Chachalacas were chorusing up a storm, and a friendly titmouse came in to view as we checked out the Willow Lake Trail, but never heard the Tropical Parula (or any warblers for that matter, except for the occasional Yellowthroat).  On the way back to Chachalaca Trail, however, one of the many Verdins I was hearing (but not seeing) came into view at a palmetto, so both Richard and Barbara got great views; they were happy campers, as they had missed that one on the tour!  Upon discovering that they still needed Sprague’s Pipit (the group missed them at the King Ranch), we headed for Anzalduas, adding a circling Swainson’s Hawk on the way.

Great Kiskadee

Their nest

Leaving the nest

Red-winged Blackbird and Altamira Oriole 

Altamira Oriole

Being coy...

Rag-a-muffin Couch's Kingbird
  
Once there we parked and started the hike across the field, not quite sure if they’d even be there considering the date (although John Arvin’s checklist shows them as “uncommon” into early April), but before long we flushed a pale bird that did the characteristic “stair-stepping” flight, had the white outer tail feathers, and dropped like a rocket back into the grass!  I would have felt better if he had called, but eventually he did, and eventually Richard was able to get “proof shots” of the little head poking up on the ground and the bird in flight!

"I think I got 'im..."

He sure did!  (Sprague's Pipit, ©2018 Richard Smith)

Keeping an eye on us... (©2018 Richard Smith)
  
We only had a half hour before we had to head back, so we crawled around, enjoying watching the party going on across the river (and starting to get going on our side J); bird-wise it was pretty quiet; we had heard an Eastern Meadowlark singing while we were in the field, but the river was full of Laughing Gulls and a lone Forster’s Tern.  A log in the river had its attendant coots, but also a Common Gallinule pumping by!  Cliff Swallows were building or repairing their nests at the dam, but that was about it for the bird life, so we headed on home with a decent 68 species for the morning.  Bird List:

  Black-bellied Whistling-Duck         
  Gadwall                              
  American Wigeon                      
  Mottled Duck                         
  Blue-winged Teal                     
  Northern Shoveler                    
  Green-winged Teal                    
  Plain Chachalaca                     
  Neotropic Cormorant                  
  Double-crested Cormorant             
  Great Egret                          
  Little Blue Heron
  Cattle Egret                         
  Turkey Vulture                       
  Osprey                               
  Swainson's Hawk                      
  Common Gallinule                     
  American Coot                        
  Black-necked Stilt                   
  Killdeer                             
  Greater Yellowlegs                   
  Lesser Yellowlegs                    
  Long-billed Dowitcher                
  Wilson's Snipe                       
  Laughing Gull                        
  Forster's Tern                       
  Rock Pigeon                           
  Eurasian Collared-Dove               
  White-winged Dove                    
  Mourning Dove                        
  Common Ground-Dove                   
  White-tipped Dove                    
  Belted Kingfisher                     
  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            
  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             
  Crested Caracara                     
  Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet        
  Brown-crested Flycatcher             
  Great Kiskadee                       
  Tropical Kingbird                    
  Couch's Kingbird                     
  Scissor-tailed Flycatcher            
  Loggerhead Shrike                    
  White-eyed Vireo                     
  Green Jay                            
  Northern Rough-winged Swallow        
  Cliff Swallow                        
  Cave Swallow                         
  Black-crested Titmouse               
  Verdin                               
  House Wren                           
  Carolina Wren                        
  Clay-colored Thrush                  
  Long-billed Thrasher                 
  Northern Mockingbird                 
  European Starling                    
  Sprague's Pipit                      
  Common Yellowthroat                  
  Olive Sparrow                        
  Savannah Sparrow                     
  Northern Cardinal                    
  Red-winged Blackbird                 
  Eastern Meadowlark                   
  Great-tailed Grackle                  
  Brown-headed Cowbird                 
  Hooded Oriole                        
  Altamira Oriole                      
  House Sparrow                        

68 SPECIES

Hot Birding for a Canadian Couple

3/26/18 

Gerald and Jennie were escaping the cold of Toronto by exploring South Texas for the first time, so since they had already explored several hotspots on their own (and the forecast suggested that Starr County would be the only area not experiencing high winds the day of our outing), it looked like Salineño and Falcon would be the places to go, as many of their targets could be gotten there.  So I picked them up where they were staying and we headed northwest.

It was truly a beautiful day, and we got to Salineño in good time, with a few other cars already there (and utilizing the Valley Land Fund parking lot seeing as the river was quite high at the boat ramp).  Things were actually rather quiet on the way:  no Chachalacas, Green Jays, or Altamira Orioles serenaded us as on previous outings – even the Cassin’s Sparrow was silent!  The Gray Hawk did whistle for us, but they were inaccessible back in the woods…

Northern Cardinal

Gerald and Jennie on the "Seedeater Trail"

We heard the Ladder-backed Woodpecker, so I planted Gerald and Jennie near the nest hole in hopes the thing would come in while I went to the end of the trail to check things out.  A Clay-colored Thrush sang in the distance, and a suspicious bird in the dead tree on the island took off the minute I got my bins on him; I was hoping that wasn’t the one and only Red-billed Pigeon that was gonna show up! L  I didn’t hear any seedeaters, either, but while we waited a couple of Chihuahuan Ravens flew by, and a little bird up in the tree that got my juices going turned out to be a Lesser Goldfinch…  I took my charges up the hill in hopes of seeing the Ringed Kingfishers; they weren’t at their regular spot, either, and I was really beginning to sweat that all our targets were gonna elude us, when I suddenly heard the kingfisher coming in!  He actually landed on a perch between us and the trail we had just come up, so everyone got wonderful views!  It turned out the Rough-winged Swallows swooping around were life birds for Gerald as well, so we got good looks at those along with the Bank Swallows chattering overhead.  On the way back we scared up a Lincoln’s Sparrow that sat for shadowed views.

Ringed Kingfisher

Gerald shooting said kingfisher (circled).  For the record, both photos were taken from the same spot!

Earlier, when we were climbing that hill, a gentleman caught up with us and told us that he had had an Audubon’s Oriole come in about a half hour earlier, so we were hopeful!  While coming back down the hill I was suggesting that we spend at least another 15 minutes at the end of the trail when I suddenly heard the Audubon’s, and there he was, on top of the mesquite!  Had we been on “ground level” we probably would not have been able to see him!  Once down at the bottom, what should be coming through the airwaves loud and clear but the seedeater’s sweet song!  Unfortunately it sounded like he was on the far side of the island, across the water, and after a lot of scanning, we just couldn’t find the little bugger before he apparently moved to an inaccessible area.  We decided to wait some more, enjoying the Turkey and Black Vultures and the resident Ospreys, but the only bird we added was a Summer Tanager that “pick-a-chooed” and shot into a tree.  Before leaving I decided to take one last look at the tree on the island, and there were the pigeons!!  Gerald got his scope on them, and we all got great looks!  Talk about the eleventh hour!  On the way back the Cassin’s Sparrow was singing, but he was distant and we never could find him…  While not a life bird, it had come to my attention that Eurasian Collared Dove was an ABA bird for Gerald, so we made sure he got some good looks on the way out! J

The Dump Road was next, and while it was starting to get a little breezy, we got some good birds, including a Pyrrhuloxia that came right in!  A Black-throated Sparrow only gave brief looks, but an Olive Sparrow gave longer (albeit more skulky) views.  At one of the fields I was hearing something that sounded like a White-tailed Hawk, then spotted two hawks dogfighting and then actually doing the Talon Lock!  I assumed they were the Whitetails I thought I was hearing, but a closer look at one of the birds proved it to be a Swainson’s!  (They do have a similar wing pattern…)  I couldn’t find the other bird to determine if we had an inter-species scuffle or not…  A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was uncharacteristically uncooperative for photos as he scolded us from his wire!

Pyrrhuloxia

Gerald shooting said Pyrrhuloxia

On to Falcon (Starr) County Park, where new birds came fast and furious:  a Lark Sparrow sat in the shadows but still allowed a picture,  and when I heard a Verdin we wheeled over to the area in hopes of seeing the little guy (which we did), but also another Pyrrhuloxia demanded attention!  On the south side of the park Gerald had a distant view of his life Loggerhead Shrike, and then I heard (and briefly saw) a Cactus Wren, so again I wheeled around while Gerald walked over, but in the meantime a brilliant Vermillion Flycatcher showed up on the wire!  A Curve-billed Thrasher took a drink from a spigot while all that was going on, and almost immediately after we headed on an Ash-throated Flycatcher posed on a pole!

Female Vermilion Flycatcher (not the brilliant one described in the text...)


Curve-billed Thrasher

Ash-throated Flycatcher

After finishing that up we swung into Falcon State Park, and while it was getting pretty warm by then, we added a few things:  this time the Black-throated Sparrow posed for photos on one side of the road, while a Curve-billed Thrasher posed on the other!  We happened upon a whole group of people with Big Guns at one point, and they had spotted a Caracara sitting in a bush!  Before long her mate swung in, she did an, “I’m ready, Henry,” pose, and they started the process of making little Caracaras! J  One lonely yellowlegs that struck me as a Lesser flew by as our only shorebird of the day…

Mrs. Caracara

Curve-billed Thrasher

Black-throated Sparrow

Watching the skies...

In the primitive camping area I heard a Bewick’s Wren that sounded visible but wasn’t, so I drove up next to the vegetation, and Gerald was actually able to get a look!  Another Verdin sounded “gettable”, so we all got out and tried to find him, but Gerald was distracted by another pair of Chihuahuan Ravens!  About that time the Verdin actually came out in the open (but flew the minute Gerald showed up, of course L), but then a Roadrunner cooed in the distance!  We drove over to the general area, and I tried to call him out, but he wasn’t falling for it this time, so since it was so hot I persuaded Gerald that we should move on…

Jennie poses next to "Heppy"

We bypassed “off-roading” in favor of checking the roads for more Roadrunners, but alas, they were all in hiding.  We did hear another close Verdin, so I swung around and parked while Gerald tried to shoot him, and in the meantime another gentleman stopped and asked where the Rock Wren was being seen!  I told him, but my charges agreed that with the temperature already getting into the 90s, we didn’t think any self-respecting Rock Wren would be out on the rocks then anyway…

We enjoyed what was probably the same raven pair in the picnic area, along with a Caracara that tried to share a tree with one of them!  A few scattered White Pelicans wheeled overhead, and at one point Gerald counted 18 altogether!  We couldn’t kick up anything in the hookup areas, so we decided to head home after that (but not before Gerald spotted a Harris’ Hawk overhead).  He was pleased, with over 40 lifers so far this trip, with more to come, he was sure! 

Chihuahuan Raven, again showing the tell-tale white feather bases!

(...and everyone's panting in this heat...)

Subadult Crested Caracara


Bird List:

  Double-crested Cormorant             
  American White Pelican               
  Great Egret                           
  Black Vulture                        
  Turkey Vulture                       
  Osprey                               
  Harris's Hawk                        
  Gray Hawk                            
  Swainson's Hawk                       
  Lesser Yellowlegs                    
  Rock Pigeon                          
  Red-billed Pigeon                    
  Eurasian Collared-Dove               
  White-winged Dove                    
  Mourning Dove                         
  Inca Dove                            
  White-tipped Dove                    
  Greater Roadrunner                   
  Ringed Kingfisher                    
  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            
  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             
  Crested Caracara                     
  Vermilion Flycatcher                 
  Ash-throated Flycatcher              
  Great Kiskadee                       
  Couch's Kingbird                     
  Scissor-tailed Flycatcher            
  Loggerhead Shrike                    
  White-eyed Vireo                     
  Green Jay                            
  Chihuahuan Raven                     
  Northern Rough-winged Swallow        
  Purple Martin                        
  Bank Swallow                          
  Black-crested Titmouse               
  Verdin                               
  House Wren                           
  Bewick's Wren                        
  Cactus Wren                          
  Clay-colored Thrush                   
  Northern Mockingbird
  Curve-billed Thrasher                
  European Starling                    
  Orange-crowned Warbler               
  White-collared Seedeater             
  Olive Sparrow                        
  Cassin's Sparrow                      
  Lark Sparrow                         
  Black-throated Sparrow               
  Lincoln's Sparrow                    
  Summer Tanager                       
  Northern Cardinal                    
  Pyrrhuloxia                           
  Red-winged Blackbird                 
  Western Meadowlark                   
  Great-tailed Grackle                 
  Brown-headed Cowbird                 
  Hooded Oriole                        
  Audubon's Oriole                     
  Lesser Goldfinch                     
  House Sparrow                        

61 SPECIES

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Coming East to Texas

3/25/18 

Lee and Ruth were two birding buddies from New Mexico who just wanted to see a “nice variety of birds” as they had never been to Texas, so after hearing about a stupendous hawk liftoff at Santa Ana, I asked Lee if they’d like to bird there first thing, and they were definitely up for that!  So we left a little later and got there right around sunrise, where we ran into fellow guide Mary Gustafson who also had a client!  After checking in we compared routes, so since they were heading straight for the Tropical Parula, we decided to head out to Pintail Lakes first and then go for the parula on the way back.

That turned out to be a great decision, as after we got on the Pintail Lakes Trail, a Beardless Tyrannulet started calling close!  What was even more miraculous was that the little bugger actually let us see him! J  (He drew the line at letting the girls get pictures, though… L)  We crossed the tour road and continued on the trail, and as we came out into the open and headed south, we saw Broad-winged Hawk after Broad-winged Hawk lifting off and forming several kettles (we actually flushed a couple along the trail)!  It was amazing; we ran into a ranger who had already counted several hundred, and it seemed like everywhere we looked a Broadie was circling!  What a show!

About the best we could manage with the tyrannulet...

Interestingly, they were the only species I could pick out (aside from Turkey Vultures, and a lone Cooper’s Hawk later), but we were hoping for a Swallow-tailed Kite as one was seen the day before!  No such luck L but we did have wonderful views of various ducks and shorebirds as we made our way to the end and then worked our way back with the sun to our backs:  in the next to last pond we had to hike south a little bit in order to see the Least Grebes (one was actually on a nest), and the Pied-bills were in stunning breeding plumage in the main lake.  Also in the main lake were both flavors of whistling duck (I was particularly pleased to see the Fulvous, but this is the time of year they start showing up), a Little Blue Heron, and several White-faced Ibis amongst the regulars.  Shorebirds included both types of yellowlegs and a Wilson’s Snipe that Ruth spotted!  A Spotted Sandpiper was in full spots, and what we thought was another Broadie kettle at first turned out to be a kettle of Anhingas!  On the way out we had scope looks of both Tropical and Couch’s Kingbirds, and the girls were able to get on a singing White-eyed Vireo.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks


 
Fulvous Whistling Ducks


Pied-billed Grebe

Chatty Tropical Kingbirds

Pensive Couch's Kingbird - can you tell them apart?  Aside from their voice, it can be tough to tell!

Kettling Anhingas

"I found the White-eyed Vireo!"

We made our way back to Willow Lakes where we spotted a couple of Verdins along the trail (one without his tail) and amazingly several Olive Sparrows on the ground!  At the big blind added Solitary Sandpiper to the list, and over at the big overlook we ran into Mary again, who pointed out some Baird’s Sandpipers across the way.  We also added a Cinnamon Teal, a couple of dowitchers and a Stilt Sandpiper, and they had gotten the parula, so I was glad to hear that!  In fact, after they left, the thing was singing right behind us, so we moseyed over to the intersection with the cutoff trail, and it was singing right over our heads (for a moment the gals were distracted by a Black-crested Titmouse J), and the fact that it was with a feeding flock didn’t help as we’d first get on a kinglet, then a gnatcatcher, before searching again, but finally Lee spotted it, and we eventually all got great looks (but again, no photo ops, as the little guy was just too busy…)!  As an addendum, one or both of the gals thought they had two parulas, and sure enough, the next week Ranger Garza reported two birds!  Are little parulas in the future? J

Lesser Yellowlegs

Solitary Sandpiper - can you tell them apart?

It was getting warm (and the wind was kicking up), so after that we headed to Anzalduas, stopping in Hidalgo to see the Monk Parakeets busy at their nests!  At the park, I was surprised that there weren’t many people there given it was Palm Sunday!  (That was rectified by the time we left the place… J)  The girls passed on the Pipit Poke, so we dove right into road-birding.  I did get out at the corner to check out the duck flock (the scaup had been joined by Shovelers), but no kingfishers this time, although the girls spotted a fleeing Black Phoebe that I missed.  I heard the Gray Hawk that we could never spot, but the star of the place was definitely the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers posing for pictures!  We took a quick look at the Cliff and Rough-winged Swallows building their nests under the dam, finished the loop, then headed out as we couldn’t add anything else to the list except a flyover Harris’ Hawk.

Monk Parakeet busy on its nest

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher


Wallace Road was next, and that was pretty windy and dry as well (about the only songbirds we kicked up were both kinds of goldfinches that were hiding in the roadside sunflowers), but the wetlands had a few things, such as another pair of Least Grebes, a Common Gallinule, lots more ducks, several Least Sandpipers, and a nice Pectoral Sandpiper!  After finishing that we continued on to Laguna Seca Road which was much birdier:  almost right away we added a wonderful Caracara on a pole, plus the Fuertes’ Hawk!  Further up a wonderful White-tailed Hawk showed off along with a couple of Black Vultures, and we had a few sparrows on the wires, mainly Lark and a couple of Vespers (Cassin’s were singing all over).  A Pyrrhuloxia chattered hidden next to us, and it was a relief that my charges weren’t really interested in pulling that one out, as they have them in New Mexico!  More Scissortails played with us, and we crawled past this property that was for sale where Lee spotted our only Great Blue Heron for the day in a barely visible wetland!  Before long it was time to head back, so we headed to the freeway with an incredible 97 species for the day! 

Checking out the wetlands on Wallace Road

A Crested Caracara watches us from his post...
 
They'll often let you drive right up to them!


Yet another Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Bird List:

  Black-bellied Whistling-Duck         
  Fulvous Whistling-Duck               
  Gadwall                              
  Mottled Duck                         
  Blue-winged Teal                     
  Cinnamon Teal                        
  Northern Shoveler                    
  Green-winged Teal                    
  Lesser Scaup                         
  Plain Chachalaca                     
  Least Grebe                          
  Pied-billed Grebe                    
  Double-crested Cormorant             
  Anhinga                              
  Great Blue Heron                     
  Great Egret                          
  Little Blue Heron                    
  Cattle Egret                         
  White-faced Ibis                      
  Roseate Spoonbill
  Black Vulture                        
  Turkey Vulture                       
  Osprey                               
  Cooper's Hawk                        
  Harris's Hawk                        
  White-tailed Hawk                    
  Broad-winged Hawk                    
  Gray Hawk                            
  Red-tailed Hawk                      
  Sora                                 
  Common Gallinule                     
  American Coot                        
  Black-necked Stilt                   
  Killdeer                             
  Spotted Sandpiper                    
  Solitary Sandpiper                   
  Greater Yellowlegs                   
  Lesser Yellowlegs                     
  Stilt Sandpiper                      
  Baird's Sandpiper                    
  Least Sandpiper                      
  Pectoral Sandpiper                   
  Long-billed Dowitcher                
  Wilson's Snipe                        
  Laughing Gull                        
  Rock Pigeon                          
  Eurasian Collared-Dove               
  Mourning Dove                        
  White-tipped Dove                    
  Buff-bellied Hummingbird             
  Golden-fronted Woodpecker            
  Ladder-backed Woodpecker             
  Crested Caracara                     
  American Kestrel                     
  Monk Parakeet                        
  Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet        
  Black Phoebe
  Great Kiskadee                       
  Tropical Kingbird                    
  Couch's Kingbird                     
  Scissor-tailed Flycatcher            
  Loggerhead Shrike                    
  White-eyed Vireo                     
  Green Jay                            
  Northern Rough-winged Swallow        
  Tree Swallow                         
  Cliff Swallow                        
  Black-crested Titmouse               
  Verdin                               
  House Wren                            
  Marsh Wren                           
  Carolina Wren                        
  Bewick's Wren                        
  Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                
  Ruby-crowned Kinglet                 
  Long-billed Thrasher                  
  Northern Mockingbird                 
  European Starling                    
  Orange-crowned Warbler               
  Common Yellowthroat                  
  Tropical Parula                      
  Olive Sparrow                        
  Cassin's Sparrow                     
  Vesper Sparrow                       
  Lark Sparrow                         
  Northern Cardinal                    
  Pyrrhuloxia                          
  Red-winged Blackbird                 
  Eastern Meadowlark                   
  Western Meadowlark                   
  Great-tailed Grackle                 
  Bronzed Cowbird                      
  Hooded Oriole                        
  Altamira Oriole                       
  Lesser Goldfinch                     
  American Goldfinch                   
  House Sparrow                        

97 SPECIES