Finally
was able to get out to Willacy County and road-bird this interesting but underbirded
route! It begins at the intersection of
FM 490 and FM 1420 in Willamar, heads south to Flores Road (CR 2100 on Google
Maps), and from there you follow a series of dirt roads that eventually wind up
on the levee (and you’re actually allowed to drive on this one J). My first stop is actually a half mile south
of the starting point, and I wound up getting there about a half hour before
sunrise, so I was able to add a distant Great Horned Owl to the list! The only Olive Sparrows of the day lisped
from the scrub, and several House Wrens scolded while a Bobwhite called in the
distance.
The
next stop (the bridge over the canal) is one of the most productive ones on the
route, and today was no exception! A
handful of White Pelicans drifted over the road before I got there, and after I
got there several Double-crested Cormorants flew back and forth. A couple of Great Blue Herons stood sentry, a
single Greater Yellowlegs was nice, and the day’s only Yellowthroat called from
the reeds, but even better was a barking Song Sparrow, a widespread bird that
rarely shows up in the Valley!
Unfortunately it wouldn’t bark for the tape, nor did it come out to
pishing (and I’m so conditioned not
to use playback in the parks that I totally forgot that I could have tried it there), so the “eBird Bird Records Committee”
will have to take my word for it! J
At
the next stop picked up a singing Cactus Wren, and at the turnoff to Flores/Citation
a couple of Red-shouldered Hawks were yelling.
I could have sworn I heard a Beardless Tyrannulet, but it was only one
distant “wheek”, so I wasn’t sure… Once
on Flores there were lots of Lincoln’s Sparrows smacking, a few Orange-crowned
Warblers, a whitting Least
Flycatcher, and a gorgeous Altamira Oriole!
In the more open area what looked like a “western” type Red-tailed Hawk
sat on a post, and both Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese were feeding in the
fields! Other raptors looking for breakfast
included White-tailed Kite, Harrier, and several Kestrels. A side trip down Wildlife Road added my first
Wilson’s Warbler of the area and a Harris’ Hawk on a pole.
Flores/Citation Road
Red-tailed Hawk
Grassland
Wildlife Road
Contorting Altamira Oriole
Continuing
on Citation I checked the old barn for owls (nada) but picked up Loggerhead
Shrike instead. Citation eventually
turns into Old Alice Road and passes Grace Heritage Ranch. Unfortunately the nature trail that Mike and
I had discovered last time was roped off, so I didn’t get any exercise (and it
was a great little trail besides, so I was a little disappointed L). A little wetland near a house had a female
Vermilion Flycatcher, and their field had about 50 cranes in it!
Barn that often houses an owl
Savannah along Old Alice Road
Shy Orange-crowned Warbler
Sandhill Cranes (in someone's field below)
Headed
up on the levee where the wind really kicked in, so I had to stay in the car
for the most part; did pick up another kite, several Turkey Vultures, and some
Mottled Ducks in a little wetland.
Turning around at the gate, on the way back kicked up a Sprague’s Pipit
doing its “stair-stepping” routine in front of the car! Past Old Alice you come to the actual Santa
Monica Wetlands, which is usually dry, but this time it did have some water in it, along with two groups of Snow Geese of
both flavors! Couldn’t pick out any
Ross’, so I was happy to get that close one on the whirlwind day with Barbara! Further on a covey of Bobwhite exploded from
the side of the levee.
Turkey Vulture
Two views of the actual Santa Monica Wetlands with geese
Snow Geese (two immatures on right)
A (probably) pure dark morph ("Blue Goose") is on the right
Many "Blue Geese" have a lot of "white morph" blood in them, however...
Once
back at FM 1420, that officially ended that
route, but I always have time to quickly check out “Primrose Path”, a short
county road (375 according to Google Maps, also called Jansen Road but the
street sign calls it Primrose Court) that historically has had a wintering
Prairie Falcon and Mountain Plovers.
None of either had shown up for the last several years, but I always
feel it’s worth checking, and there are also a couple of ponds that can be
productive, along with some grasslands in addition to the barren fields (which
always have Horned Larks at least). The
ponds (which were dry last time) had some
water in them, but no birds as the owner was in there clearing some brush. At the intersection with Mesquite, a floppy
bird swooped by which turned out to be a Say’s Phoebe! I took a bunch of pictures figuring it would
get flagged by eBird, but it didn’t, so I guess they’re fair game in Willacy
County! Continuing on a stop at the
canal bridge added a lovely White-tailed Hawk flying overhead along with the
ubiquitous Turkey Vultures.
Say's Phoebe, a somewhat rare but expected winter visitor to the Valley
Yet another Turkey Vulture
The
road ends at FM 498, but I jogged over to CR 370 (the street sign calls it
Petunia, but Google Maps calls it Humphries) and took that north, weaving
through the patches of thornscrub and wind farms amongst the barren fields,
checking for possible Mountain Plovers, but nada. That roads dumps back off on FM 490, so it
was an easy trip home from there. Ended
up with a modest 60 species for the morning.
Bird list:
Snow
Goose
Mottled
Duck Northern Bobwhite
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Mourning Dove
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Harris's Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Couch's Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Green Jay
Horned Lark
Black-crested Titmouse
House Wren
Bewick's Wren
Cactus Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Sprague's Pipit
Olive Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlark
Altamira Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow
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