Met Matt and Jill, a delightful and fun
couple from South Carolina (complete with accents J), outside the Inn Friday morning; they opted to drive
as they were heading straight to the airport after the field trip. They had already birded a few days before
meeting me, but the initial itinerary I sent them still sounded good (they
claimed to be very casual birders), so we headed straight to Estero Llano
Grande as planned. A Tropical Kingbird tittered
from a wire along the entrance road to start the day, and for comparison we
found a “pupping” Couch’s Kingbird in the Tropical Zone! Sneaking by the park host area, we had
various wintering things as well as the titmice (Matt and Jill loved to travel,
so they had already bagged that bird in Fort Davis). A Verdin that was calling refused to come out
(as per usual), and the blind was also quiet as breakfast hadn’t arrived yet, but
a Kiskadee and White-tipped Dove eventually came in for a look. But the picnic table feeders were where all
the action was: Matt was hoping Jill
could see the Chachalacas as she had missed them previously, and he got his
wish in spades as the place was crawling with them! They were even starting to get feisty, as a
couple fluffed up and faced off, jumping up and down and all over each
other! More White-tipped Doves paraded
across the floor seemingly unaffected by all the hoopla going on, while the Green
Jays sat in the wings and made funny noises…
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Fighting Chachalacas
The screech owl
wasn’t in his hole in the white shack this time, but as we made our way to the
Visitor’s Center via the trail next to Ibis Pond, a nice Black Phoebe performed
well, and just before the building an Altamira Oriole sat overhead! Something shuffled noisily in the palm tree inches
away from us before being spooked – a pair of Curve-billed Thrashers, another
bird they really wanted to see! Being a
former hunter, Matt was particularly interested in the pretty ducks (teal were
good eating; Shovelers weren’t…), and we had the regulars to enjoy in Ibis Pond; one of them (I
think it was Jill) asked about this close bird in the mud that was so
camouflaged, and it was one of the several Wilson’s Snipes that had been
reported! What a look! Matt was trying to get me on something way
across in Avocet Pond when I suddenly noticed one of his other most-wanted
birds, a Vermilion Flycatcher, sitting on a post! That was pretty exciting!
Wilson's Snipe
Green-winged Teal
Heading over to
Alligator Lake, we checked Dowitcher Pond and were able to nail down a couple
of Cinnamon Teal, although still coming out of eclipse plumage. Jill noticed a long line of something that
turned out to be distant Snow Geese!
(Wanted to turn what looked like a smaller one in the lead into a Ross’,
but it could have been an optical illusion…)
A small flock of Lesser Yellowlegs flew by, and at Grebe Marsh we
enjoyed the pond’s namesake as finally a Least Grebe stayed on the surface long
enough for Jill to see him! J As we
approached Alligator Lake I heard the tick-ticking of the Green Kingfisher and
were thankfully able to spot him across the way! (We all agreed that some of the standard
descriptions, like “sounds like a typewriter,” may not compute with the younger
generation… J) The night
herons showed well, and a gentleman walking his dog cottoned us onto a
White-tailed Kite perched in plain view at the “little overlook”! (The kingfisher blasted over to us and ticked
annoyedly as if to say, “Hey, don’t look at him – lookit me!” J) A Neotropic Cormorant flew over, showing the
long-tailed shape well, and thankfully we found the Pauraque right away, which
elicited the proper ooos and ahs! A Ringed
Kingfisher machine-gunning in the distance made me run back to the open area,
but he was too distant to spot… At the
“big overlook” a nice male Anhinga posed, a bird both beautiful and ugly at the
same time, they said!
Green Kingfisher
Hidden Pauraque
White-tailed Kite (also below)
Jill and Matt at the "Little Overlook"
Anhinga
We made our way
back to the Visitor’s Center, enjoying some close-up Least Sandpipers on the
shore of Dowitcher Pond (and later Ibis Pond), plus the Spotted Sandpiper that
always seems to be there! We and sat at
the feeders for awhile, and thankfully the Buff-bellied Hummer came
through! A Lincoln’s Sparrow skulked on
the ground (Matt got to see it but I think Jill missed it L), and when we checked the ponds again an Eastern
Phoebe was over where the Vermilion was before. On the way to Progresso, what
should be sitting on the wire over the actual Estero Llano than the Ringed
Kingfisher! We made a Uie and everyone
had a great view – he’s getting to be a regular at that spot!
Green-winged Teal (male above, females below)
We run into long-time Alamo Inn Winter Texan Kathy on the way back!
Least Sandpiper
Snowy Egret
Ringed Kingfisher
When Matt mentioned
that he really wanted to see whistling ducks, I texted my friend Dan Jones and
asked if we could drop by, as his resaca is the whistling duck capital of the
Valley! We had barely stepped out of the
car when we saw the mob in his back yard instead of across the resaca in
the neighbors’ yards! J Dan himself
shortly came out with his scope and encouraged us to go on back while he set up
shop and started scanning. I ribbed Matt
and said, “You wanna see whistling ducks?” and pointed him towards the lawn
down the way on the opposite side that was just carpeted with ducks –
Matt and Jill were duly blown away! The feral Muscovies got logged, and Dan
spotted a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a pole.
Both Caspian Tern and Rough-winged Swallows flew over (the latter was Dan’s
first for the year), and we added a chipping Yellow-rumped Warbler in his
awesome butterfly garden.
Dan's famous back yard...
...always has lots of cool birds!
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (with ducks)
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
After kissing Dan
goodbye we headed over to the Progresso Silos, as Bronzed Cowbird would have
been a life bird. We had Inca Doves
going in, and of course tons of redwings, but as we turned south on a dirt road
we found several Bronzed Cowbirds right outside the car, and one male even did
a little bit of The Helicopter!
Continuing down, we were able to pick out a handful of Yellow-headed
Blackbirds in the mix, as well as Brown-headed Cowbirds. Heading north on another dirt road, we had a
pale buteo that could have been a Krider’s Redtail, but I just didn’t get a
good enough look to tell as it flew by…
We took a slight detour eastbound on US 281 to enjoy a nice Harris’ Hawk
on a pole!
Bronzed Cowbird
A couple of Yellow-headed Blackbirds hide amongst the mob
Matt had mentioned
in passing that he had never seen a Peregrine, so after a requisite stop at Stripes
(when I mentioned it in my e-mail, he thought I was talking about some fancy
restaurant J), we made a stop at Tower Road on the way to
Anzalduas, and thankfully he was on the water tower! Since they were also looking for Horned Larks
and both pipits, we continued up Tower and came back on Border, just to see if
we could kick up anything in the ag fields; nada in the target department, but
we did see several Long-billed Curlews and Savannah Sparrows, plus a couple of
Coyotes running into the sugar cane fields.
Dipped on the Burrowing Owls (thankfully they didn’t really need that
one), but the big show was a tremendous cane burn that was so big it was
generating its own cumulus clouds!
Peregrine Falcon
Long-billed Curlew
Coyote
Cane Burn
Anzalduas was
next, and it was clear the Hawk Show was over, as we only picked up a couple of
Great Blue Herons in the field north of the park (which they still thought was
pretty cool). Bagged the Vesper Sparrow along
the entrance road, and the Say’s Phoebe was still on his pole in the big field,
as well as the Green-winged Teal in the spillway! We parked past the entrance building and
started the Pipit Poke through the field, and this time I took Father Tom’s
advice and went slower than usual (I never see the things until they flush L)! Jill spotted
a couple of small birds bouncing around not too far away; one was definitely a
Savannah Sparrow, but the other one looked suspicious, and when I got the scope
on it, it did indeed turn out to be the Sprague’s Pipit! Everyone got great looks (still not sure I
would have spotted the thing before flushing it…)! There were also lots of Western Meadowlarks
of course, and walking over to the Rio Grande we added coots and Lesser Scaup,
plus another Ringed Kingfisher! Lots of
Tree Swallows were swooping around as well.
Jill spots the Sprague's Pipit (below)!
Primping Ringed Kingfisher
Made our way back
to the car and continued on; turning the corner we ran into another group that
was staying at the Inn who were looking at a bird they thought might be the
Say’s Phoebe (it was a female Vermilion Flycatcher – depending on the plumage
that can be an easy mishap), and in turn they told us about the Eared Grebe,
which would have been another lifer for Jill and Matt! So after pointing the way they took off on
their own Pipit Poke while we finally got looks at the grebe when it wasn’t
diving! Also in the mix was a single
female Ruddy Duck and several Least Grebes.
The resident Osprey was enjoying lunch until the kingfisher came over
and started harassing him, and a feeding flock had a brilliant male Vermilion
Flycatcher (probably the same one we had with Selimah and Elizabeth, but it
rightfully wowed Matt and Jill)! A lone
Cattle Egret was on the raft in the middle of the river, and another Black
Phoebe was at the boat ramp. The Tropical
Kingbirds were near the “Government Area” as before, and a single Gadwall was in
the river as we approached the dam. Rock
Wren was indeed a life bird, and after warning them that it took some people
two hours to get the bird (they weren’t willing to wait that long,
understandably), we parked, stepped out, and there was the silly Rock Wren sitting
right on top of the barbed wire!! Couldn’t
believe it!
Vermilion Flycatcher
Rock Wren
From there we
headed home, adding House Finch to the list and pointing out a Green Jay doing
a Gray Hawk scream... J On the way
over the levee we spotted a distant Caracara flying by, and we made a brief
stop in Hidalgo for the Monk Parakeet (singular, although a flock blasted over
on the way there that could have been either species, I suppose…).
Monk Parakeet
We had a great time sharing local idioms
(they had never heard the term “grouse” – as in “complain” – before), and ended
the day with a respectable 95 species!
Bird list:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Snow GooseMuscovy Duck (Domestic type)
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Mottled Duck
Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Pauraque
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
American Coot
Killdeer
Long-billed Curlew
Least Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Anhinga
Neotropic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Harris's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ringed Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Monk Parakeet
Black Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Rock Wren
House Wren
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Curve-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Sprague's Pipit
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Olive Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Altamira Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
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