We
were all hoping the weather would clear today, but it didn’t L, so Bob Powell,
Simon Kiacz, and I headed out in the mist with two van-loads of folks to see
what we could find along Boca Chica Boulevard.
As expected, we ran into the construction and finally found our way to
the Stripes for a bathroom break, but instead of backtracking and going south
to SR 4 as the directions said, Simon suggested we go straight on Ruben Torres
and make a right on Medford, and that turned out to be a great decision, as we
went by a large pond that the Birder Patrol had discovered several years back
that was very productive! This time we
initially found many Shovelers and Ruddy Ducks, but presently a truck pulled up
next to Simon’s van, talked with him a bit, then pulled on ahead of us and
turned in his driveway; he turned out to be the pastor of this retreat center on
whose property the pond was located, and was inviting us to come on in! That was really a blessing as the lady who
owned the property gave us an open invitation to call ahead and come any time,
and it turned out to be a terrific place:
right away a female Vermilion Flycatcher welcomed us, and from the new
angle we found several Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser
Scaup, and both grebes! In addition some
of the folks found both Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, Gadwall, and American
Wigeon, but a bright chirp in a tree turned out to be a Northern Parula!
That
certainly added to the day list as we continued on to Boca Chica, where we
stopped at the normal falcon viewing area just past the Border Patrol
checkpoint. It was misting again by now
and pretty miserable, but we did manage to spot a “gray ghost” (male Northern
Harrier) and a brown blob that was probably his mate! We couldn’t pull out any falcons, so we
continued on, stopping at one of the dirt roads that goes into the refuge
proper and walking a little. That hit
pay dirt with a Groove-billed Ani that put on a show – he was definitely the
star for a lot of folks! Other dickey
birds that gave brief views (or at least vocalized) included Altamira Oriole,
Long-billed Thrasher, White-eyed Vireo, and a couple of Rose-breasted
Grosbeaks! A pair of Harris’ Hawks were
on the nearby poles as well, and two flocks of pretty Roseate Spoonbills flew
overhead.
The gang admiring a Harris' Hawk (below) along Boca Chica Boulevard
We
made a command decision to head straight to the beach and then work our way
back, but we were compelled to stop several times: first for a pair of White-tailed Hawks right
next to the road, then for tons of shorebirds closer to the end of the road;
the light was horrible, but we could pick out Semipalmated and Snowy Plovers,
Least and Western Sandpipers, Sanderlings, and a lone Ruddy Turnstone. Horned Larks were also chasing each other around,
and a white morph Reddish Egret was a distant sighting. A Gull-billed Tern batted around, and a
little further down a big pod of Avocets huddled in the cold. Snow Geese flew by close enough to ID without
bins, and several Scissor-tailed Flycatchers sailed overhead (one guy was
hoping for a Fork-tailed J)!
White-tailed Hawk (also below)
Comparing photos...
We line up to enjoy shorebirds...
...then "play in the puddles" to get the mud off our boots!
Mob of American Avocets
We
finally made it to the beach, but nothing much was down there (although the
road in was the best I’ve ever seen it); the waves were crashing in, and about
the only bird there was a Laughing Gull!
We had lines of Brown Pelicans further out, but not even any terns
showed up! A small flock of White-winged
Doves batted past, interestingly, that were the only ones for the day.
Scanning the Gulf
Laughing Gull with a missing foot
So
we started back with plans to stop at Palmito Hill Road, but we ran out of time
(especially if we wanted to make another Stripes stop) and instead decided to
stop once again at the regular falcon spot.
This time, after much scanning, Bob finally spotted a distant pair that
was showing all the pertinent field marks!
High fives all around! But that
wasn’t the end of the birding: at the
urban Stripes an Anhinga flew overhead and a friendly Yellow-throated Warbler
came down to say hello, and then we witnessed a ballet of White Pelicans on the
drive home! The whole day list came to
103 species!
Medford
Pond list:
26
species
Fulvous
Whistling-Duck 6
Blue-winged
Teal 11Northern Shoveler 6
Gadwall 10
American Wigeon 1
Ring-necked Duck 7
Lesser Scaup 1
Ruddy Duck 12
Least Grebe 1
Pied-billed Grebe 3
American Coot 3
Black-necked Stilt 1
Killdeer 5
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull 80
Little Blue Heron 2
Cattle Egret 80
Turkey Vulture 3
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 1
Vermilion Flycatcher 1
Tropical Kingbird 1
Green Jay 1
European Starling 6
Great-tailed Grackle 15
Northern Parula 1
Boca Chica list:
66
species
Snow
Goose 20
Northern
Shoveler 30Northern Pintail 30
Lesser Scaup 20
Eurasian Collared-Dove 2
White-winged Dove 5
Mourning Dove 3
Groove-billed Ani 1
Black-necked Stilt 1
American Avocet 60
Black-bellied Plover 1
Snowy Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 5
Killdeer 3
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Dunlin 5
Least Sandpiper 70
Western Sandpiper 15
Willet 5
Laughing Gull 20
Ring-billed Gull 4
Herring Gull 1
Gull-billed Tern 1
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 2
Double-crested Cormorant 13
Brown Pelican 8
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 2
Reddish Egret 2
Cattle Egret 30
Roseate Spoonbill 41
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 3
White-tailed Kite 1
Northern Harrier 2
Harris's Hawk 5
White-tailed Hawk 2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 2
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Crested Caracara 2
American Kestrel 1
Aplomado Falcon 2
Great Kiskadee 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 5
Loggerhead Shrike 3
White-eyed Vireo 1
Horned Lark 6
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Tree Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 3
House Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Long-billed Thrasher 1
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 7
Savannah Sparrow 4
Lincoln's Sparrow 3
Eastern Meadowlark 12
Altamira Oriole 1
Red-winged Blackbird 40
Great-tailed Grackle 9
Common Yellowthroat 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
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