All photographs ©2019 by Ron Lam
For
the second day, Michael concentrated on two of the more productive spots in
Hidalgo County: Santa Ana NWR and Estero
Llano Grande State Park. They reported a
single Least Flycatcher at Santa Ana, along with a few Snipe out at Pintail
Lakes (I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where they got their Ringed Kingfisher
and Vermilion Flycatcher as well, as they’ve been hanging around out
there). While their adventure there
assuredly included the usual woodland suspects such as Green Jay, Altamira
Oriole, White-tipped Dove, Black-crested Titmouse, Great Kiskadee, Olive
Sparrow, Long-tailed Thrasher, Carolina Wren, the two woodpeckers, and the
Harris’ Hawk pair, the absolute highlight had to be the Hook-billed Kite they
saw flying low over the trees at Willow Lake!
Greater Yellowlegs
Green Kingfisher
Hook-billed Kite!!
Vermilion Flycatcher
As
the saying goes, “Estero never disappoints,” and according to Michael’s
comments they added quite a few new trip birds there in the wetlands, and the
afternoon light off the deck is always superb!
Some of the highlights included both whistling duck species, Cinnamon
Teal, the resident “pet” Pauraques (wish I coulda seen the looks on their faces
when they finally saw that one J), Anhinga and
Green Heron (probably at Alligator Lake), and Stilt Sandpipers from the
levee. A female Archilochus
hummingbird visited the feeders that Michael suspected was a Black-chinned this
time of year.
Bedraggled Fulvous Whistling Duck
Young Green Heron having a bad hair day...
High-stepping Kiskadee
The most photographed Pauraque in the world!
White-faced Ibis
They
did very well with 72 species for the day (if you decide to nail the hummer as
a Blackchin) and 22 new species overall (marked with an asterisk)! Bird list:
Black-bellied
Whistling-Duck
Fulvous
Whistling-Duck* Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal*
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall*
Mottled Duck
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Least Grebe*
Pied-billed Grebe
Plain Chachalaca
Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon)
Inca Dove*
White-tipped Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Pauraque*
Black-chinned Hummingbird*
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet*
Killdeer
Stilt Sandpiper*
Long-billed Dowitcher*
Wilson's Snipe*
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs*
Anhinga*
Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Green Heron*
Black-crowned Night-Heron*
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Hook-billed Kite*
Northern Harrier
Harris's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk*
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Least Flycatcher*
Eastern Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher*
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher*
House Wren* - heard only
Carolina Wren* - heard only
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Olive Sparrow
Altamira Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Cardinal
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